Li Caifeng
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Li Caifeng, Female, Yi, from Midu, Yunnan, is a fourth-batch national representative bearer of Midu Folk Songs (Ⅱ-145). The tradition is documented in Midu, Yunnan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Midu Folk Songs in Midu, Yunnan: Midu folk songs are rich in content and varied in form, and truly reflect the production, the life, the thoughts and the feelings of the masses of the people; classified by nationality, they fall into Han folk songs and minority folk songs, while classified by musical genre they fall into mountain songs, ditties, dance songs, customary songs and the like; their tunes are extremely rich and their melodies are winding and melodious. Since the 1950s, with a group of traditional and adapted Midu folk songs such as “Xiao He Tang Shui”, “Shi Da Jie”, “Xiu He Bao” and “Midu Mountain Songs” spreading widely at home and abroad, the name “Midu folk songs” gradually came to have a broad influence throughout the country and became a folk song category of high fame in China.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Female, of Yi ethnicity, born in April 1943 in Midu County, Yunnan Province. Influenced by her elders, she loved mountain songs and folk tunes from an early age. Her voice is round, high and penetrating, with a lingering flavour; her repertoire covers Yi customs and ways of life, and she can sing ancient folk songs as well as improvise new ones. She recorded, translated and organised more than five hundred folk songs, collected in The Source of the Little River Flowing (Xiaohe Tangshui de Yuantou): Midu's Western Hills. China Central Television broadcast her renditions of folk songs such as The Little River Flows (Xiaohe Tangshui), The Sheep-herding Tune (Fangyang Diao), Midu Mountain Songs (Midu Shange) and Midu Yi Love Songs (Midu Yizu Qingge) on several occasions. In 2010 the crew of the Five Continents Communication Centre television programme In Search of the King of Song came to Midu and filmed Li Caifeng singing Midu folk songs. Within the documented technical tradition of Midu Folk Songs in Midu, Yunnan: Midu folk songs are the Han and minority folk songs current within Midu County, Yunnan Province. The “Nine Chapters of Mountain Songs” recorded in the early Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty in the “Dianxi” attests forcefully to the long history of Midu folk songs. The representative tunes are: among the mountain songs, “Xiao He Tang Shui”, “Midu Mountain Songs”, “Gengzi Diao”, “Midi Diao”, “Mizhi Diao”, “Fangyang Diao”, “Guoshan Diao” and so on; among the ditties, “Ganma Diao”, “Xiu He Bao”, “Xiu Xiangdai” and so on; among the dance songs, “Shi Da Jie” and a number of versions of “Da Ge Diao”; among the customary songs, “Yingqin Diao”, “Songqin Diao”, “Kuwang Diao”, “Zhulu Ge” and “Jisai Ge” and so on. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Mountain songs": Representative tunes in the mountain song category of Midu folk songs, including “Xiao He Tang Shui”, “Midu Mountain Songs”, “Gengzi Diao”, “Midi Diao”, “Mizhi Diao”, “Fangyang Diao”, “Guoshan Diao” and so on. "Minor tunes": Representative pieces in the ditty category of Midu folk songs. "Dance songs": Representative pieces in the dance song category of Midu folk songs. "Customary songs": Representative pieces in the customary song category of Midu folk songs.
Mountain songs
Representative tunes in the mountain song category of Midu folk songs, including “Xiao He Tang Shui”, “Midu Mountain Songs”, “Gengzi Diao”, “Midi Diao”, “Mizhi Diao”, “Fangyang Diao”, “Guoshan Diao” and so on.
Minor tunes
Representative pieces in the ditty category of Midu folk songs.
Dance songs
Representative pieces in the dance song category of Midu folk songs.
Customary songs
Representative pieces in the customary song category of Midu folk songs.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
National representative bearer of Midu Folk Songs, a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. For many years she has taught mountain songs and short tunes to villagers, training more than one hundred disciples.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
Since the 1950s, with a group of traditional and adapted Midu folk songs such as “Xiao He Tang Shui”, “Shi Da Jie”, “Xiu He Bao” and “Midu Mountain Songs” spreading widely at home and abroad, the name “Midu folk songs” gradually came to have a broad influence throughout the country and became a folk song category of high fame in China.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Li Caifeng | Midu, Yunnan | 04-1538 | This page |
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。