Zouma Town Folklore

Zouma is a small town west of Chongqing City. People in Zuoma who drive horses for a living have created a kind of folk story.

Merchants in ancient times frequently passed through Zuoma on their way to the mysterious Tibetan Plateau. Because of this, people in Zuoma made their living transporting goods on horseback. With this information, Zuoma stories can be dated to no later than the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911AD). Zouma means 'horse-trotting' in Chinese. People say the road to Shu, in Sichuan Province, is even steeper than the road to heaven, and horses were the only way to transport goods through the area. Zuoma folklore is filled with adventures and romances not ordinarily found in other Chinese folklore because of the dangerous route so many people from Zuoma had to navigate regularly. Zuoma folklore varies from fairytales and stories of mountain spirits to ancient customs and the unique, historical BaShu totem cult common in the area.

According to 1980s statistics, at that time there were over 10,000 stories, 9,714 of which had been recorded. There were about 300 people who could tell the stories orally.

In 1992 Zuoma was named the 'Home of Folklore' by the city of Chongqing. Zuoma Folklore is under consideration for UNESCO's Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity status.  

中国非物质文化遗产网 · 中国非物质文化遗产数字博物馆

       走马镇民间故事

申报地区或单位：重庆市九龙坡区
　　走马镇是重庆市九龙坡区的一个镇子，这里流传着一种由以“走马”（赶马）为职业的人群口头创作并传承的民间故事，人们通常将其称作“走马故事”。走马故事起源的确切年代无从稽考，但走马场建立于明末清初并很快得以兴盛，故事应与之同步发展，其产生形成至少已有四五百年的历史。
　　由于“走马”人群的生存环境和生活阅历与常人不同，所以他们创作和讲述的故事显示出某些特点。走马民间故事内容庞杂、类型多样，除了民间传说故事的一般类型，如神话仙话、风物传说、动植物传说、民俗传说和生活故事等外，还蕴藏着其他独特的文化信息，诸如巴人图腾龙蛇的传说等。作为古代巴文化的重要遗存，这类故事的数量相当大。
　　20世纪80年代编纂“中国民间文学三套集成”时，在该镇采录到的民间故事目录达10915个，记录完成数达9714则，另外还采集到民间歌谣三千余首、谚语四千余条，歇后语和俗语等四千余条。全镇民间故事家共316人，其中能讲1000则故事的有2人，能讲500至1000则的有3人，能讲200至500则的有10人。
　　走马民间故事具有讲述时机和场合的多样性、故事构成的多源性、本土文化与外来文化的共存性等特征。
　　1990年，走马镇被重庆市文化局命名为“民间文学之乡”；1992年，工农村被命名为“中国民间故事村”；1998年联合国教科文组织、中国民间文艺家协会联合授予魏显德“中国民间故事家”称号（全国共10人）。
　　目前，走马故事面临严重危机，主要问题在于传承乏人。抢救、保护走马故事，不仅可以丰富民众的文化生活，而且能够为人类学、文化学、宗教学、民族学和方言学等多种学科提供研究资料。

走马镇的那些故事