Famous Lute Ballads of the Dong Ethnics in China 琵琶歌

The Pipa Ge or lute ballad(琵琶歌pípágē), one of the kind of folk songs of Dong minority(侗族Dòngzú) in Chine that has been passed down from generation to generation, was listed in the directory of China's intangible cultural heritages in Year 2006.

Pipa Ge is prevailing in the region wher the southern dialect of Dong is widely spoken. It falls into two major categories: the lyrical and the narrative, the content of which covers a wide range of fields, including Dong's history, mythology, marriage, love affairs, customs, and social communications. Pipa Ge is diversified in singing forms and contents. Some may sing the song with falsetto, and some others true voice. In most areas, it is a male singer who accompanies himself with the lute or a female singer who is accompanied by a male player; while in some other areas both male and female can accompany him or herself with the lute. Pipa Ge is played in two occasions. When they fall in love, the youths play the lute and sing the lyrical songs, which are usually short and impromptu, generally accompanied by small lutes. The tunes are mild and pleasing. Another situation is that the professional singers play and sing in public in the drum tower or in the family which is celebrating a happy event. Accompanied by large or medium-sized lutes, the narrative songs or other instructive or bitter songs with long lyrics touch people's mind with deep, soft and mellow melodies. Lyric of Pipa Ge is of literary and scientific importance. It represents the highest level of Dong people's poetry achievement, and provides important materials for anthropology(the scientific study of people, society, and culture), ethnonymics and folklore(the traditional stories, customs, and habits of a particular community or nation).