A Vocal Encyclopedia

Dong songs from remote mountains steal the show in Beijing pubs By Bai Shi

A Vocal Encyclopedia

Dong songs from remote mountains steal the show in Beijing pubs By Bai Shi

KOU BAYUE

W hen she was 23, Wu Jinyan attended the 13th China Central Television (CCTV) Young Singers’ Competition in 2008 in Beijing as a member of the Dong Grand Choir. The choir comes from southwest China’s Guizhou Province where the Dong ethnic group lives in compact communities. They won the bronze medal in chorus singing at that contest by singing their traditional polyphonic folk songs that have been passed down for generations for 2,500 years.

The popular TV show and glory did not make much difference for Wu Jinyan. Like other women from rural areas, she got married and had a baby in her hometown in Liping County. Then she returned to Beijing and worked as a waitress at a restaurant. In the summer of 2009, she met Wu Hongfei, a rock singer and also a Dong woman. They immediately became close friends because of their passion for Dong songs. Thanks to the help of Wu Hongfei, Wu Jinyan realized her dream of singing the ancient and little-known Dong songs in a metropolis.

Unexpected applause

Before 2008, Wu Jinyan led a simple life in her hometown. Her mother and grandmother are both masters of the Dong songs in their village. She has a beautiful voice, too. Due to the in fl uence of her family, she received strict training in singing Dong songs when she was a little girl.

After she met Wu Hongfei, promoting the Dong songs in cities became their common goal.

“A long time ago, Wu Hongfei advised me to organize a Dong song choir and sing the songs in Beijing,” Wu Jinyan toldBeijing Review, “but I had no idea of what to do.”

Growing up in the countryside, Wu knew little about the city, let alone organizing performances. But Wu Hongfei came to the rescue. She is founder of a rock and roll band called Happy Avenue. Steeped in music for a dozen of years, Wu Hongfei is well-known in Beijing’s artists’ circles. She decided to give Wu Jinyan a hand to ful fi ll her dream.

With the help of Wu Hongfei, Wu Jinyan soon founded a small choir, which consisted of her fellow villagers, four women and two men aged between 18 and 28.

At fi rst, Wu Hongfei planned to promote the Dong songs in theaters. But theater rents are too high. After serious consideration, they made inquiries to some well-known pubs,asking for their cooperation. Fortunately, the pubs were glad to invite the choir to perform for guests.

Before their debut on March 9, Wu Hongfei sent a lot of invitations through emails and micro-blog messages to her friends.Out of sheer curiosity, some music fans went to see the performance of the choir.

At 8 p.m., the singers of the choir walked onto the stage, wearing the traditional Dong costumes in black and blue, silver necklaces and other decorations. They sang with their bodies waving slowly with the rhythm.

The choir sang six polyphonic songs for audiences that night. Among the repertoire,theSong of the Ancient Yue Peopledates back 2,500 years. It is regarded as a living record of the mysterious ancestors of the Dong ethnic group. Young audiences who are used to noisy rock and roll songs were fascinated by the ancient sounds from remote mountains.

“Fantastic! It is indeed the sound of nature,” a young man said after watching the performance of the choir.

That night, the choir made a sensation,because the music was so different from pop or rock music. The pub was so crowded that hundreds of people had to stand in the small hall to enjoy the songs during the following performances. The size of the audience and loud applause was totally unexpected.

Uncertain future

Despite the desirable response from the audiences, Wu Jinyan and Wu Hongfei didn’t feel relieved with the temporary success. There are many challenges ahead.

One big question is how long the villagers’ choir can support itself. “We didn’t think too much of the future. We just wanted to make it successful in the performing season in March,” said Wu Hongfei. “But the praise from the audience gives us con fi dence.”

Dong songs bring urban people a breeze of fresh air. But as time passes by, people might soon forget this kind of music, she said.

Dong song singers felt uncertain about the destiny of the choir. Wu Jinyan said two women in the choir are married and have just given birth. They have to take care of their babies. For other members, performing is just a way of making money to support their families.

“If the performance is unpopular, we have to pay for the failure. And we really don’t have much money,” Wu Jinyan said.

All the choir members were lodged in a basement when they came to Beijing in February. The temperature was still low. Cold weather and repeated rehearsal led to their sleeplessness.

Luckily, the good reputation of their debut brought about considerable income. Each member of the choir earned 6,000 yuan ($954) at the end of six performances in March. Thanks to the help of a friend, the singers moved to a comfortable apartment.

Wu Jinyan said some of the members will return to their hometown once the performing season ends. But she will stay in Beijing. Wu Hongfei helped her fi nd a job at 798 Art Zone in Chaoyang District so that she could earn a living even if there is no performance in the next few months.

Wu Hongfei and Wu Jinyan plan to recruit some more singers and grope for a sustainable pattern for the choir to promote the ancient Dong stage art in Beijing in the future.

Preserving the heritage

The sensation of the choir aroused people’s consideration of how to protect the cultural heritage.

“The Dong songs are a symbol of Dong ethnic identity and their cultural heritage,”said Zhao Xiaonan, a professor of Central Conservatory of Music, who has been studying the Dong songs for over 10 years.

VILLAGE SINGERS: Some Dong singers, wearing traditional costumes, perform in front of a Dong tower in Xiaohuang Village,Congjiang County, Guizhou Province. This village is well known for training Dong singers over the past 60 years

A popular saying among the Dong people has it “rice nourishes the body and songs nourish the soul.” Their tradition of passing on culture and knowledge in music is exempli fi ed in the Grand Song of the Dong Ethnic Group, multi-part singing performed without instrumental accompaniment or a leader. The repertoire includes a range of genres such as ballads, children’s songs, songs of greeting and imitative songs that test performers’ virtuosity at mimicking the sounds of animals.

Usually a choir is made up of at least three people. The more people a choir has, the better the sound is.

Many of the Dong songs have been preserved for 1,000 years. This is because the Dong people only have spoken language and they don’t have written records.Consequently, they wrote their culture and lifestyle into songs. Therefore, they constitute a Dong encyclopedia, narrating the people’s history, extolling their belief in the unity of humans and nature, preserving scientific knowledge, expressing feelings of romantic love, and promoting moral values such as respect for one’s elders and neighbors.

Both the central and local governments have devoted many efforts to protecting this intangible cultural heritage. In 1984, the local government launched a project to teach Dong songs at schools in Dong areas. In this way, many Dong people, such as Wu Jinyan, become quali fi ed singers of Dong songs.

With the help of local governments,many Dong song choirs are able to perform at various art events at home and abroad. Some villages have won good reputation due to their contribution to promoting Dong songs. For example,Xiaohuang Village was honored as National Folk Art Village by the Ministry of Culture in 1996.

In 2009, the Grand Song of the Dong Ethnic Group was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scienti fi c and Cultural Organization. Shortly afterward,Guizhou Province developed tourism routes in Dong areas, such as Liping County and Congjiang County.

“Though the efforts have generally paid off, the Dong songs still face the lack of successors. Due to urbanization,many young Dong people have moved to cities. There are fewer and fewer singers in the villages,” said Zhao.

Wu Jinyan has made a good effort to promote the ancient songs in the bustling cities. She and her friends hope for the best of Dong songs in Beijing and their hometown.