18 | Friday, August 6, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY LIFE Raising their voices

An ongoing chorus festival in Beijing gives a platform to music drawn from the rich cultures of China’s ethnic groups, Chen Nan reports.

he annual China NCPA “Being a school choir has been a started in 2009, has built a large fan August Chorus Festival is long tradition for Chinese people. base among Chinese music lovers, set to take place from We have choirs in primary schools, especially fans of choral singing. August 3 to 21 at the high school, colleges and even in This year, the festival was opened TNational Center for the Performing kindergartens. It’s a popular art by the China National Symphony Arts in Beijing. form enjoyed by people of all ages, Orchestra Chorus, which performed Kazak ethnic The highlight of this year’s festival including senior citizens, for whom under the baton of conductor Wang group musician are choruses from over 10 Chinese singing in choruses is a major form Linlin, with a repertoire including Haoxi Kelide plays ethnic groups, such as the Yi, Dong, of entertainment after retirement,” Song of Guerrillas by Chinese song- the musical Lahu and Zhuang. says Wang Luli, deputy director of writer He Luting and On the Hope- instrument dombra, Over the course of the festival, 23 the programming department of ful Field by songwriters Chen a long-necked lute choruses were scheduled to deliver the NCPA. “Chinese ethnic groups Xiaoguang and Shi Guangnan. with two strings. 13 shows at the NCPA, including are known for their versatility in On August 18 and 19, shows by photos provided to performances by 31 singers who are singing and dancing. We have many five ethnic group choruses from china daily inheritors of intangible cultural her- art forms from Chinese ethnic Southwest China will perform itage. However, due to a recent spike groups that are listed as national some of the oldest songs from their in cases of the coronavirus pandem- intangible cultural heritage items. respective cultures. Highlights will ic, as a precautionary measure, Among those valuable art forms, include a chorus, from Poya village three shows have since been can- choral singing is well-known.” in Yunnan province, who will per- celed. Wang adds that the festival, which form the Poya songbook, an ancient collection of folk songs written in hieroglyphic symbols on a piece of hand-woven cloth, and originated them are getting old and are dying. Conservatory of Music in 1987 and in the village. In 2011, the Poya Many of those folk songs have main- later obtained her master’s degree songbook was added to the list of ly been passed down as an oral tradi- as a conductor from the Central national intangible cultural heri- tion, which means that there are no Conservatory of Music in Beijing in tage. written lyrics or musical notes. It is 1998. Singers from the Dong ethnic crucial that they are put down on In 1987, the conductor founded group of Liping county, Guizhou paper, recorded on CD or in videos, the Inner Mongolia Youth Choir, province, will also bring their folk and adapted into songs, which are which is dedicated to promoting music, including the polyphonic teachable,” says Liu. “The value of folk music of the Inner Mongolia Dongzu Dage (“grand song of the those songs goes beyond music autonomous region. Besides adapt- Yi ethnic group Dong people”) choir, which was list- itself. They need to be preserved ing local folk songs into a choral musician A-tie ed as a national intangible cultural because they provide accesses to the singing style, the conductor also Shuori from heritage in 2006. origins of the cultural identity of gathers Mongolian ethnic musi- Yunnan province “When you visit the villages of those ethnic groups.” cians to display traditional Mongoli- plays the musical those Chinese ethnic groups, On August 20 and 21, veteran con- an ethnic musical instruments, such instrument yueqin. you listen to songs and ductor Wu Lingfen will perform as sihu (a four-stringed bowed watch them dance. with the China NCPA Chorus at a instrument) and morin khuur There is a saying concert featuring musical works (horse-headed fiddle). that: ‘they sing adapted from Chinese folk songs, “We travel around the region when they learn to including One Bamboo Pole is Easy looking for singers and musicians, speak and they dance to Bend, a folk song traditional to especially talented children. Since when they learn to Hunan province, Ascending a Hill to 2007, every three years we recruit walk’. It’s a natural We travel around Look at the Plain, a folk song origi- new students to our chorus to train gift,” says compos- nating from Qinghai province, and them as professional musicians,” er Liu Xiaogeng, the region looking Clouds Flying in the Still Sky, a folk says Yalungerile. who was born and for singers and song from Guangxi Zhuang autono- The other two shows that have raised in Yunnan province’s mous region. been canceled include a perform- Luquan Yi and Miao musicians, One of the canceled concerts was ance by seven ethnic group chorus- autonomous county. He especially talented to be a performance by the Inner es, that were supposed to perform graduated from Yun- Mongolia Youth Choir, which was under the baton of conductor Hu nan Arts University as a children.” set to perform traditional Mongoli- Manxue on August 10, and a per- composer in 1981 and Yalungerile, leader and an ethnic folk songs, such as Beau- formance by Gong Linna on August has traveled around the conductor of the Inner tiful Grassland — My Home, 15, who planned to perform songs country collecting, Mongolia Youth Choir Father’s Grassland and Mother’s based on Chinese poems that depict researching and adapt- River, Four Seas and the Hanggal the 24 solar terms — the traditional ing ethnic music into songs Concerto. Chinese calendar that summarizes for choral singing. So far, he “The choir sings a cappella — with different seasonal phenomena — has collected over 6,000 folk songs no conductor and no accompani- which were written by her German from ethnic groups in Southwest ment,” says the choir’s leader, con- husband, songwriter Robert Zol- China. ductor Yalungerile. A member of litsch. “It’s a pity that some of those eth- Mongolian ethnic group, she gradu- nic folk songs are disappearing ated from the department of compo- Contact the writer at because the people who can sing sition and conducting at Shanghai [email protected] Conference highlights achievements in rural child development

By Cheng Yuezhu mental work that is needed to eradi- by the village’s collective income gen- The foundation in 2007 piloted its joined in the plan. [email protected] cate the intergenerational transmis- erated from developing agriculture. nutrition improvement program in Li Bin, secretary-general of the sion of poverty,” Li said. Li’s project is among the numer- rural boarding schools of Guangxi 13th National Committee of the Chi- The Seventh International Con- When he first arrived in the vil- ous community-based early child- I came to this Zhuang autonomous region and nese People’s Political Consultative ference on Poverty Reduction and lage, most of the villagers in their hood educational programs that are Hebei province, providing nutri- Conference, gave a keynote speech Child Development took place in 20s and 30s stopped receiving edu- being carried out throughout China. village to help tional lunches in canteens for 2,000 at the conference. She remarked Beijing on July 24, hosted by China cation after primary school, and China Development Research alleviate poverty. students. that the government has been prior- Development Research Foundation because there was no kindergarten Foundation has been implementing In 2011, the national Nutrition itizing the development of children under the supervision of the Devel- nearby, the children went to prima- a series of projects with the goal to We introduced to Improvement Plan for Rural Stu- and taken effective measures to opment Research Center of the ry school without even a basic promote equitable development the village new dents in Compulsory Education was reduce poverty, enhance welfare State Council. knowledge of Mandarin, causing and support children’s growth, espe- implemented, and the foundation and guarantee the rights of chil- Themed as “investing in children obstacles to their in-class compre- cially the “left-behind” children in industries that launched the School Nutrition dren. for sustainable prosperity”, the con- hension, he said. rural areas. significantly Improvement Initiative under the China’s Vice-Minister of Educa- ference discussed issues pertaining His team opened up a children’s With the goal to provide aid “from commission of the Ministry of Edu- tion Sun Yao also said at the confer- to the sustainable development activity center that has been offering womb to job”, the foundation’s social increased the cation in 2015, which serves to mon- ence that China has built a goals of the United Nations, child preschool education to all children experiments start with prenatal income of farmers.” itor and examine the plan’s comprehensive educational aid poli- development, and the construction in the village, so that the children care, and continue through the age effectiveness. cy system which covers the entire of public services and policy systems can go to the primary school with a range of zero to 15, from ensuring Li Xiaoyun, professor at According to statistics provided span from preschool to postgraduate China Agricultural University for children. solid foundation. children’s nutrition and education, by the foundation, up to September, education, which, since 2012, has The conference was joined by The activity center also offers free to enhancing vocational education the number of students benefiting supported a total of 640 million stu- around 300 representatives from nutritional breakfasts to the chil- and preparing them for their from the plan exceeded 40 million, dents with their financial difficulties. governmental entities, academic dren, with all the expenses covered careers. and more than 145,000 schools He said China will continue to institutions and NGOs from home enhance and guarantee the long- and abroad, who shared their expe- term effectiveness of compulsory rience in supporting child educa- education, provide education and tion and development. care for children in rural areas, and Li Xiaoyun, a professor at China cooperate and exchange knowledge Agricultural University, gave a with educational experts around the speech via video call and showed to world to jointly promote children’s the audience the outlook of the once development. impoverished Hebian village in According to Shahbaz Khan, Mengla county, Yunnan province. director of UNESCO’s Beijing office, He has been leading a team and China has a gross enrollment ratio working at the village for over six of 85 percent for three-year pre- years, during which time the village school education, compared to the has successfully shaken off absolute global pre-primary gross enroll- poverty. ment ratio of 61.5 percent. “I came to this village to help alle- Khan said in his speech that as viate poverty. We introduced to the China still strives for higher goals in village new industries that signifi- early childhood education in terms cantly increased the income of farm- of both access and quality, the world ers. But these means of poverty From left: Experts from home and abroad join in a panel discussion at the Seventh International Conference on Poverty Reduction and can already learn from its great alleviation do not involve the funda- Child Development in Beijing on July 24; a children’s choir opens the conference with a song. photos provided to china daily experience.