Balagencangde Stories
01 · Historical Records
The stories of Balagencang are a body of Mongol folk tales of a witty figure, the protagonist Balagencang being a witty figure shaped by the Mongol working people in long oral creation; the stories circulate widely with the Horqin grassland as their centre and are scattered throughout Inner Mongolia. Known to every household in the Mongol areas, they are one of the most representative witty-figure stories of Mongol folk literature.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The stories of Balagencang circulate widely in Inner Mongolia, especially flourishing on the Horqin grassland. Balagencang is a folk witty figure whose stories reflect in a concentrated way the sharp contradiction between the Mongol working people and the feudal rulers; through this clever and humorous idealised figure the working people give vent to their pent-up anger and rebellious feeling, satirising, mocking, exposing and lashing the brutal, stupid and money-grubbing exploiting class. The stories of Balagencang are made up of many separate short stories and are full of humour and drama. They are the crystallisation of the wisdom of the Mongol people, giving people inspiration in thought and possessing distinctive features in art, humorous in language, exquisite in structure and strongly satirical. Handed down on the Horqin grassland from generation to generation, they are a folk oral literature relished by the Mongol people. Short, pithy, witty and humorous, the stories of Balagencang are the most vital part of the folk literature of the Horqin grassland.
Outwitting the Baying
A representative story in which Balagencang outwits the feudal exploiters.
Stories Satirising the Lamas
Representative pieces of the Balagencang stories satirising the lamas.
The Cluster Current on the Horqin Grassland
The cluster of Balagencang stories centred on the Horqin grassland.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The stories of Balagencang circulate mainly in the Horqin grassland and the Tongliao area of eastern Inner Mongolia; made up of many separate yet mutually related short stories, they mostly take as their content the protagonist's outwitting of the baying, the lamas and corrupt officials, and are full of humour and drama. The stories were continually enriched in their transmission, forming a narrative style notable for wit, humour and satire.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Under the impact of modern ways of cultural transmission the orally transmitted stories of Balagencang have gradually become blurred and urgently need excavation, collation and protection. Collecting, collating and transmitting them is of great value for studying Mongol folk literature, national psychology and social history.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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