Q:What about your wage?
A:Our wages depend on the amount of carving. You have seen the 100-meter Buddhist scripture wall, right? We five people carved it for five years and earned RMB 1 million.

Q:One million? That’s a great number.
A:One million is the total expenditure of stones, transportation and carving. In fact, we can earn only RMB 10,000 every year.

Q:Where are your homes?
A:Our homes are in Huangnan, so we take turns to go home twice every year.

Q:Are you Tibetans? Can you draw Thangka (scroll paintings)?
A:No, we are Tu people, but we can draw a little.

Q:Are there many Tu people in your hometown?
A:No, only in several villages.

Q:How many languages can you speak?
A:I can speak Chinese, Tibetan, Tu dialect and write only Tibetan.

Q:Do you wear glasses to protect eyes?
A:Yes, we wear glassed in order to prevent stone fragments entering eyes.

Q:You have been here for year, right? Do you feel some changes in Qinghai Lake?
A:There are too many changes. Our government invests a lot, so the environment is becoming better. Many travelers come here, which promote the local economy.

Time: 2006-10-7, 10：00－11：00
Interviewing at: Qinghai Lake
Interviewee: young pilgrim
Recorded by: Cao Yuan-zhang

Q:Would you tell us something about Sacrificial Offering to the Qinghai Lake?
A:Ok, on a special day of autumn, many Buddhist monks and followers throw fortunes, such as gold, silver, jade and grains into Qinghai Lake.

Q:As we know that people are not wealthy here, why they throw fortunes into the lake?
A:That’s because people consider throwing fortunes into the lake as gratitude to the god of the Qinghai Lake. They hope to bless their family’s safety and happiness in the next year.

Q:I heard that local people never enter Qinghai Lake. Is it right?
A:Yes, they consider the lake as our mother, who can’t be offended. That’s why we never enter the lake.

Q:Tibetans never catch scaleless carp in Qinghai Lake, right?
A:Yes, as Qinghai Lake is on plateau, its environment is affected by efflorescence, deforestation and swamp shrinking. All these reasons lead to the declination of scaleless carp production amount. Every ten years, the weight of fish can increase 500g. You can imagine that the over fishing will to the extinction of this species and the deterioration of the environment.

Q:When did the sacrificial Offering to the Qinghai Lake begin?
A:Sacrificial Offering to the Qinghai Lake is a worshipping ceremony to the “Lake God” by the people on the shores. It is directed by Ningma (Red Sect) Buddists. As opinions vary, no unanimous conclusion can be drawn about the origin of the ceremony. However, some historic records tell tat it was originated during the Qing Dynasty by the imperial government so that it could consolidate its rule. In the 4th year of Yong Zhen (1726), Qing imperial commissioners were sent to the northern shore of the Qinghai Lake to hold a sacrificial ceremony to the lake and to erect a stone tablet there. Later on, other imperial commissioners came in the 5th lunar month every year to hold the ceremonies. And the nobility were called together from Mongolia to observe the ceremonies and to enter into alliance with the imperial court. After the Dao Guang years, common Tibetans began to attend the ceremony, which has been going on since then. The present sacrificial offering to Qinghai Lake is held once a year on the 4th day in the 5th lunar month on the northern shore near the Shatuosi Temple. There are also other activities before and after the ceremony. When the time comes, crowds of people pour from all over the prairies to the shore, and a provisional town of hundreds of tents．

Q:Why local herdsmen move from one grassland to another in a year?
A:In different seasons, herdsmen move among different grasslands, because in this way they can keep ecological balance and protect the nature.