Zhulangniangmei
01 · Historical Records
The Dong folk story Zhulang Niangmei originated in Guzhou, present-day Rongjiang county in Guizhou, and later spread to the Dong areas of Liping and Congjiang counties in Guizhou, then to the Dong-concentrated counties of Sanjiang, Longsheng and Rongshui in Guangxi and Tongdao in Hunan; it was adapted into Dong narrative-singing and Dong opera and made into a stage art film of the same name shown throughout the country. Handed down from generation to generation in the Dong areas and continually enriched with the development of Dong narrative-singing and opera, it has become one of the most representative works of Dong folk literature.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Dong folk story Zhulang Niangmei originated in Guzhou, present-day Rongjiang county in Guizhou, and later spread to the Dong areas of Liping and Congjiang counties in Guizhou, then to the Dong-concentrated counties of Sanjiang, Longsheng and Rongshui in Guangxi and Tongdao in Hunan. The story tells the moving love of the honest and simple handsome youth Zhulang and the deft and beautiful girl Niangmei. With Dong social life as its background, it displays the love pursuit of Dong youth and their spirit of resisting oppression, and was adapted into Dong narrative-singing and Dong opera and made into a stage art film of the same name. Zhulang Niangmei circulates in the Dong areas in the forms of Dong opera and narrative-singing and is a classic of Dong oral literature.
The Dong Narrative-Singing Zhulang Niangmei
A Dong narrative-singing work adapted from the legend.
The Dong Opera Zhulang Niangmei
A Dong opera adapted from the legend and widely staged in Dong villages.
The Tragic Love Ending
The tragic love ending of Zhulang Niangmei that accuses the dark forces of the old society.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Zhulang Niangmei has the Dong areas of Rongjiang and Congjiang counties in Guizhou as its core area of circulation and spread to the Dong-concentrated counties of Guangxi and Hunan; transmitted in the Dong language and in the forms of Dong opera and narrative-singing, it is known to every household in the Dong villages. The story took various versions in its transmission, the various places each distinctive in plot detail and singing style.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Zhulangniangmei.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Dong folk story Zhulang Niangmei is the crystallisation of the collective wisdom of the Dong people and permeates many forms of Dong literary and artistic works, becoming a representative of the traditional folk art of the Dong and exercising a great edifying influence on later generations of the Dong; it has important research value in ethnology, folklore, linguistics, ethics, aesthetics and inter-ethnic cultural and artistic exchange. With its tragic love ending it accuses the dark forces of the old society and lodges the people's yearning for free marriage and love.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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