|

According to the Dong people in southwestern China, "The Han people, having
their own autography, pass down books, while the Dong people, without an
autography, pass down songs from generation to generation. Rice is food for the
body, and song is food for the soul." The Dong people have never had an
autography of its own, and did not have a writing system until 1958. Before that
the Dong Culture, the history and stories were all recorded and handed down by
means of songs. For this reason, the Dong culture, though having experienced ups
and downs in history, has been well preserved and is gradually drawing attention
from the world.

One of the ethnic minority groups of China, the Dong people are said to be
the descendants of the ancient Guyue people, with a history of 2500 years.
Mainly distributed in Guizhou, Hunan, Guangxi,
and Hubei
provinces, the Dong group has a population of 2.6 million, the majority of
which is engaged in agriculture and forestry. Honest and simple, the Dong people
are rich in creativity, as a folk saying goes, "The Dong culture has three
treasures: drum
tower, grand songs, and bridal sedan
chair ." Among these treasures, the grand songs
are a kind of folk music special to the Dong group.
|