Zhao Baozhong

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Zhao Baozhong, Male, Jingpo, from Longchuan, Yunnan, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Jingpo Munaozongge (Ⅹ-11). The tradition is documented in Longchuan, Yunnan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Jingpo Munaozongge in Longchuan, Yunnan: Longchuan is the place where the Munao Zongge is preserved most completely. The making of the pillar screens, the leading routes and charts of the naoshuang (dance leaders), and the order of the rituals all follow the old rules; anyone near the dance ground can tell at a glance which team has come from the local area. It is also held in the surrounding areas of Yingjiang, Mangshi, and Ruili, while the Jingpo along the Bhamo and Myitkyina line of Kachin State, Myanmar, observe the same calendar, with the routes and drumbeats largely matching. The Munao Festival has statutory dates in this prefecture — established in 1983 after deliberation by the Standing Committee of the Dehong Prefecture People's Congress — on the 15th and 16th of the first lunar month, and all counties follow suit. According to the legend that the Munao dance originated from bird dances, a wooden rhinoceros hornbill and a peacock are carved and set at the two ends of the pillar screen. Above it hangs a horizontal plaque painted with the Himalayas, the place of origin in Jingpo legend. In 1983, after deliberation and approval by the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, the Munao Zongge was established as a statutory ethnic festival of Dehong Prefecture, held on the 15th and 16th days of the first lunar month each year.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, of Jingpo ethnicity, born in May 1959, a native of Longchuan County, Yunnan Province. He has loved the traditional culture of the Jingpo people since childhood. From 1983 he studied the Munao Zongge festival dance under the personal instruction of the senior Naoshuang leaders Yue Matong and Yue Weidong, and he has mastered the Naoshuang dance diagrams and can lead a troupe and the dancing independently. He has travelled to Myitkyina, Bhamo and other places in Myanmar to take part in Munao Zongge festivals, and has served as Naoshuang in the Chinese special programme of the Munao Zongge. In recent years he has served as Naoshuang at the Munao Zongge festival of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, frequently lecturing to the public on the fundamentals of Munao Zongge, and he plays a central role in its transmission. Within the documented technical tradition of Jingpo Munaozongge in Longchuan, Yunnan: The Munao Zongge, also called "Zongge," meaning "gathering in joy to sing and dance," is transmitted in the Jingpo-inhabited areas of the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, and is the grandest and most solemn traditional festival of the Jingpo people. The Munao Zongge dates back to the era of primitive society. The principal activity of the Munao Zongge is the Munao group dance; before the formal activities begin, four wooden pillars are erected in the center of the dance ground to worship the sun and mark the route of the dance. Knives and spears are placed beside the pillars, symbolizing the people's strength and fortitude. Tall poles of fresh green bamboo are set up in front of the pillars, signifying that life stays evergreen. With the development of the times, the Munao Festival has become a folk festival of song, dance, and entertainment with which the Jingpo people celebrate the harvest. The most representative form of expression in the Munao Festival is the Munao Zongge. It includes more than a dozen types, such as the Su Munao (inviting wealth and celebrating the harvest), the Badang Munao (celebrating victory), the Ding-shuan Munao (celebrating the completion of a new house), and the Jieru Munao (swearing in troops before an expedition). Although the dance movements that accompany the Munao Zongge are few, the rhythm of stuttering steps and swaying shoulders is vivid and unique, and is a representative movement of Jingpo dance. When a Munao Zongge is held, more than ten thousand people from within a radius of a hundred li take part, dancing together in the same ground; the atmosphere is grand and fervent, full of ethnic appeal and cohesion, and the event is an important channel for strengthening ethnic relations and enhancing ethnic unity. The Jingpo are a people living across national borders: nearly one million Jingpo live in northern Myanmar and northern India, and the Munao Zongge is held both in China and abroad. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Raising the ritual posts": Four wooden posts are raised in the centre of the dance ground, carved with hornbills and peacocks, with swords, spears and living bamboo set beside them. "Su Mu Nao for wealth and harvest": The most frequently performed form, danced for prosperity and a good harvest with the leader following the traditional route. "Badang Munao for victory": Danced to celebrate victory, with quicker steps and heavier drumming than the harvest form. "Dingshuan Munao for a new house": Danced at the completion of a new house, with offerings laid before the posts at the end.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

He is a national representative bearer of Jingpo Munaozongge, a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

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.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Zhao Baozhong · National Representative Bearer Archive