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Connecticut College China Yunnan/Mekong Project
Artists
Dai Artists | Naxi Artists |Wa Artists| Yi Artists
Yi Region
A Jiawen holds the title of “Yunnan Master Folk
Artist” granted by the Yunnan Provincial Government. He is 66
years old, and lives in a farming village in Shiping County. He was
never formally trained in the musical arts of his village, instead learning
by hearing older players and his general love for his traditional music.
He later went on to become a locally famous folk musician and maker
of musical instruments. He previously served as a teacher at the Yunnan
Ethnic Culture Preservation Institute, and has traveled to Beijing,
Changchun, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Taiwan to perform. He is an expert
of the four-string Moon Guitar melodies of the Sandao Hong Yi ethnic
group, and has been referred to as the foremost instrumentalist of Southern
Yunnan.
Cha Yongying was a student at the Yunnan Ethnic Culture
Preservation Institute. She can sing and dance many of the Weishan Yi
country stomp rhythms, most of which she learned from Luo Fengxue. In
addition, she has learned the Sandao Hong Tobacco Box Dance, the songs
of the Huayao Yi, the Spirit Drum of the Luchun Yi and Sandao Hong Yi
embroidery. She acquired the majority of these skills while at the Yunnan
Ethnic Culture Preservation Institute. She has performed in Beijing,
Changchun, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Japan. She currently resides in
her home village in Weishan County, where she is famous for her artistic
talents. She often teaches classes on ethnic music at the Yunnan Art
Institute School of Music as a guest lecturer.
Hou Baoyun holds the title of “Yunnan Master
Folk Artist” granted by the Yunnan Provincial Government. He lives
in a farm village in Shiping County. After completing secondary school
at the age of 18 he sought out local artisans Li Fazhong and Li Zhengchang
to teach him the folk music he so loved, and went on to learn the rhythms
and dances of the Sandao Hong Yi ethnic group from teachers around the
area, eventually learning from six artisans from separate villages.
He is an accomplished singer, dancer and instrumentalist, is especially
gifted at singing duets, and can sing all of the Four Great Melodies
of the Sandao Hong canon: Old Mountain Melody, Song of Five Mountains,
Cold Melody and Sea Grass Melody. He is a very versatile and locally
famous musician. He was once a teacher at the Yunnan Ethnic Culture
Preservation Institute, and taught the songs and dances of the Yi ethnic
group’s Sandao Hong branch to many students including Li Huaixiu
and Pu Meifang. He has performed in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
Li Huaixiu comes from a small village in Lungmin Township
of Shiping County in Honghe Prefecture. She began learning Yi folk songs
from village artists at the age of twelve. In 1993 she began studying
at the Yunnan Ethnic Culture Preservation Institute, where she absorbed
the folk music of the Sandao Hong and Huayao branches of the Yi ethnic
group. She can sing, dance, and create the intricate embroideries of
her ethnic costumes. Her extraordinary talent was seen after four years
and she became instructor for twenty some students at the Institute.
She and her teacher, Shi Wanheng, received the golden award at China
Central Television’s first Western Folk Song Competition held
in Beijing in January 2004; she and her brother, Li Huai Fu, were honored
with first prizes in the second China Western Folk Song Competition
held in Shaanxi in August 2004. As of May 2004, she became a member
of the Yunnan Honghe Prefecture Song and Dance Troupe. Her expertise
includes Yi ethnic group’s Sea Grass Melody, the Tobacco Box Dance
and traditional love songs. Through her intensive studies, she has become
a renowned and versatile artist. She has performed in Beijing, Changchun,
Guangzhou, France, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Luo Fengxue comes from a small village in a farm village in Dali Weishan County. He has learned many of the festival dances, or country stomp rhythms, of the Weishan branch of the Yi ethnic group from his older brother, a famous musician in his home village. He came to the Yunnan Ethnic Culture Preservation Institute with his brother in 1993, where he continued to learn his traditional music. Later, his brother returned home but Luo Fengxue continued at the Institute. Aside from his own traditional music, he has also learned to play the leaf harp, gourd pipe, bamboo flute and other traditional instruments, most notably the Shaman Drum Offering rituals, incantations, songs and dances of the Liangshan Yi, which were once on the verge of extinction; as well as many instrumental pieces of the Hani ethnic group. He has performed in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. He still resides in his home village in Weishan County, where he is famous for his artistic achievements. He often teaches classes on ethnic music at the Yunnan Art Institute School of Music as a guest lecturer.
Pu
Fazheng is a member of the Huayao branch of the Yi ethnic group
residing in Honghe Prefecture. At a very young age, she began learning
the traditional arts of her ethnic group from her grandfather, Zhang
Shilin, who is a famous local artisan and who knows the lyrics and rhythms
to nearly one hundred different epic poems. She arrived at the Yunnan
Ethnic Culture Preservation Institute in 1993 with her grandfather,
where she continued her studies. In addition to her song and dance skills,
she is also knowledgeable about the meanings and uses of these songs
in the lives of her people. She is also skilled in the traditional embroidery
of the Huayao Yi. She now resides in her home village in Shiping County,
where she is renowned for her artistic achievements.
Pu Jiufen is from a remote Yi village in Luchun County
near the Vietnam border. Her village is home to a set of 24 drum rhythms
which have been passed down for many generations, known as the “Spirit
Drum.” According to traditional custom, these rhythms are taught
only to women, and can only be performed during certain agricultural
events and very special celebrations. When Tian Feng (founder of the
Yunnan Ethnic Culture Preservation Institute) arrived in this village
in 1992 seeking traditional folk music, there were only three women
who still remembered the rhythms of the spirit drum, all in their sixties.
Pu Jiufen and two of her friends from the village came to the Institute
in 1993 to study under the tutelage of those three women. By 2000, she
had taught the ancient skill of the Luchun Spirit Drum to more than
40 girls from various villages and ethnic groups around Yunnan. During
her seven years at the Institute, she also learned the moving “Weeping
at the Wedding” of her home village, the songs of the Huayao and
Weishan Yi, and embroidery skills from Luchun. She has performed in
Beijing, Changchun, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and France. She currently resides
in her home village and is renowned for her art in Luchun County.
Pu Meifang comes from a small village in Lungmin Township of Shiping County. She was a student at the Yunnan Ethnic Culture Preservation Institute, where she absorbed the “Four Great Melodies” of the Sandao Hong, the Tobacco Box Dance and the rhythms and dances of the four-string Moon Guitar. She can sing, dance and play various instruments, and is particularly skilled at Sandao Hong love songs and traditional handicrafts such as embroidery. She has performed in Beijing, Changchun, Guangzhou, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan. She is locally renowned as a skilled and versatile artisan.
Pu Yanfang was a student at the Yunnan Ethnic Culture Preservation Institute, where she studied under Zhang Shilin. After the Institute was disbanded in 2000, she returned to her home village to continue learning traditional ethnic arts from her aunt. She sings the music of the Huayao Yi, and her voice is unique and moving. She has also learned the Luchun Spirit Drum, the Wieshan Country Stomp, and Huayao embroidery. She has performed in Beijing, Changchun, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Japan. She currently resides in her home village in Shiping County.
Shi Wanheng holds the title of “Yunnan Master Folk Artist” granted by the Yunnan Provincial Government. He lives in a farm village in Shiping County. The famous “Sea Grass Melody,” one of the “Four Great Melodies” of Southern Yunnan, is sung in an extremely high vocal register. Shi Wanheng is one of a very small number of people who can sing it. He is a versatile musician. He once taught at the Yunnan Ethnic Culture Preservation Institute, and traveled with them to Beijing, Changchun, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Japan to perform. With the recommendation of the Director of the Shiping Culture Bureau, he and his student, Li Huai Xiu entered the first China Central Television Western Region Folk Song Competition held in Beijing in January 2004, and received the golden award. He is an expert of the music of the Yi ethnic group’s Sandao Hong branch, including the renowned Tobacco Box Dance.
Dai Region
Gen Dequan was born in Banggai Village, Mengyang Township in Yunnan Province in 1958, a region known for its illustrious tradition of the gourd flute where almost every household has one and 60 percent of the population can play them. Gen Dequan’s grandfathers and uncle were renowned gourd flutists, and his mother was a folk singer. At the age of nine, Gen started to learn to craft and play the gourd flute from his elders. During a 20 year stint at a sugar factory, he often spent ten hours a day practicing his gourd flute to the accompaniment of the roaring machines. Local people regarded him as an eccentric. In order to realize his dreams for the gourd flute, Gen Dequan gave up his job in the state-owned enterprise at age 40 and founded the Gen Dequan Studio to teach and develop the gourd flute. In 1989, his first gourd flute audio-visual production was released, causing a public sensation. He made breakthroughs in making gourd flutes by adding two additional holes, extending the range of gourd flute sounds., and creating new performing methods to expand the expressive force of the instrument.. He is regarded as the highest representative of China’s gourd flute culture. He has performed and has taught in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc. In recognition of his contributions to the humanities, Gen Dequan was conferred the title of “Gourd Flute Master” in his hometown, Lianghe County, and throughout Dehong Prefecture.
Naxi Region
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He Jinhua comes from Sze Ran Village in Ta Chen Township, Lijiang County. When she was a young girl, she began learning various folk songs from the old folk artists while working in the fields, tending goats and pigs. At the age of 13, she was recruited from the village to perform with the Lijiang Song and Dance Ensemble. She is known for her expressive, beautifully natural approach to singing Naxi traditional folk songs and ancient poems as well as for her skill on the Chinese guzheng (zither). She performed with Naxi Ancient Music in Lijiang Old Town and is a member of the Dongba Art Ensemble. She and He Minda received third prize at the first China Central Television Western Region Folksong competition in Beijing in January 2004. Married to a Tibetan, she has a 12-year old son.
Li Xiuxiang was born in Nanwu Village, Lijiang County, Yunnan in 1945, a village famous for its folk music. She grew up surrounded by the rich musical traditions of her people. Li Xiuxiang first began learning Naxi songs as a child from her mother, who often sang the Song of Moral Integrity while cutting firewood on the mountains or farming in the fields. Her musical career started in 1964 as one of the first group of performers in the Lijiang Song and Dance Troupe and took part in the filming of the movie “Cultural Life of the Naxi People”. From 1973 to 1993, she worked for the local grains and food bureau during the day, while in the evening she searched for folk song materials and practiced singing. In 1995, China Central Television produced the award winning documentary, “A Naxi Woman” about her. Now she lives in Lijiang, and is known for her expertise in Naxi songs and dances. Since 1998, she regularly performs at the Dongba Palace in Lijiang Old Town and has performed in Nanjing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Suzhou, Wuxi, Beijing and Tianjin.
Yang Yuhua was born in 1978 in Shuming Village, outside of Lijiang’s Tacheng City. The Yang family of Shuming, originally from Tai’an have a long history of respected Dongba Masters in the region. Dongbas are religious priests, and play a major role in Naxi culture, preaching harmony between man and nature. The succession of Dongba Masters in the Yang family went into decline and was eventually cut off at the time of Yuhua’s father, Yang Xing, who was born after the foundation of the People’s Republic of China. The Yang’s have often intermarried with the He family throughout Shuming Village’s history. The Yang family performed Dongba rituals for the He family and vice versa. He Shun, a senior Dongba master foresaw his approaching death, and wanted a Yang Dongba Master to perform his funeral rites. This rite must be performed by a priest from an outside clan. Master He decided to train one of the Yang nephews as a Dongba successor, and Yang Yuhua began his training as a Dongba at the age of seventeen. He learned the ancient Dongba pictographic script and studied the ancient scriptures, including “Ancient Records” and “Book of Divination”. In 2000, he was chosen by Lijiang Donba Cultural Research Institute as one of two candidates to be trained to become a Dongba. A list of Yang Yuhua’s Dongba ritual capacities (in seasonal order): Offering to the Heavens (1st month); Offering to the God San Duo (2nd month); The Month of Ancestors or the Month of Ghosts (3rd month); Offering to the Ancestors (6th month); Communal Prayer for Peace among Humans and Livestock, Ma Li La, at the local temple (7th month, 1st day); Offering to the Spirits of Unusual Death (7th month, 2nd day); Offering to the Ancestors (11th month) and Offering to the Ghosts of Tales (12th month).
Wa Region
Yan Bing, from Ximeng, holds the title of “Yunnan Master Folk Artist” granted by the Yunnan Provincial Government. His father is headman of a Wa tribe in Ximeng County Wa Autonomous Region. His love for music emerged at an early age, and because of his family he was able to absorb the traditional songs, rhythms and instrument making of the Wa. He can play more than 40 different instruments, and is fluent in both Wa and Mandarin Chinese. He is also knowledgeable in Wa script and Chinese calligraphy. He worked for the Ximeng County Culture Department for over thirty years, specializing in collecting and cataloguing Wa music and musical instruments. He is the most famous Wa artisan in Ximeng, where he is known as the King of Wa Music. His elder brother Sui Ga began serving as the first Ximeng County Governor in 1950. The two brothers have always been enthusiastically dedicated to spreading traditional Wa culture. They brought 20 students to the Yunnan Ethnic Culture Preservation Institute in 1997 on invitation from founder Tian Feng to form the first Wa class there. Yan Bing has performed in Beijing and Hong Kong.