The Naxi of Yunnan - The Magi and the Musician

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Summary

When Mao-Dzedong took power, Xuan Ke was already a famous philharmonic orchestra conductor. When he was freed after 21 years in prison, his love for all types of music was unscathed. From that mome...

When Mao-Dzedong took power, Xuan Ke was already a famous philharmonic orchestra conductor. When he was freed after 21 years in prison, his love for all types of music was unscathed. From that moment, Xuan Ke was determined to assemble an orchestra of ancient Dongling music and include in his orchestra the musicians who had managed to save their old musical instruments during the Cultural Revolution. Xuan Ke also works to re-create very old musical tunes that were part of old prayer books, teaching the dogmas of an almost forgotten cult: the Dongha. The Dongha books are written in pictograms. Naxi pictograms are unique and older than Chinese writing itself. From time to time, Xuan Ke visits old Dongha priests to work with them on documents. As long as both of them remain alive, there is hope that Naxi tradition will survive.

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