Ou Yumei

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Ou Yumei, Female, Yao, from Fuchuanyaozuzizhi, Guangxi, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Polyphonic Folk Songs (Ⅱ-30). The tradition is documented in Fuchuanyaozuzizhi, Guangxi. Within the regional tradition and school record of Polyphonic Folk Songs in Fuchuanyaozuzizhi, Guangxi: The butterfly song is sung in the local Chinese dialect known as “Wuzhou speech”, and its content is mainly love songs; because the words “hu de die” (“butterfly”) often occur among its padding characters, it is named the butterfly song. It is divided into the short butterfly song and the long butterfly song: the short one generally has four lines, the first, second and fourth of seven characters each with the last character rhyming, and the third line often expanded with padding words and phrases; the long butterfly song, also called the “song mother”, is used by folk singers to train breath, tongue and parts, and developed out of the short butterfly song, the third line of each song being lengthened at the singer's will to form a long stacked line, and it is also called the “two-flying butterfly song”. The Yao butterfly song, of long history, is the signature folk song of the Yao of Fuchuan; it took shape roughly in the Ming dynasty and circulates mainly in the Basha, Lianshan, Liujia and Gucheng townships of Fuchuan Yao autonomous county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Ou Yumei is anchored in the documented technical standards of Polyphonic Folk Songs in Fuchuanyaozuzizhi, Guangxi. Within the documented technical tradition of Polyphonic Folk Songs in Fuchuanyaozuzizhi, Guangxi: Multi-part folk song refers to folk songs whose texture and structure take a multi-part form; China's multi-part folk songs are concentrated chiefly among the dozen or so minority nationalities of the Zhuang, Dong, Bouyei, Gaoshan, Maonan, Qiang, Miao and Yi, most of them adopting the two-part form and a small number being three-part and four-part art. This song is sung in the form of a two-part duet by two men or two women in the same voice, beginning and ending together. The butterfly song is in pentatonic modes, among which the gong, zhi, shang and yu modes are common; padding words occur frequently in the vocal line, the word “de” being used above all, almost after every word, which makes the song seem warm and lively—something very rare among the folk songs of the Chinese Yao. Its harmonic intervals have the features peculiar to the music of the Fuchuan Yao, being mainly major and minor thirds but often including a long-valued major second which then resolves to the unison. There are many representative works, chiefly My Sweetheart Goes to Sea and I Go to Sea and Glad Songs of Flowing Water Greet the Guests. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "My Sweetheart Goes to Sea and I Go to Sea": One of the chief representative works of the Yao butterfly song. "Glad Songs of Flowing Water Greet the Guests": One of the chief representative works of the Yao butterfly song. "The Short Butterfly Song and the Long Butterfly Song": The short butterfly song generally has four lines; the long butterfly song, also called the “song mother”, allows the third line to be lengthened at will into a long stacked line and is also called the “two-flying butterfly song”.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Ou Yumei was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Polyphonic Folk Songs, with Fuchuanyaozuzizhi, Guangxi as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Polyphonic Folk Songs in Fuchuanyaozuzizhi, Guangxi: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Fuchuanyaozuzizhi, Guangxi as its declared area, and Fuchuan Yao Autonomous County Cultural Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

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. Ouyumei (Fuchuanyaozuzizhi, Guangxi) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Ouyumei · China ICH Official Archive