중국 문신(文身) 습속

Abstract

With a long history, tattoo in China approximately appeared in the New-stoneage. Manyrecords about tattoo customs of different nationalities in China can be found in Chinese history books.Until now,old tattoo customs can still be found in such minority nationalities as Li Nationality in HainanI sland,Dai Nationality in Yunnan,Gaoshan Nationality in Taiwan. Tattoo customs, as an important cultural aspect of tattoo nationalities, carry precious nationality information, and the development history of tattoo customs is part and parcel of the social and cultural development of tattoo nationalities. This paper investigates the tattoo customs in China from such aspects as their history, distribution, nationality, symbol and functions.Through the research,the writer finds that tattoo customs in China bear the following features: having a long history,i nvolving many nationalities, distributing extensively, symbolizing profoundly and functioning in various ways. Through a series of research activities, we feel safe to draw the conclusion that tattoo customs in China is a cultural factor bearing important historical value,realistic value and academic value,forming an important part of Chinese culture,even the world culture. As a matter of fact, the significance of Chinese tattoo customs far surpass the above mentioned for it also has important international influences. Historical records show that tattoo customs in ancient China were once transmitted to South Korea，Japan etc. and also became an important tool in maintaining the regular production and life in those countries.