(Li Naluo's original ecological song "Really Can't Bear to Part", a song that strikes directly at the softest part of the human heart, moved tourists deeply.)
(Lancang tea production has a history of over a thousand years.)
Yunnan's Lancang is named after the Lancang River. Located at the convergence of Xishuangbanna, Lincang, and Pu'er prefectures, it borders Myanmar. Lancang is the only Lahu Autonomous County in China, the place where the movie "Song of the Lusheng" was filmed and its interlude "Marriage Vow" was sung, the site of the world's oldest, largest, and best-preserved ten-thousand-mu ancient tea garden, and the inheritance base for the national intangible cultural heritage – the Lahu creation epic "Mupa Mipa". Recently, reporters came here, using their eyes and ears to experience the familiar yet mysterious Lancang.
The Place Where "Song of the Lusheng" Was Sung
"The love between brother and sister is long, like flowing water sounding day and night; even flowing water has an end, but brother is always by my side. The love between brother and sister is deep, like a banana plant sharing one root; brother is like the banana leaf, sister is the banana heart..."
In the 1950s, the novel "Song of the Lusheng", created by Peng Jingfeng, a cultural instructor of the 5th Company, 2nd Battalion, 115th Regiment of the PLA, used the love story of the Lahu youths Zhatuo and Naluo as the main line, telling the story of ethnic minorities in the border areas struggling against the reactionaries under the leadership of the Communist Party. From December 1956 to early 1957, the Changchun Film Studio crew came to Lancang to shoot outdoor scenes for the movie "Song of the Lusheng". The famous film music composer Lei Zhenbang went to Tangsheng Village, Menglang Town, Mengbin Village, and Yunpan Village, Fazhanhe Township to collect folk songs. Afterwards, Lei Zhenbang created the interlude "Marriage Vow" for the movie. The song vividly sang out the myriad charms of the Lahu people and eloquently expressed their yearning and pursuit for a happy life. Since then, "Marriage Vow" has been sung endlessly across the country, becoming a famous and excellent piece, and also letting people know about Lancang.
Inheritance Base of the Creation Epic "Mupa Mipa"
The term "Lahu" – "La" means tiger, and "Hu" means to roast meat until fragrant. Therefore, the Lahu people have historically been called "the tiger-hunting people". The Lahu people originated from the ancient Qiang people in the Gansu and Qinghai regions. Historically, a branch of the ancient Qiang people migrated south, entered Yunnan, and settled in Lancang. Lancang is the center of Lahu culture in the world. Lancang gathers one-third of the world's and half of China's Lahu population, making it the only Lahu Autonomous County in China.
The Lahu people have lived and multiplied for generations in Lancang, nurturing a brilliant Lahu culture. "Mupa Mipa" (Lahu pronunciation for "Creating Heaven and Earth"), the entire poem consists of 17 chapters and 2300 lines, narrating the creation of heaven, earth, sun, moon, all things, and humans, as well as the initial living conditions of humanity. It is a masterpiece of oral literature passed down by the Lahu people to recount their history. "Mupa Mipa" is like a song flowing in the hearts of the Lahu people, continuously narrating the history of their creation. Today, "Mupa Mipa" has been included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection List.
Thousand-Year-Old Ten-Thousand-Mu Ancient Tea Garden
Lancang is one of the origins of the tea tree and the hometown of Pu'er tea. Its tea culture is long and brilliant. Within its territory, there is the Jingmai Mangjing ten-thousand-mu cultivated ancient tea garden with a planting history of over 1300 years and the Bangwei thousand-year-old transitional type big tea king tree. The Jingmai Mangjing thousand-year-old ten-thousand-mu ancient tea garden is the largest domestic ancient cultivated tea garden with a long planting history and relatively complete preservation discovered so far. It is called the "World Tea Tree Museum" and "Living Fossil of Tea Tree Species" by scholars at home and abroad.
Today, tea production in Lancang has become a pillar industry locally. The tea area reaches 360,000 mu, of which the ancient tea area is 28,000 mu. 280,000 people from 68,000 households are engaged in tea planting and production, with an average household tea income of 5,412 yuan. When reporters went to collect stories in the ancient villages of the Lahu, Dai, and Blang ethnic groups on Jingmai Mountain, they saw茶园 (tea gardens) after茶园 shaded under the primary forest. Tea farmers in the villages set up tea sets at their doorsteps, warmly inviting guests to taste the spring tea they made.
Folk Songs Are Like Tea Leaves Covering the Mountain Slopes
"Can sing as soon as they can talk, can dance as soon as they can walk." On this mysterious land of Lancang, more than twenty ethnic groups live, using their diligence and wisdom to演绎出 (perform/display) a多元绚烂 (multifaceted and brilliant) ethnic flower. The Lahu's "Lusheng Dance", the Wa's "Wooden Drum Dance", the Aini's "Bamboo Tube Dance", the Dai's "Peacock Dance", the Yi's "Three-Step Dance", the Blang's "Tea Song", and the Jingpo's "Munao Zongge" mostly use original ecological simplicity to sing about the harmony of all things and true human feelings, forming a grand chorus of ethnic harmony and integration.
In recent years, Lancang has built itself into a "Famous County of Lahu Culture", continuously promoting and developing Lahu culture, ushering in a spring where a hundred flowers bloom vying for beauty. Lahu girl Li Naluo established the "Yae Art Troupe" in the village. They work in the fields during the day and take time out in the evening to teach members to play guitar, sing, and dance, enabling over 100 people to be skilled in singing and dancing. In 2008, Li Naluo was rated as one of Pu'er City's "Ten Outstanding Youths". In 2011, the "Yae Art Troupe" participated in CCTV's "Dream Chorus" and won first prize. In 2012, Li Naluo was elected as a delegate to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. In recent years, a number of original ecological songs and dances such as "Lusheng Dance", "Happy Lahu", and "Really Can't Bear to Part" have frequently gone to Beijing, appearing on CCTV and the National Centre for the Performing Arts, letting more people know about and understand Lancang.
Although the reporter's time in Lancang was short, the impression of Lancang was very profound. On the road leaving by car, Li Naluo's moving singing echoed in the mind:
"The tunes I can sing are as many as the trees in the mountain forest, but I just don't have a song of parting. The words I want to say are like tea leaves covering the mountain slopes, but I just won't speak of parting. The scenery you haven't seen is as many as the mountain flowers, and there are still so many rivers of longing. The affection you left is like the fire pond burning, and there's still so much wine we haven't drunk. The worst thing is having to part, as sad as can be. The most desired thing is for you to come again, as happy as can be. Can't bear to part, oh, can't bear to part, I really can't bear to part."