Introduction / History

During the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279) the Ghao-Xong staged 112 wars to save their tribal lands and preserve their way of life. Ralph Covell notes, "The Miao [Ghao-Xong] people in Hunan seem to have been badly oppressed by the Chinese over a long period of time but remained more independent in spirit than those in Guizhou and Yunnan. This contributed to their reluctance to adopt a new faith."

Ghao-Xong is the autonym of this group, who have officially been included under the Miao nationality in China. The Ghao-Xong were labeled Red Miao by the early missionaries. They have also been called Huayuan Miao and Northern Miao.

What Are Their Lives Like?

For centuries the Ghao-Xong have been "growing mulberries and raising silkworms, spinning and weaving, making papercuts and, of course, embroidering." Many Ghao- Xong festivals feature music played on the suona horn and on drums.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Ghao-Xong have the custom of worshiping Pan Hu, the dragon-dog they claim as their ancestor. Today the Ghao-Xong of Maxiang County in Hunan have a carved stone tablet inscribed "for sacrificing to Great King Pan Hu" and topped by two dragon heads. They also worship certain kinds of trees as deities. In many villages the front door of a family's home is considered a god. Each year they worship the doors in these villages in a ceremony where they sacrifice a pig and sprinkle the blood on the doorposts.

In the 1920s Father Theopane Maguire of the Catholic Passionist Fathers - based in Brighton, Massachusetts, USA - commenced work among the Ghao-Xong in three counties of Hunan Province. Their work, which was based in Yangshui County, suffered a setback when rebels killed three of the missionaries in 1929. By 1934 they had won 2,500 converts, but no record was made of how many were Ghao-Xong compared to Han Chinese. In 1946 Maguire was forced to concede, "Here are no startling mass conversions, no pilgrimages of the mighty to the feet of the crucified Christ, no peals of thunder to announce the herald of the Great King."

What Are Their Needs?

Without the guidance of Christ, these people will be lost in this life and the life to come. They need someone to go to them as Christ-bearers.

Prayer Points

Pray for the Lord to intervene in their families, calling people to his side.

Pray for loving workers.

Pray for their hearts to be drawn to the Lord of lords.

Pray for a church planting movement to thrive in their communities.

Scripture Prayers for the Ghao-Xong, Eastern in China.

References

Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission