Changes in Yangxiang Village: The Beggar Tribe

Author: Yan Shunliang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: On the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the villagers of Gaizi lived in mountain caves, ignoring farming, and made a living by begging year-round. At the age of six, the villagers began to study the "Begging Scriptures." When they reached the point of being able to play musical instruments, recite rhymes effortlessly, and speak in three dialects—addressing people as people and ghosts as ghosts—they then practiced a set of flashy "Dragon Flying and Phoenix Dancing" dog-whipping staff techniques, and were considered true beggars.