First Literary Works of Hani Group Published

The first set of literary works written by people of the Hani nationality, an ethnic group without a written language until the 1950s, was published recently in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The book, entitled "Contemporary Literary Series of Hani Nationality," is a collection of 11 stories written by 16 Hani writers using 2.2 million words in total. Of the authors six are female writers.

A Chinese sociologist described the publication as the formation of a contingent of writers of Hani nationality. The book 's preface says, "The emergence and development of Hani language and Hani literature mark the start of a brand new historical period for the Hani nationality."

The Hani ethnic group had a population of 1.25 million, most of whom live in Yunnan Province. For centuries, they have kept records of events on wood, stone and shells. It was not until 1957 that a written form of language based on the Latin alphabet was created.

Since the founding of new China in 1949, the Chinese government helped the Hani people create their own language system and ethnic culture and trained a great number of artists and writers.

Mao Youquan and A'duo were among the first group of writers trained in the 1950s and 1960s. Lang Que, a poem and prose writer of Hani nationality, appeared in the 1970s. The first batch of female Hani writers emerged in the 1980s.

So far, 18 Hani writers have been admitted into the Yunnan Provincial Writers' Association.

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