Introduction.

The meeting at Zhaotung in 1932, referred to in the Preface to Document E, was convened by the Rev. W. H. Hudspeth to consider a revision of the Miao New Testament, of which a completely new edition did appear in 1936. Mr.Hudspeth’s interest in anthropology, however, prompted him to use the opportunity of a gathering of Miao preachers to initiate the first serious collection of original Miao songs and stories. A number of the older preachers made considerable contributions, but after Mr Hudspeth’s departure to Shanghai, there was little local interest and virtually no outside encouragement for the project. It was left to the younger men, notably Wang Ming-ji and Yang Yung-xing to keep it alive. By 1948 renewed interest from some missionaries and a growing realisation of how important it was for an ethnic group to be able to trace its origins and cite its history, resulted in renewed activity. Document E was the first attempt to produce and publish a book of old Miao songs. It was a very considerable task. It all had to be written out by hand on wax stencils, and duplicated, one sheet at a time.

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