From wild songs to intangible cultural heritage: the heritagization of Hua’er in China

Abstract

This study examines the impact of the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) system and policies on a grassroots folksong tradition in Northwestern China called hua'er, which was named as an element of Chinese ICH in 2006 and as an element of UNESCO World ICH in 2009. Hua’er is a unique case study in that it was, historically, forbidden and regarded as highly shameful or even taboo to be sung in public due to its explicitly erotic lyrics. The designation of hua’er as an element of ICH thus transformed it from a taboo or “forbidden” song genre, practiced at the margins of rural society, into a respectable element of world and national heritage. Despite that the ICH process at the national level tends to be a top-down project for the construction of national identity, in which the main goal of ICH recognition and protection is to strengthen a clear Chinese identity and a harmonious society, during my field research on hua’er I discovered that singers, scholars and officials have nonetheless used the opportunities afforded by recognition as ICH to negotiate and reimagine the practice of hua’er and its associated identities. In doing so, singers overcome the social stigmas they have faced in the past. Once seen only as “wild songs” sung by unruly individuals, hua’er is now being reconstructed as a romantic courtship song genre of “naive” ethnic minority groups as well as an iconic music genre that represents ethnic solidarity in the Northwestern region.