Mao Chengxiang
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Mao Chengxiang, Male, Gelao, from Tongrenshishiqian, Guizhou, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Gelao Folk Songs (Ⅱ-176). The tradition is documented in Tongrenshishiqian, Guizhou. Within the regional tradition and school record of Gelao Folk Songs in Tongrenshishiqian, Guizhou: Gelao folk songs are a form of folk art distilled by the Gelao people through long social practice, distributed mainly in Huaqiao Town, Pingdichang Township, Qingyang Township, Wude Town, Jufeng Township, Longjing Township, Longtang Town and Baisha Town of Shiqian County, Tongren City, Guizhou Province. The Gelao are an ethnic group indigenous to Guizhou, and their population accounts for one third of the local total population. Shiqian Gelao folk songs are a vivid testimony to the course of Gelao social development and to local folk customs, containing cultural information on many aspects and embodying the Gelao people's beautiful longing for labour, life and love, giving them high social, cultural and aesthetic value. The Gelao are an ethnic group indigenous to Guizhou, and Shiqian County is one of their important settlements. Local Gelao folk songs originated in mountain farming and fishing and hunting life, and as migrants and traders came and went they continually absorbed musical elements from the neighbouring Han, Miao and Tujia peoples, gradually forming a system of tunes centred on the zhi mode and a lyric format of four lines of seven characters.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Mao Chengxiang is anchored in the documented technical standards of Gelao Folk Songs in Tongrenshishiqian, Guizhou. Within the documented technical tradition of Gelao Folk Songs in Tongrenshishiqian, Guizhou: Shiqian lies deep in the mountainous hinterland of northeastern Guizhou, where 19 ethnic minorities including the Gelao, Miao, Dong and Tujia live. Gelao folk songs take courtship and love as their main subject, and their varied melodic styles record the social development, religious beliefs, folk customs, production and life, ethnic feeling and military warfare of the Gelao people. They fall mainly into lyrical types (including love songs and daily-life songs), narrative types (including songs on current affairs and ceremonial songs) and work-chant types (including playful songs, stonecutters' chants and boatmen's chants). Love songs are collectively called "mountain songs" in the county, represented by "Qingjie Xihe Xiyishang". They are mostly sung in the mountains and fields, and reflect the courtship life of Gelao youth. Daily-life songs are represented by "Wanglang Ge", are often skilful in the manner of folk tunes, are humorous and witty, and have an extremely rich and varied repertoire of melodic styles. Narrative folk songs generally alternate between singing and recitation. Songs on current affairs reflect the political, military and economic activities of a particular era. Ceremonial songs include filial songs, crying-marriage songs, wine songs and children's songs. Filial songs have circulated among the people for a very long time, and works such as "Yusang Ge" are still handed down today. Crying-marriage songs were a form of daughter's farewell song popular in former times, in which a crying vocal style is accompanied by several passages of weeping words. Wine songs are ceremonial songs used by the people to entertain guests and add to the festive mood. Children's songs generally go with simple gestures, as in "Shishen Ge". Playful songs among the work-chant types follow the special singing form of "haocao luogu". Stonecutters' chants are usually sung while levering up large stones, and boatmen's chants are shouted while hauling boats on the waterways. These folk songs are all closely related to production and life, and enjoy a broad popular base. Gelao folk songs are mainly in the pentatonic zhi mode, with six-tone and seven-tone modes also occurring, and make frequent use of modulation within the same gong system. Their lyrics are mainly four lines of seven characters, and the language is concise. Singing forms include solo, antiphonal singing by men and women, and group singing, expressing the rich emotions of the Gelao people. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Love songs": Love songs are collectively called "mountain songs" in the county, represented by "Qingjie Xihe Xiyishang". They are mostly sung in the mountains and fields, and reflect the courtship life of Gelao youth. "Life songs": Daily-life songs are represented by "Wanglang Ge", are often skilful in the manner of folk tunes, are humorous and witty, and have an extremely rich and varied repertoire of melodic styles. "Ceremonial songs": Ceremonial songs include filial songs, crying-marriage songs, wine songs and children's songs. Filial songs have circulated among the people for a very long time, and works such as "Yusang Ge" are still handed down today. Crying-marriage songs were a form of daughter's farewell song popular in former times, in which a crying vocal style is accompanied by several passages of weeping words. Wine songs are ceremonial songs used by the people to entertain guests and add to the festive mood. Children's songs generally go with simple gestures, as in "Shishen Ge". "Weeding-drum songs": The playful songs among the work-chant types follow the special singing form of "haocao luogu".
Love songs
Love songs are collectively called "mountain songs" in the county, represented by "Qingjie Xihe Xiyishang". They are mostly sung in the mountains and fields, and reflect the courtship life of Gelao youth.
Life songs
Daily-life songs are represented by "Wanglang Ge", are often skilful in the manner of folk tunes, are humorous and witty, and have an extremely rich and varied repertoire of melodic styles.
Ceremonial songs
Ceremonial songs include filial songs, crying-marriage songs, wine songs and children's songs. Filial songs have circulated among the people for a very long time, and works such as "Yusang Ge" are still handed down today. Crying-marriage songs were a form of daughter's farewell song popular in former times, in which a crying vocal style is accompanied by several passages of weeping words. Wine songs are ceremonial songs used by the people to entertain guests and add to the festive mood. Children's songs generally go with simple gestures, as in "Shishen Ge".
Weeding-drum songs
The playful songs among the work-chant types follow the special singing form of "haocao luogu".
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Mao Chengxiang was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Gelao Folk Songs, with Tongrenshishiqian, Guizhou as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Gelao Folk Songs in Tongrenshishiqian, Guizhou: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Tongrenshishiqian, Guizhou as its declared area, and Shiqian 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
Historical origin
The Gelao are an ethnic group indigenous to Guizhou, and Shiqian County is one of their important settlements. Local Gelao folk songs originated in mountain farming and fishing and hunting life, and as migrants and traders came and went they continually absorbed musical elements from the neighbouring Han, Miao and Tujia peoples, gradually forming a system of tunes centred on the zhi mode and a lyric format of four lines of seven characters.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mao Chengxiang | Tongrenshishiqian, Guizhou | — | 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。