Panjiang Cattle

Panjiang Cattle

　　Panjiang Cattle are raised in the vast mountainous areas at the junction of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi along the drainage basins of the North Panjiang and South Panjiang rivers. This region is home to many ethnic groups and has a long history of cattle farming. In Guizhou, they were originally known as Guanling Cattle and were distributed across nineteen counties in Anshun Prefecture and Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, with those from Guanling County being the most renowned; in Yunnan, they were originally called Wenshan Cattle, distributed across eight counties including Guangnan, Funing, Yanshan, and Qiubei, with the central production area in Guangnan and Funing; in Guangxi, they were locally referred to as Western Guangxi Yellow Cattle, distributed across counties such as Longlin, Tianlin, and Xilin in the Baise region, with those from Longlin County being of better quality. According to surveys conducted in 1982, the yellow cattle in the border areas of these three provinces all belong to the same breed and should be consolidated. Since the Panjiang river system flows through the main production areas, they were named Panjiang Cattle.

　　[Historical Formation]

　　The production area is located in the southern part and edges of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, generally ranging in altitude from 800 to 1250 meters. The terrain is rugged with mountains undulating, extending from northwest to southeast. The main rivers are the North and South Panjiang, which flow through limestone peak clusters, often seeping or flowing underground as hidden streams, resulting in a complex landscape of crisscrossing valleys, deep valleys, and overlapping peaks. The soil is mostly red soil and yellow soil. Grasslands mainly include grassland and shrubland on low-middle mountains and middle mountains, sparse woodland grasslands, featuring a wide variety of forage species dominated by grasses, which grow abundantly but tend to age quickly.

　　The ecological conditions and feeding management methods across the various Panjiang Cattle production groups are largely similar. Historically, Panjiang Cattle also share common origins and interactions. According to historical records from Yunnan: “The barbarian people migrated from Guizhou to Yunnan at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty,” and the *Kaihua Prefecture Annals* of Yunnan states: “Previously, there were Miao people from Guizhou and Guangdong who moved to the rocky valleys... scattered across the border miasma regions.” During the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, Miao people who migrated from Guangdong and Guangxi settled in the Wenshan and Honghe areas. Additionally, according to farmers in Wenshan and Yanshan, larger-bodied cattle were introduced from the Miao mountainous areas at the junction of Guangnan, Xichou, and Malipo, while farmers in Funing and Guangnan believe that their local yellow cattle were brought by their ancestors from Guangxi.

　　In the production area, ethnic minorities have long had the custom of using cattle for weddings, funerals, and sacrificial rituals. According to the *Wenshan Local Chronicles* of Yunnan: “They sleep on cowhide... and use cattle, lambs, and pigs for sacrifices,” “Weddings do not require matchmakers, and the bride price is paid in cattle, sometimes as many as five or six.” The *Longlin County Annals* of Guangxi also mention: “Miao people ‘hold ceremonies where they slaughter cattle for gatherings upon marriage or divination, eating slices of beef. When divining illness, they hold sacrificial feasts, drink, and consume the cattle blood, using the residue of the cattle intestines as broth.’” Each feast may involve slaughtering as few as one or several cattle, or as many as over a hundred. Relevant historical records in Guizhou state: “The Miao people are skilled at raising cattle... and good at hunting,” and also: “During the Miao festivals of the Third Month and Eighth Month, they sing mountain songs to court and marry, known as market gatherings, with a yellow ox as the betrothal gift.” The custom of raising “maiden cattle” still exists today; the Buyei people have a tradition of “offering sacrifices with cattle during memorial services, circling the coffin three times, and using an axe to strike the cattle’s head to the ground before skinning it and serving the meat to guests.” The Miao people in Guanling, Guizhou, designate the first day of the tenth lunar month as “Cattle Birthday.” On this day, they first offer glutinous rice cakes with cattle horns, and only after the cattle eat can the family start their meal, as a sign of respect for the cattle. Farm work with cattle is halted for one day to show care. These folk customs are beneficial to the raising and breeding of cattle.

　　The production area not only has a long history in cattle raising and usage, but has also accumulated rich experience in feeding and management. There is a farming proverb: “If you want your cattle to fatten, you need a sharp sickle.” The Miao people have a long-standing tradition of bullfighting, which plays a certain role in selecting and raising high-quality livestock breeds and remains popular to this day.