Leadership Insights | Illustrated Lectures:Zhuang Geyu: New Sound of Old Songs

Geyu (literally, “song fair”) of the Zhuang ethnic group is a traditionalfolk activity for the Zhuang people to communicate with friends and express emotions through singing. In 2006, it was listed among the first batch of national intangible cultural heritageitems. Its origin can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty(618-07), and this activity is prevalent in areas such as the Hongshui River, Zuojiang River, and Youjiang River basins in GuangxiZhuang Autonomous Region, and Wenshan in YunnanProvince. It is typically held on festive occasions in spring and autumn. 

Geyu centers on impromptu duo singing, where participants convey emotions and ideas through folk songs, covering themes such as agricultural life, historical legends, and romantic relationships. Geyu is not only a crystallization of the poetic wisdom of the Zhuang people but also plays a role in preserving ethnic memories and promoting social education. This activity is often accompanied by folk customs such as tossing embroidered balls or knocking colored eggs, with the legend of “Liu Sanjie” adding a romantic touch. This singing tradition, passed down through mouth-of-word from generation to generation, maintains the linguistic and cultural heritage of the Zhuang people and serves as acrucial bond for community cohesion.

In recent years, Geyu has been revitalized through the March 3rd Festival, campus heritage inheritance bases, culture-tourism integration, and other initiatives. The government has established Geyu cultural ecosystem protection zones, implemented a recognition system for inheritors, and promoted the organic integration of traditional Geyu venues with modern festivals, allowing the millennia-old singing tradition to continue thriving in contemporary society. As amajor testament to the diversity of Chinese culture, the protection of Geyu exemplifies the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage.

The time-honored Geyu of the Zhuang ethnic group has achieved remarkable results over time. Nowadays, Geyu has no longer been limited to traditional festivals; it is also frequently showcased in daily cultural and tourism activities, attracting numerous tourists to participate and boosting the development of local cultural tourism.

We need to deeply explore, inherit, and innovate outstanding traditional local rural cultures. We should properly combine protection and inheritance with development and utilization, integrate the excellent heritage of our agricultural civilization with elements of modern civilization, endow it with new contemporary significance, ensure that the outstanding traditional Chinese culture continues to thrive, and allow our age-old agricultural civilization to demonstrate its charm and elegance in the new era.

監製:蔚力

策劃:丁素雲

文案:楊俊康