Miao Song Collection around Kunming
The Miao people have undergone extensive migrations throughout history, forming distinct groups based on dialects—Xiangxi (湘西), Qiandong (黔东), and Sichuan-Guizhou-Yunnan (川黔滇)—across multiple Chinese provinces. These migrations have led to unique cultural traits within each group, as seen in their ancient songs, or “Miao Epics”. The efforts to systematically collect, organise, and study these Miao songs have been vigorously pursued. This includes initiatives to nominate them for national intangible cultural heritage status and the compilation of regional anthologies of Miao songs. Existing research on Miao songs primarily focuses on Miao-populated areas like Guizhou Province and West Hunan Province, often overlooking the Miao musical landscape in Yunnan.
In light of the limited collection and circulation of ancient Miao songs in the Kunming area, the ECura project team aims to systematically collect and study the region’s ancient Miao songs, a critical but under-researched aspect of local intangible cultural heritage. Based on initial investigations, the ECura project team plans to collect these songs in collaboration with local Miao communities around Kunming.
Engaging with the community Xiaohai Xin Village (小海新村)
The villagers of Xiaohai Xin Village possess a profound passion for music and dance, reflected in the existence of many performing arts groups. The village’s music and dance are rich and varied, with the older generation primarily preserving the Miao’s traditional songs, such as ancient tunes, flying songs, and Lusheng (mouth organ) tunes. On the other hand, the younger villagers show a preference for modern innovation, enthusiastically embracing newly composed and original Miao songs and dances, as well as contemporary popular music.
In February 2024, researcher Keyi Liu conducted the fieldwork in Xiaohai in village. She participated in and observed the local Miao villagers’ music and dance activities, gaining a detailed understanding of the village’s specific needs for developing these domains. Then she was representing the ECura project, signed a cooperation agreement with community leaders Hongming Zhang (张洪明) and Haiyan Long (龙海燕) in Xiaohai xin Village. The aims of this cooperation are to record the ancient Miao songs passed down by the village elders and to provide support for the younger generation’s new adaptations and creations of Miao music and dance. Additionally, the cooperation intends to use online media platforms to transform these daily music-related activities into digital content for wider dissemination, with the goal of promoting broader recognition and appreciation of Miao music and dance in modern society.
Collecting and digitalizing the long narrative song
This is a long narrative song, Hongzhao and Raojue Xina 红昭和饶觉席那), with a distinct anti-feudal theme, primarily circulated in Yunnan and other regions. It is a rare example of Miao folklore literature in Yunnan. The story depicts the heroic struggle of the protagonists, Hongzhao and Raojue Xina, against the emperor’s forces, which symbolize the feudal ruling class. This epic demonstrates the Miao people’s spirit of resistance and triumph over feudal oppression and also delves into the love story between the protagonists.
The song was first published in 1957 by the China Youth Publishing Press (中国青年出版社), collected and edited by Rugerful Zameng (鲁格夫尔·扎猛) and Xinfeng Lu (陆新风), with Cheng Zhou (周诚) and Yi Hong (弘毅) as the writers. Then, it was translated into Chinese and its ancient song scores were formalized by Miao scholars such as Shaohu Tao (陶绍虎) and Shiwu Yang (杨世武) in 2012, followed by its official publication. According to the local news reports from October 2014 reveal that Miao singer Xinxiao Yang (杨新秀) from Fumin County (富民县) performed the ancient Miao song Hongzhao and Raojue Xina for the first time at the Kunming Theatre, alongside the Xiaoshuijing Miao Farmers’ Choir. In 2017, the cultural inheritor Hanzhe Wang (王汉哲) successfully declared it as a provincial intangible cultural heritage. ECura plans to establish contact with the individuals associated with this epic song to further discuss the digitalization of its text, audio, and visual content.
Connecting with the authors of Ancient Miao Songs of the West
The collection of Ancient Miao Songs of the West (西部苗族古老歌) was gathered by Yuxiang Zhu (朱玉祥), Zhonglun Yang (杨忠伦), Shiwu Yang (杨世武), and Guanglong Zhu (朱光龙), who interviews with hundreds of Miao folk artists, collecting and organizing musical materials from the Northeastern Yunnan dialect group of the Miao music. Notably, the Miao communities around Kunming belong to this Northeastern Yunnan dialect area. This song’s audio collection is included in the Chinese Music Net Intangible Heritage Library: 人类口头和非物质文化遗产专题库 – 中华传统音乐数字文献图书馆 (china1901.com). Unfortunately, the audio does not provide detailed information on the performers and their performed songs. ECura plans to discuss with relevant individuals about the enhancement of digital content, including text, audio, and video, for this collection.
