He Yuzhong
01 · Lineage & Regional School
He was born into a family of bimo, the Yi ritual priests, and at the age of twenty-six began studying the Yi creation epic Axixianji under his great-grandfather Guo Xinglin and his grandfather He Kaiguo; in his forties he studied the Zhilu Jing (Scripture of the Road) and other funeral and sacrificial scriptures under the bimo master Ang Jiashun. His transmission lineage is clearly documented. Within the regional tradition and school record of Axixianji in Mile, Yunnan: The Axi Xianji has the Axi-concentrated area of the Western Hills of Mile county, Yunnan, as its core area of circulation; because it was created and sung by artists in the Axi language and scattered among the people, it was long unknown to the outside world. In the 1940s, collected, collated and published successively by the poet Guang Weiran and the linguist Yuan Jiahua, it became widely known to the outside world. Its content includes the myths and legends of the Axi people, the origin of heaven and earth and all things and the causes of natural phenomena, love and marriage, the early national life and the hardships of early mankind and the customs of the Axi, and the origin of the Axi Xianji is untraceable. Some scholars hold that it sprouted in primitive society and took shape in feudal society. The Axi Xianji has been transmitted orally from generation to generation to the present.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Male, Yi ethnic group, born in July 1942 in Mile County, Yunnan Province. He is the ninth-generation hereditary bimo of Hongwan Village for the Axixianji. He has a comprehensive command of the principal content of the Yi creation epic, of the various funeral and sacrificial ritual texts, and of the melodies and singing methods of the Axixianji, and he can sing the whole epic clearly from beginning to end, covering the origins of heaven, earth and the myriad things, the causes of natural phenomena, the life of early humanity and the customs of the Axi people. He presides over the village's annual Axi Fire Festival and has been interviewed and reported on by China Central Television and by news media from Hong Kong and Japan. He has five disciples. Within the documented technical tradition of Axixianji in Mile, Yunnan: The Axi Xianji, also called the Song of the Axi People, is the creation epic of the Axi branch of the Yi, transmitted orally in the Axi-concentrated area of the Western Hills of Mile county, Yunnan. Because the long poem was created and sung by artists in the Axi language and scattered among the people, it was long unknown to the outside world. The full text is about two thousand lines, made up of the four parts of the introduction, the most ancient times, men and women agreeing to become one family, and the epilogue. The Axi Xianji is the root genealogy of the Axi, embodying their perseverance, valour and wisdom in exploring and understanding nature and reflecting a naive materialism. Because a large part takes the love of man and woman as its main line, describing the Axi's ardent pursuit and longing for pure love and beautiful things and their various views on real society, in the Axi villages young men and women often sing antiphonally to each other in the intervals of farming, making it a means of seeking a mate. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Introduction": One of the four parts of the Axi Xianji. "The Most Ancient Times": One of the four parts of the Axi Xianji, telling of the origin of heaven and earth and all things and the causes of natural phenomena. "Men and Women Agreeing to Become One Family": One of the four parts of the Axi Xianji, taking the love of man and woman as its main line. "Antiphonal Singing for Courtship": The custom of Axi young men and women singing antiphonally to each other in the intervals of farming and seeking a mate through song.
Introduction
One of the four parts of the Axi Xianji.
The Most Ancient Times
One of the four parts of the Axi Xianji, telling of the origin of heaven and earth and all things and the causes of natural phenomena.
Men and Women Agreeing to Become One Family
One of the four parts of the Axi Xianji, taking the love of man and woman as its main line.
Antiphonal Singing for Courtship
The custom of Axi young men and women singing antiphonally to each other in the intervals of farming and seeking a mate through song.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
He is a representative bearer of the Axixianji, a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
In the 1940s, collected, collated and published successively by the poet Guang Weiran and the linguist Yuan Jiahua, it became widely known to the outside world. Its content includes the myths and legends of the Axi people, the origin of heaven and earth and all things and the causes of natural phenomena, love and marriage, the early national life and the hardships of early mankind and the customs of the Axi, and the origin of the Axi Xianji is untraceable. Some scholars hold that it sprouted in primitive society and took shape in feudal society. The Axi Xianji has been transmitted orally from generation to generation to the present.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| He Yuzhong | Mile, Yunnan | 04-1507 | This page |
| Xiaqixian | Mile, Yunnan | — | Same declared area |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。