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E-mail Xinhua, August 29, 2024
For thousands of years, folk songs have been a social affair for Chinese people, especially those in ethnic areas. In the era of social media, instead of fading out, however, this tradition is working up to a crescendo and resonating with new audiences.
A woman sings a folk song via livestreaming in Liuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 25, 2024. (Xinhua/Yin Dongxun)
Yufeng Park in Liuzhou, a city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an important stage for singing parties and socializing. Residents can be heard singing folk songs in almost every corner of the park.
According to folklore, the park is where Liu Sanjie, the legendary ethnic Zhuang singer, used her songs to teach farming skills, help young people find love, and promote family values. A movie adaption of her story is well-known in China.
The park is also the birthplace of Liuzhou folk song, which has been listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Guangxi, home to a large Zhuang population. The Zhuang are China's second-largest ethnic group after Han.
Nowadays, "tripod + mobile phone" is a common sight in the park as local singers hold live webcasts. The social media frenzy is helping traditional ethnic folk songs fly out of the remote mountains to attract fans in China and beyond.
"We used to arrange a folk song party via QQ and WeChat (both instant messaging apps). Now, we can quickly find people by shouting 'come and sing' in the live-broadcast room," said 48-year-old Lei Yingshi.
In front of their phone camera set up, Lei and his pals belted out a new folk song about the beauty of the local Yufeng Hill, and how local folk songs spread out of Guangxi via internet.
"I watched elderly people sing while doing farm work when I was a child. In 2009, I began to learn from singers in the park. I found singing to be very relaxing, right from the get-go, and the more I sing, the more I feel the songs' history and stories," he said.
Lei is now a "representative inheritor" of Liuzhou folk songs. He often visits different villages to collect folk song material from villagers.
"Folk songs come from daily life," Lei said. Social changes and the evolution of communication methods are reflected in the changes to the music.
"In the past, it was the elderly who loved to sing folk songs, but now, with the popularity of live webcasts, more young people come to know and appreciate the beauty of the songs," the singer said. "Love ballads used to be more popular, but now the lyrics also incorporate explanations of national policies, anti-fraud publicity and science."
Two years ago, he joined the world of live webcast and began to teach folk songs to those who wish to learn the art.
Wei Lili, an ethnic Miao, is a student of Lei. In the circle of folk song enthusiasts, she is better known as "Shan San Mei" and has millions of fans.
"I grew up watching Liu Sanjie's movies. A few years ago, I started lip-syncing her songs. As my fan base grew, I wanted to learn authentic folk songs, combine folk song elements with pop songs, and better spread folk songs through live broadcasts and short videos."
