He Zhenqiang
01 · Lineage & Regional School
He Zhenqiang, Male, Naxi, from Lijiangshigucheng, Yunnan, is a fourth-batch national representative bearer of Naxi Remeicuo (Ⅲ-76). The tradition is documented in Lijiangshigucheng, Yunnan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Naxi Remeicuo in Lijiangshigucheng, Yunnan: Remeicao is a Chinese-character transcription of a Naxi word. The historical evolution of the Naxi remeicao is not clearly recorded in writing; according to the comparative study of song and dance in the Lijiang area by He Shiwen and others, it is very similar to Worere, which is preserved to this day on the Ninglang side of the valley of the Jinsha River.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Born into a family with a strong tradition of folk song and dance, he was steeped in it from childhood and studied it with devotion; he is familiar with the rhythms and melodies of Remeicuo, thoroughly versed in Naxi folk sayings and the stories of the Dongba classics, and able to improvise appropriate sung verses according to the particular occasion and setting. He has many times organized and taken part in Naxi Remeicuo performances and has travelled to Japan for exchange performances. Since 2004 he has been engaged as an adviser to the Dadong Township Remeicuo Association. Within the documented technical tradition of Naxi Remeicuo in Lijiangshigucheng, Yunnan: The Naxi remeicao fuses poetry, song and dance into a single whole and is performed as a complete set; in performance men and women sing together in a collective dance, no props are used, the number of participants is unlimited, ranging from a dozen or so to several hundred. Men, women, old and young all join hands, form a ring around the fire and sing and dance in a clockwise direction. The dance movements are archaic and natural, and the vocal style is close to a shout, yet every participant has to keep in time with the others in the singing and dancing so as to achieve harmony. The dance movements of remeicao carry no ornamentation, and the music is a natural sound issuing from the chest and throat, so it cannot be recorded accurately for teaching. The Naxi must begin to acquire the techniques of remeicao in childhood, through oral transmission from their elders and through long participation in practice, and then improvise as the situation prompts them. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Poetry, song and dance in one": The form fuses poetry, song and dance, sung in mixed voices without props, from a dozen to several hundred participants. "Circling the fire clockwise": Old and young join hands around the fire clockwise, singing in near-shouts but keeping a single beat. "Oral transmission and improvisation": Because the music cannot be notated, it is learned from childhood orally and improvised in context. "He Zhenqiang and He Hongliang": He Zhenqiang improvised verses from Dongba lore; his son He Hongliang now leads the singing and organisation.
Poetry, song and dance in one
The form fuses poetry, song and dance, sung in mixed voices without props, from a dozen to several hundred participants.
Circling the fire clockwise
Old and young join hands around the fire clockwise, singing in near-shouts but keeping a single beat.
Oral transmission and improvisation
Because the music cannot be notated, it is learned from childhood orally and improvised in context.
He Zhenqiang and He Hongliang
He Zhenqiang improvised verses from Dongba lore; his son He Hongliang now leads the singing and organisation.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
Male, Naxi ethnicity, born in February 1938 and deceased in August 2012, a native of Lijiang, Yunnan Province. National representative bearer of Naxi Remeicuo, a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. Keen to train successors, he took part in more than fifty training and exchange sessions in various natural villages and cultural stations, training as many as a thousand people.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
Remeicao is a Chinese-character transcription of a Naxi word. The historical evolution of the Naxi remeicao is not clearly recorded in writing; according to the comparative study of song and dance in the Lijiang area by He Shiwen and others, it is very similar to Worere, which is preserved to this day on the Ninglang side of the valley of the Jinsha River.
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 Zhenqiang | Lijiangshigucheng, Yunnan | 04-1577 | This page |
| He Hongliang | Lijiangshigucheng, Yunnan | 05-2273 | 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。