Chinese Tusi Culture Highlighted with New Museum & UNESCO Application

While a major part of the Chinese culture for eight centuries, the “Tusi” chieftain system is not often known in modern-day China and by visitors to the destination. 

However, several recent developments are hoping to bring Tusi culture and artifacts back into the limelight. 

A “Tusi” is a chieftain or tribal leader who was recognized as an imperial official by the central government in ancient China. 

The Native Chieftain System governed China’s ethnic minorities for centuries, dating as far back as the Five Dynasties period (907-960) through 1953. 

China’s first Tusi museum will open in Yongshun this summer, housing more than 2,000 cultural relics, many of which are from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). 

In addition, several Tusi ruins are up for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List, with a total of 101 Tusi heritage sites throughout China from its southwest Yunnan and Guizhou provinces to areas on the northeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. 

Some of the nominated ruins include a castle on top of a mountain in Zunyi, a city in Hubei Province that was once even bigger than the Forbidden City in Beijing, and a city in Hunan Province along the bank of a river with a temple, ancestral house, cemeteries and memorial archway still standing, as well as a complicated sewer ditch networks that works to this day.