——中国民族报编写组
——Written and Edited by China Ethnic News

独龙族这个名字是周总理起的，虽然只有6900多人，人口不多，也是中华民族大家庭平等的一员，在中华人民共和国、中华民族大家庭之中骄傲地、有尊严地生活着。

——习近平总书记2015年1月在云南昆明会见贡山独龙族怒族自治县干部群众代表时说

Derung ethnic group, with the name decided by late Premier Zhou Enlai, enjoys equal status in the big family of the Chinese nation though with only a small population of 6,900. The Derung people live with honour and dignity in the big family of the Chinese nation, in the People’s Republic of China.

 ——An excerpt from President Xi Jinping’s speech in meeting with the delegates of officials and people from Gongshan Derung and Nu Autonomous County in January 2015

新中国成立前独龙族群众爬天梯出行
The Derung people climbed the ladder of a cliff to get in and out of their villages before the founding of the new China.

独龙族于2018年整族脱贫，实现“千年跨越”。图为2020年独龙族青年李永明（右）和奶奶行走在美丽的村寨中。新华社发

All Derung people were lifted out of poverty in 2018, remarkable millennial cross-stage development. The photo shows Li Yongming (right), a young man of Derung ethnic group and his grandmother strolling their beautiful village in 2020. From Xinhua News Agency

独龙族是中国人口较少民族之一。据统计，1964年独龙族人口有3090人，2020年有7310人，主要聚居在地处深山峡谷中的云南省贡山独龙族怒族自治县独龙江乡。新中国成立前，独龙族还过着刀耕火种、结绳记事、狩猎为生的原始生活。

The Derung ethnic group are one of the Chinese ethnic minorities with small populations, whose population was 3090 in 1964 and 7310 in 2020 according to statistics. They living mainly in Derung River Township, Gongshan Derung and Nu Autonomous County (hereinafter Gongshan County), Yunnan Province. Before the founding of the new China, the Derung people have lived a primitive life, engaging in slash-and-burn cultivation, using knots for keeping records, and hunting for food.

新中国刚成立的时候，独龙族还没有固定的族称。1952年1月，周恩来总理接见独龙族代表时了解到，在旧社会，反动统治者歧视独龙族人，对他们使用侮辱性的称呼，而他们历来都自称“独龙人”。对此，周恩来总理说：“一切歧视少数民族的行为都是不允许的，过去那些侮辱性的称呼，一律废除！你们居住在独龙江流域，自称独龙人，这是一个很响亮、很有意思的族名。今后，就按你们的意愿，把你们民族的族名，定为独龙族！”

Until the founding of PRC, the Derung Group hadn’t owned an official name. In January 1952, when Premier Zhou Enlai received the delegates of the Derung Group, he was informed that in old society, the reactionary rulers discriminated against the Derung people and named them with disgraceful names. Premier Zhou then called that “Any act of discrimination against ethnic minorities is not allowed. All those humiliating names in the past must be abolished. As you call yourselves the Derung people, which is a memorable and beautiful name, we will call you by this name, as you wish.”

不到独龙江，很难想象那里环境有多么险恶——山高入云，沟壑幽深，峡谷险峻。白雪皑皑的高黎贡山，阻碍了独龙族人与外界的联系，也导致了这里的贫困。

It is hard for people, who have never visited the Derung River, to imagine how harsh the environment can be. There are towering mountains, deep ravines and precipitous gorges, with heavy snow covering the mountains for half time of a year. The snow-clad Gaoligong Mountains hindered the Derung people from communicating with the outside, the main reason for poverty.

1999年，中国政府投资1亿多元，修通全长96公里的独龙江简易公路。但受自然地理环境和技术条件等方面限制，建设的公路隧道依然在海拔3000米的“雪线”以上，独龙江乡每年仍有近半年时间被大雪阻隔。

In 1999, the Chinese government invested more than 100,000,000 RMB for the construction of simple rough road in Derung River. But due to restrictions on geological environments and technical conditions, the road tunnel was located above the 3000-meter “snow line” in elevation, which means the transportation in Derung River Township was still bloked by heavy snow every half year.

党的十八大以来，习近平总书记对少数民族和民族地区发展十分关心，多次作出重要指示，提出明确要求。2014年，在克服岩爆、涌水、塌方甚至雪崩等诸多不利因素后，6.68公里长的高黎贡山独龙江公路隧道终于贯通。

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, President Xi Jinping has laid much emphasis on the development of ethnic minorities and their regions, giving important instructions many times with clear requirements. In 2014, the 6.68km-long Derung River Highway Tunnel in the Gaoligong Mountains was finally opened for traffic, after such adverse factors as rock bursts, water inrushes, cave-ins and even avalanches successfully overcome.

独龙族干部群众欣喜万分，写信给习近平总书记，报告了这一喜讯。习近平总书记给独龙族群众回信祝贺并表达了对他们的牵挂。半年多后，习近平总书记在云南考察期间，特地从紧张的行程中抽出时间，在昆明亲切接见贡山县干部群众代表。

Derung people were overjoyed, and they wrote to President Xi Jinping to share the good news. Xi replied with his congratulations and care for them. Half a year later, while on his tour of inspection in Yunnan, Xi made the time from his tight schedule and met with the delegates of officials and people from Gongshan County in Kunming.

习近平总书记对乡亲们说：“你们生活在边境地区、高山地带，又是贫困地区，在新中国成立以前生活在原始状态里。新中国成立后，在党和政府关心下，独龙族从原始社会迈入社会主义，实现了第一次跨越。新世纪以来，我们又有了第二次跨越：同各族人民共同迈向小康。这个过程中，党和政府、全国各族人民会一如既往关心、支持、帮助独龙族。”

President Xi Jinping said to them: “You live in a border and mountainous area, which is also a poverty-stricken area. Life was in a primitive status here before the founding of the new China. After 1949, under the support of the Party and government, the Derung proceed from a primitive society to socialism, the first cross-stage development. Since the start of the new century, we have achieved the second cross-stage development, which is to build a moderately prosperous society for all ethnic groups. In this process, the Party, the government and people of all ethnic groups will, as always, care for, support and assist the Derung.”

这次特殊的会见，让参加会见的乡亲们感慨万千，对未来更加充满信心。

This impressive meeting encouraged the Derung people greatly that they have more confidence for the future.

曾经有人质疑：“为了一个只有几千人的民族，投入10多亿元资金用于扶贫攻坚，值得吗？搬出深山不就行了嘛。”但独龙江乡的干部群众却给出了掷地有声的回答：“独龙江乡不仅是独龙族祖祖辈辈的聚居地，这里有1994平方公里国土，边境线长达91.7公里，需要有人世代守护！”

Some once questioned if it was worth it to invest more than 1 billion RMB to an ethnic group of only a few thousand people. Why not simply move them out of the mountains? But officials and people of Derung River Township gave their own answer: Derung River Township is not only home to the Derung people for generations, but also covers 1,994 square kilometers of land with a national boundary as long as 91.7 kilometers, which must be guarded by the people from generation to generation.

如今，在党和国家的帮扶下，独龙族群众不仅住上了新房，还发展了草果、中药材等特色种植产业。2018年底，好消息传来：独龙族这个曾经靠刀耕火种、结绳记事、狩猎为生的民族，一跃跨千年，发生了历史性巨变——全乡建档立卡贫困户全部脱贫，独龙族实现整族脱贫！

Now, with the help of the Party and the government, the Derung people have not just moved into new houses but developed characteristic plantations of traditional Chinese medicine herbs. At the end of 2018, good news came that a historic change had just taken place among this people once led a primitive lifestyle. All those registered as poor in the township had been lifted out of poverty, which means that the whole ethnic group has shaken off poverty completely.

这是一个民族千年的梦想。独龙族群众写信给习近平总书记汇报了这一喜讯。

This was a dream that the Derung people had been aspiring for a thousand years. They wrote to President Xi Jinping to share the good news.

2019年4月10日，习近平总书记给独龙江乡群众回信，祝贺独龙族实现整族脱贫。习近平总书记在信中说：“脱贫只是第一步，更好的日子还在后头。希望乡亲们再接再厉、奋发图强，同心协力建设好家乡、守护好边疆，努力创造独龙族更加美好的明天！”

President Xi Jinping replied to them on April 10, 2019, congratulating the Derung group for getting out of poverty as a whole. He added: “Getting out of poverty is just the first step and better days are forthcoming. I hope that the Derung would work harder together in building the hometown, guarding the border, and creating a better tomorrow of the Derung people.”

（执笔：李寅）

(By Li Yin)