Ethnic minority groups in Guizhou tended to govern people’s behaviors and social order by village rules. Many village rules stipulated that those violating rules would be published by incantations. With such penalties, local people could well regulate their conducts.
Rock paintings in Guizhou’s caves are also distinctive. For instance, many artifacts of the Paleolithic Age have been excavated and rock paintings featuring human figures, birds and beasts discovered in Peach Blossom Cave, now designated as the key cultural heritage site under the provincial-level conservation. On the cliff in Zhenfeng, with the height of 10 meters and the width of 50 meters, dozens of images, including wild boar, deer, human figures and hands, are painted in reddish brown, presenting a panoramic scroll of hunting and fishing scenes. Those rock paintings vividly demonstrate life of local ethnic groups living two thousand years ago.
“Fishing”, cliff carving in Xishui
Rock painting on the cliff of Dayanjiao
During the Song-Yuan-Ming period (960 – 1644), ancestors of some ethnic groups in Guizhou lived a nomadic life, which is vividly expressed in rock paintings on Horse Cliff in Guanling. Images of human figures, horses, dogs, birds and other animals now are still visible. In addition, rock paintings in this region also feature farming life of ancient people, with the sun, farmlands and farmers carrying farming tools. The rock painting “Seven Horses” describes a seven-horse caravan holding cargos on their backs and trekking through paths on cliffs.
（Source: chinaculture.org）
