Li Laweng

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Li Laweng, Male, Deang, from Dehongdaizujingpozuzizhi, Yunnan, is a third-batch national representative bearer of Dagudalenggelaibiao (Ⅰ-65). The tradition is documented in Dehongdaizujingpozuzizhi, Yunnan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Dagudalenggelaibiao in Dehongdaizujingpozuzizhi, Yunnan: The Dagudalenggelaibiao is a creation myth epic of the De'ang people, current in the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in western Yunnan, the Lujiangba township of Longyang district in Baoshan city and Zhenkang, Gengma, Yongde and Shuangjiang counties in Lincang in the south-west, and in the Shan and Wa regions of Burma. The Dagudalenggelaibiao is a creation myth epic of the De'ang people, the natural product of the plant worship of the tea god among the De'ang forebears, and is called a collectively created tribal story. The original Dai-language manuscript is about two thousand lines long, consisting of six parts: the opening song, the tea god descending to earth and giving birth to mankind, the struggle of light and darkness, victory over the flood and evil forces, the origin of the hundred flowers and fruits and the origin of the waist-hoop, and the birth of the ancestors and the multiplication of the various peoples. It mainly tells of the birth and development of the De'ang people and their hard history of tenacious struggle with nature, revealing the De'ang's ancient tea culture and the historical origin of their title of ancient tea-growers. After about the fourteenth century De'ang artists borrowed the Dai script to collate and record it, so that this ancient epic could be transmitted in both Dai manuscript and oral forms.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

A reciter of the myth of Dagudalenggelaibiao. From childhood he was passionately fond of the folk literature and poetry of the De'ang people. In 1948 he became a disciple of Li Xiaolao, a Buddhist master of his own village, and studied Dai script, Buddhist scriptures and folk literature, gaining a thorough command of Dagudalenggelaibiao, the creation myth and epic of the De'ang people. He inherited the recitative art handed down by performers of earlier generations, and moreover integrated recitation organically with the playing of traditional instruments, creating a performance form that has been warmly received. In 1979 he was invited to attend the national symposium of minority folk singers and folk poets held in Beijing by the State Nationalities Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Culture and the China Society for the Study of Folk Literature and Art, where he was received by national leaders. Within the documented technical tradition of Dagudalenggelaibiao in Dehongdaizujingpozuzizhi, Yunnan: The Dagudalenggelaibiao is the natural product of the plant worship of the tea god among the De'ang forebears and is a collectively created tribal story. The original Dai manuscript is about two thousand lines long and consists of six parts. The epic mainly tells of the birth and development of the De'ang people and their hard history of tenacious struggle with nature, revealing the De'ang's ancient tea culture and the historical origin of their title of ancient tea-growers. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The Opening Song": One of the six parts of the Dagudalenggelaibiao. "The Tea God Descends and Man Is Born": One of the six parts of the Dagudalenggelaibiao. "The Struggle of Light and Darkness": One of the six parts of the Dagudalenggelaibiao. "The Origin of the Hundred Flowers and Fruits and of the Waist-Hoop": One of the six parts of the Dagudalenggelaibiao.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Male, De'ang ethnicity, born in December 1928, died in March 2017, a native of Mangshi, Yunnan Province. A national representative bearer of Dagudalenggelaibiao, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. Keenly aware of the importance of transmitting ethnic culture, he trained two successors, Yang Lasuo and Li Tunwang, and also passed on his skills to those who came to him for instruction, promoting and presenting De'ang culture.

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. Li Laweng · National Representative Bearer Archive