Grand song in tune with villagers' traditional lives

Hundreds of singers from the Dong ethnic group stage a performance of the grand song at a scenic area in Liping county, Guizhou province, on June 10. SHI HONGHUI/FOR CHINA DAILY

In the early morning, Xiaohuang, a village in Southwest China's Guizhou province, reverberated with the enchanting singing of Pan Chayinhua.

Pan was performing the grand song of the Dong ethnic group, which boasts a rich history as a unique form of folk chorus, characterized by its lack of conductor, accompaniment and reliance on natural harmonies.

When the grand song was performed during an edition of the Paris Autumn Festival in the 1980s, it immediately captivated the audience with its ethereal melody.

In recognition of its cultural significance, the United Nations inscribed the grand song in the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.

Pan, 80, is a national inheritor of the grand song and boasts an impressive repertoire of about 300 songs.

In Pan's village, singing is woven into the fabric of daily life. "Whether we are happy or sad, busy or free, we find solace in song," Pan said with a sense of pride.

The village, with more than 3,600 residents, has more than 60 singing groups divided by age and gender. Among these groups, Pan leads the senior choir, consisting of 12 dedicated members. The drum tower serves as a communal gathering point, where villagers come together to chat and sing during their leisure hours.

Every Spring Festival, Xiaohuang is transformed into a lively spectacle as people don their traditional costumes and the atmosphere comes alive with the enchanting melodies of numerous singing groups.

In recent years, with the development of rural tourism and infrastructure improvements, a growing number of tourists have visited the village to relish the enchanting performances of the grand song. This has brought local singers a range of opportunities to boost their incomes.

Wu Dingfeng is the founder of a local cooperative dedicated to the grand song. He established the cooperative in 2014 after realizing the imminent risk of losing the traditional art due to the aging of the senior singers.

The cooperative provides a platform for the villagers to perform, learn from others and exchange ideas. This has not only helped preserve the unique culture but also allowed everyone to showcase their talents.

"Every year, we perform over 200 shows in collaboration with travel agencies, generating a total income of 200,000 yuan ($27,890)," Wu said.

Wu has also organized singers to perform in the United States, Japan and South Korea, taking the grand song to international audiences.

Since 2019, in an effort to preserve this cultural treasure, Wu has been providing funding for the recording of 28 senior singers performing more than 500 traditional songs, resulting in a remarkable collection with a total duration exceeding 20 hours.

"When a singer passes away, the songs only he or she had mastered will perish as well," Wu said.

"This initiative seeks to immortalize the unique voices of the elderly singers, ensuring that their precious songs remain accessible for generations to come."