A lifetime dedicated to recording the ancient oral tradition of the Miao ethnic group has won Wang Fenggang many accolades, but the severely disabled mans greatest reward is knowing the culture will be preserved for future generations. Li Jun reports. The majority of the ethnic Miao people live in Guizhou province, where their ancient lore called the Jia (or Jaxlil in the Miao language) has been passed down through generations. The Jia is the story of the Miao - their myths about the beginning of the world, their history, laws and customs. Like the Bible for Christians, the Jia contains all the values and beliefs of Miao. For generations, the Jia has been passed down through oral histories and storytelling, and like most oral traditions around the world, the Jia is in grave danger of dying out. In the 1950s, there were around a dozen older villagers who could hum the Jia in Dan-zhai county. But now there is only one man left, and moreover, he has no successors, says Wang Fenggang, the 69-year-old who has spent most of his life collecting stories from the Jia. Over the past 30 years, Wang has recorded hundreds of hours of Jia singing by elders from the Miao ethnic group and has documented tens of thousands of lines to preserve the endangered oral tradition.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 16:38:25 +0000
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