MUZI MUZIChinese Matrix

Grand Song of the Dong

Many voices low, one voice rising above

Introduction

Dong multi-part choral singing without leader or accompaniment, with the other multi-part folk songs

The Grand Song of the Dong is the multi-part choral singing of the Dong of Liping, Congjiang and Rongjiang in Guizhou and Sanjiang in Guangxi. It is sung by village choirs with no leader and no accompaniment, usually in a high and a low part, and includes 'sound songs' that imitate cicadas and other sounds; it is sung in the drum tower when villages visit one another and at festivals, and is passed on orally by song masters. This record also covers the Miao gedeng songs of Jingzhou (II-23) and the multi-part folk songs of the Hani, Zhuang, Yao, Qiang and others (II-30). In the late Ming, Kuang Lu's Chiya describes the Dong people singing 'long songs with eyes closed, nodding their heads and swaying their feet', an early written record. The Grand Song became widely known after a performance in Paris in 1986 and was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List in 2009.

Timeline

Late Ming to present
1635 · OriginIn the late Ming, after travelling in western Guangdong and Guangxi, Kuang Lu wrote the Chiya, whose entry on the Dong people says they 'are good at music, play the huqin and blow six-pipe reed organs, and sing long songs with eyes closed, nodding their heads and swaying their feet', the earliest record that names the long songs of the Dong.1986 · ImpactIn 1986 Wu Yulian and other Dong singers performed seven grand songs at the Paris autumn arts festival, and the Grand Song of the Dong became known internationally.2006 · ImpactIn 2006 the Grand Song of the Dong (II-28; Liping in Guizhou, Liuzhou and Sanjiang in Guangxi), the Miao gedeng of Jingzhou (II-23) and Hani multi-part folk song (II-30) entered the first national list; from 2008 the items were extended to Congjiang and Rongjiang and to the Mongolian chordaa, the Yao butterfly song, Zhuang three-part song and others.2009 · ImpactIn 2009 the Grand Song of the Dong was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (4th session of the Intergovernmental Committee, decision 4.COM 13.15).
  1. 1635OriginIn the late Ming, after travelling in western Guangdong and Guangxi, Kuang Lu wrote the Chiya, whose entry on the Dong people says they 'are good at music, play the huqin and blow six-pipe reed organs, and sing long songs with eyes closed, nodding their heads and swaying their feet', the earliest record that names the long songs of the Dong.
  2. 1986ImpactIn 1986 Wu Yulian and other Dong singers performed seven grand songs at the Paris autumn arts festival, and the Grand Song of the Dong became known internationally.
  3. 2006ImpactIn 2006 the Grand Song of the Dong (II-28; Liping in Guizhou, Liuzhou and Sanjiang in Guangxi), the Miao gedeng of Jingzhou (II-23) and Hani multi-part folk song (II-30) entered the first national list; from 2008 the items were extended to Congjiang and Rongjiang and to the Mongolian chordaa, the Yao butterfly song, Zhuang three-part song and others.
  4. 2009ImpactIn 2009 the Grand Song of the Dong was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (4th session of the Intergovernmental Committee, decision 4.COM 13.15).

Heritage Listings

  1. 2006National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · 2006: II-23 Miao gedeng of Jingzhou · II-28 Grand Song of the Dong · II-30 Hani multi-part folk song
  2. 2008National ICH extension items2008: II-28 Grand Song of the Dong · II-30 multi-part folk songs: Mongolian chordaa · Yao butterfly song · Zhuang three-part song · Qiang · Qiaoqi and Miao multi-part songs
  3. 2009UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of HumanityGrand song of the Dong ethnic group · 4.COM 13.15 · element 00202
  4. 2011National ICH extension items2011: II-30 multi-part folk song: Abaga chordaa
  5. 2014National ICH extension items2014: II-30 multi-part folk song: Ermai multi-part song of Heishui