Xiangxi

— ONCE, fresh fish was beyond the reach of the ordinary people in what is now the Hsianghsi Tuchia and Miao Autonomous Chou in the mountains of western Hunan province. Even at the wedding feasts of rich families, salt fish was a special treat. When the Miao people had fish for dinner, they would tack the tail up beside the family ancestor niche in the wall as a sign of good fortune, and the number hung there gradually became the yardstick by which a family was judged rich or poor.