Description of “Our Community”
The Western Monguor Folk Culture Village is located in Weiyuan,Huzhu,30 kilometers from Xining with an total area of 20,000 square meters and convenient transportation.It, large-scale as it is, is one of the receptions of the State AAA-Class Monguor Homeland Park gathering its architectural、dress、song&dance and folk cultures.Inside the village there exists a homeland park reflecting the primitive living conditions of Monguor、a single-storey Tusi house with three courtyards and the Rainbow Palace with four seasons of spring.In 2004 it was named "The Most Attractive Tourist Attractions in Western China" for completed facilities and quality services.
Summary of Our Project
The wedding of Monguor in Huzhu has a long history.Its forming and development had undergone a struggle against nature and the long-term practice of production and life.Monguor's good at singing and dancing is reflected not only in their daily life,but also in even the wedding ceremony of the young who will sing and dance continually and perfectly.The wedding of Monguor is always solemn and heated with five main steps,namely marriage proposal、engagement、gifts-giving、ceremony and return banquet.
Our Computer and Internet Access
ADSL access,fast.Over thirty clients in a computer classroom can access the Internet all at once,which was convenient for us to consult resources.And this was our only advantage.
Problems We Had To Overcome
The first problem was time shortage.We were students and were busy with studies,so we had to make interviews and data organization in after-school hours.Finally,with everybody's effort,the difficulty had been overcome.The second problem was that today's wedding ceremony of Monguor became more and more updated so that to cover and to experience it live became a luxury.Luckily,our teacher asked the young serving staff to show us the process of the wedding.The third problem was our poor computer operation.But with the guidance and help of the computer teacher,we finally made it.
Our Project Sound Bite
Our strong feelings after the contest:We spent nearly one month for the data gathering,whole-heartedly.Originally,the web page was rough,but after repeated modification,we succeeded,which made us gratified.We,however,believed it was the process rather than? the effort that made us appreciated.We had learnt much beyond books;had learnt about the development and current situation of the folk culture of Monguor;had sensed the persistence of the folk culture of Monguor;and had understood the power of team work.
How did your activities and research for this Doors to Diplomacy Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
In school more and more attention had been paid to enhance studnets' ability of practice.We made the most of our abilities about exploration、human communication、presentation and solution to problems and date gathering and organization acquired from school and society into the interviews and researches.In addition,when making the web page,we had put our computer skills like web page design、words input and picture edition into use.In a word,the project provided us a good opportunity to practice.
What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?
Equipment:Computer、DC and scanner
Software:Dreamweaver 8、 Photoshop 、 Microsoft Word 、Internet Explorer 、 flash cs3、 php5、AppServ2.2、MySQL
NetworkL:2M Broadband
In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.
What the protection and continuity of the wedding of Monguor really did was to protect the unique national culture.We played a role as the "Monguor Wedding Community Culture Publicity Ambassador",aimed at letting more people know the wedding culture and strive for its protection and continuity.
What has been the impact of your project on your community?
Our cultural literacy and computer application level had been enhanced through the activity which,meanwhile,provided us a better understanding towards the folk culture of Monguor.Bred by this land,we had the responsibility and obligation to carry its culture forward and to make modest for the publicity and protection of the material and non-material culture of Monguor.
How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?
We appreciated the young serving staff very much.As we were not likely to find authentic wedding ceremony of Monguor in seconds,we got help from the young serving staff who warmly made a scene and taught us how to dress in the way of Monguor and the local dance.In addition,they had shown us their faith and determination to protect the wedding tradition,and we as well had determined to promote more people to it and to encourage more people to participate in its protection.
Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises
We knew little about the wedding of Monguor before the project,and we had never imagined it was of artistic value.We were surprised abouot the wedding show played by the natives in the Western Folk Custom Garden that day.And we had just understood the wedding tradion was of such unique cultural value and more significant artistic value and life.We hoped through our propaganda the wedding tradition could,chang-like,be succeeded,and someday the Monguor wedding art could immerge in every young people and to be brought to a great height of development.
Materials
1、National Newwork of China.(www.56-china.com.cn)
2、Monguor Culture Information Network of China.(http://www.tuzuren.com/)
3、Monguor Wedding Information Concerning the Publicity Department of Huzhu Party Committee.
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