Mengmanrong

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Mengmanrong, Male, Daur, from Molidawadawoerzuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Daur Folk Songs (Ⅱ-108). The tradition is documented in Molidawadawoerzuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia. Within the regional tradition and school record of Daur Folk Songs in Molidawadawoerzuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia: Zhandala is the principal form of Daur folk song, circulating mainly in Nierji town, Tengke town, Arla town and elsewhere in Morin Dawa Daur autonomous banner of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Zhandala arose in a very distant age; historical records state that people at work, facing nature, were deeply moved by it and sang moving melodies to express their feelings, relieve their fatigue and raise their spirits, and thus zhandala was formed. It is sung either as solo or in antiphonal duet, the question-and-answer form of matched singing being the more frequent. Daur means “those who open up new land”; the Daur people live mainly in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Heilongjiang province, with a few in Tacheng city of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Their ancestors long lived north of the Heilongjiang river, and in the mid-seventeenth century moved south to the Nen River basin; zhandala took shape gradually in the course of this migration and settlement, becoming the principal singing form in which the Daur recount historical events and express the joys and sorrows of parting and reunion.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Mengmanrong is anchored in the documented technical standards of Daur Folk Songs in Molidawadawoerzuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia. Within the documented technical tradition of Daur Folk Songs in Molidawadawoerzuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia: Daur means “those who open up new land”; the Daur people live mainly in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Heilongjiang province, with a few in Tacheng city of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Daur folk music takes such forms as mountain songs, mouth-to-mouth antiphonal singing and dance lyrics, and is distinguished by warm and unrestrained melody, by turns that are roundabout and varied, and by marked rhythm and strict metre. Zhandala is the principal form of Daur folk song, circulating mainly in Nierji town, Tengke town, Arla town and elsewhere in Morin Dawa Daur autonomous banner of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Zhandala arose in a very distant age; historical records state that people at work, facing nature, were deeply moved by it and sang moving melodies to express their feelings, relieve their fatigue and raise their spirits, and thus zhandala was formed. Zhandala most often expresses historical events, the conditions of production and daily life, the deeds of national heroes and love stories of parting and reunion; it falls into two large classes, the lyrical and the narrative, and includes such forms as pastoral songs, hunting songs, fishing songs, toasts, love songs, wedding songs, raft-release songs and lullabies. It is sung either as solo or in antiphonal duet, the question-and-answer form of matched singing being the more frequent. Zhandala is of two kinds, with words and without; those with words, such as Xin Shang Ren and De Mo Ri Gen, have rich melodies and varied structures, and the lines are interspersed with the auxiliary syllables “na-ye, ne-ye”; those without words are mostly prompted by what the eye beholds and are sung impromptu, and their lines generally carry only the auxiliary syllables “na-ye, ne-ye”. Zhandala has beautiful high melodies and is strongly improvisatory; representative works include Xin Shang Ren, De Mo Ri Gen, Wu Qi Gen Wu Yin and Gu Er Ku. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Xin Shang Ren": Zhandala has beautiful high melodies and is strongly improvisatory; representative works include Xin Shang Ren, De Mo Ri Gen, Wu Qi Gen Wu Yin and Gu Er Ku. "De Mo Ri Gen": Zhandala has beautiful high melodies and is strongly improvisatory; representative works include Xin Shang Ren, De Mo Ri Gen, Wu Qi Gen Wu Yin and Gu Er Ku. "Wu Qi Gen Wu Yin": Zhandala has beautiful high melodies and is strongly improvisatory; representative works include Xin Shang Ren, De Mo Ri Gen, Wu Qi Gen Wu Yin and Gu Er Ku. "Gu Er Ku": Zhandala has beautiful high melodies and is strongly improvisatory; representative works include Xin Shang Ren, De Mo Ri Gen, Wu Qi Gen Wu Yin and Gu Er Ku.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Mengmanrong was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Daur Folk Songs, with Molidawadawoerzuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Daur Folk Songs in Molidawadawoerzuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Molidawadawoerzuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia as its declared area, and Molidawa Daur Autonomous Banner Cultural Center (Molidawa Daur Autonomous Banner Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding 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. Mengmanrong (Molidawadawoerzuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Mengmanrong · China ICH Official Archive