Ashima

by Gladys Yang, Huang Youngyu (Illustrator)

"Ashma" is a long and colourful narrative poem which has been handed down orally for generations by the Shani people in Yunnan. The poem describes a young village girl, Ashma, and her brother Ahay. In simple, unadorned language, it relates Ashma's determined struggle against the despotic landlord who has carried her off. With their vitality and their longing for freedom and happiness, young Ahay and Ashma epitomize the whole Shani people. A branch of the Yi, one of the minority peoples in Southwest China, the Shani live in Kueishan District, southeast of Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan. They have their own spoken language, and a simple written script. They love music and dancing, and can express their feelings and wishes with a simple musical instrument made of bamboo---the mo-sheen. From the age of twelve till the time of their marriage, young Shani people live away from home in special hostels for girls and boys, where, every evening, they can enjoy themselves by singing, playing flutes or stringed instruments, or making love. In the past, however, although they could love freely, they could not marry whom they pleased but had to abide by their parents' choice. This explains why, for many generations, through "Ashma" the Shani people have expressed their longing for freedom and happiness. In the past the Shani peasants were exploited by the feudal landlords who seized the fruits of their labour every year, leaving them to live in misery. This explains why "Ashma" voices the Shani's fierce hatred for oppressors. "Ashma" is the most popular poem of the Shani people. Whenever a marriage takes place, old folk will squat on stools to sing "Ashma"; and the young people will shed tears over Ashma's sufferings and rejoice at her victory. Those who are unhappily married will sing "Ashma" again and again, drawing strength and courage from the poem. Girls working in the fields will sing "Ashma" too, and they often used to "Ashma's sufferings are the sufferings of all Shani girls." Though this long poem has been handed down for many generations, there has never yet been a standard Shani text. In 1953, some writers and artists in Yunnan sent a work team to the mountainous district where the Shuni live, to compile as complete a version of "Ashma" as possible. By living and working with the Shani for a long period of time, they became good friends with them and gradually came to understand their social system, customs, thoughts and feelings. After a careful study of many different versions of the poem, the work team compiled "Ashma" and translated it into Chinese. In 1954, when this long poem was published in the "Yunnan Daily" in Kunming and "People's Literature" in Peking, it received a warm welcome. Later it was published in book form by the People's Literary Publishing House, and the English translation has been made from this book. China is a multi-national country. Under the cruel rule of reactionaries in the past, the minority people suffered all manner of hardships and their cultures were attacked and to some extent destroyed; yet, even so, the vernacular literature was preserved and enriched by the labouring people. In New China all the minority peoples are equal members of one big family, and their national cultures are respected and appreciated. The discovery, compilation and publication of "Ashma" form but one instance of the way in which the fine literature and art of the minority peoples are valued today.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1981

About the author

Gladys Yang (Chinese: 戴乃迭; pinyin: Dài Nǎidié; 19 January 1919 – 18 November 1999) was a British translator of Chinese literature and the wife of another noted literary translator, Yang Xianyi. Her father was a missionary to China and, from childhood, she became intrigued by Chinese culture.

Born Gladys Margaret Tayler in Beijing, she returned to England as a child and became Oxford University's first graduate in Chinese language in 1940. She met Yang at Oxford. After their marriage, the Beijing-based couple became prominent translators of Chinese literature into English during the latter half of the twentieth century at the Foreign Languages Press.
[Wikipedia]