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A Strong Hani Identity  by Mo Rui Qiu
L ú Bǎo Hé (卢保和) was born in Yunnan Province’s（云南）Lùchūn
County (绿春县), in the Zhē Dōng Village (折东村). In Luchun, he
says, all of the people know how to speak the Hani language. It’s known for miles and miles of terraced fields, and where many women continue to wear their traditional dress on a daily basis. From the time he grew up in his own village, Lu Bao He already had a strong sense of his identity as a Hani person.
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Lu Bao He, a key advocate for the Hani

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The Hani Literacy Center in Luchun, Yunnan.
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Hani women in their traditional costumes.

Although he left his home area to go to the Kunming Teacher’s College (昆明师范学院), he came back to serve in the local Luchun government. For his work, he currently writes the county annals that record local population, economic, and industry statistics. Since the year 2000, he has invested a lot of his personal time into helping his own people value and preserve their language and culture.

He has organized teacher-training workshops so that local teachers and outside scholars can learn to read and write the Hani writing system. Each training session lasts about twenty days. Among many useful purposes, this writing system is ideal for recording the lyrics to ancient Hani songs.

In the past, he organized a fashion show to exhibit the women’s exquisite Hani dress. He encouraged a local singer to record traditional songs in the Hani language, and at least three discs have been released between 2007 and 2008. The local people loved the music and quickly bought copies of the recordings!

Another remarkable achievement is that Lu Bao He found funding to convert a large house into the first-ever Hani museum! Some of the exhibits include: the local tea-culture, how to build the terraced fields, general cultural traditions, and the Hani ethnic costumes. The museum attracts local visitors as well as guests from other places. When some of the local women saw the museum for the first time, they cried with delight! If he is able to find more funding, he would like to improve and expand the museum.

As he has been working to preserve the Hani language and culture, he has observed how few Hani people have an opportunity for good education. He regrets that his own resources are limited, and therefore he is not able to help his people more. Because of his research and studies, he more deeply appreciates the Hani as an amiable people that coexist peacefully with nature and with surrounding peoples. He says that the Hani are not known for war or fighting. Lu Bao He sees so many good things about local traditions— he does not want to let them vanish. Over the years, he has communicated with ethnic groups related to the Hani that live in nearby countries, for example: Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. Across the borders, the peoples share very similar languages and cultural customs.

If Lu Bao He had the chance to talk with you personally, he would certainly invite you to come visit “Haniland.” He is pleased to welcome visitors from all around the world to enjoy their unique scenery, and meanwhile learn about their language and culture.