"A flickering hearth fire glows red, smoke stains layer the beams. The firelight shines on the long skirt's sway, shines until mother's eyes turn red..." Recently, a song titled "Munao Zongge," with its lively rhythm, powerful melody, and touching lyrics, has exploded in popularity online. Currently, views related to this song on the Douyin platform alone have surpassed 2 billion. While netizens exclaim it's "hypnotic" and "utterly captivating," they are also eagerly inquiring about the song's origin and the identity of its lyricist and composer.
The term "Munao Zongge" actually refers to the most grand traditional festival of the Jingpo people, who live in the southwestern border region of China. In 2006, it was included in the first batch of China's National Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province organizes a grand Munao Zongge festival. At that time, Jingpo people living there gather with brotherly ethnic groups like the Dai and Achang, along with tourists from all over, to sing and dance joyfully. The "Munao Zongge March," created in 1991 by Jingpo artist Shi Legan, plays throughout the event. This piece, with its solemn, powerful melody and strong, rhythmic beat, is the original source of the melody for the currently viral "Munao Zongge" song.
The producer of the viral "Munao Zongge," known online as "Banxia Shuiyu," is really named Zhen Zhen, a Hui ethnic "post-80s" man living and working in Beijing. Zhen Zhen had never been to Dehong. In 2025, this musician saw videos online about the Munao Zongge festival. "At that time, I was captivated by the scene of thousands dancing and singing together in a prosperous era, and even more infected by the lively rhythm and beautiful melody of the music." One day in February of this year, Zhen Zhen was suddenly overcome by an "irrepressible" creative passion. Using AI tools, he spent just three weeks writing lyrics for the "Munao Zongge March," adding variations and electronic music elements suited for contemporary dissemination, and finally synthesizing a human-like vocal performance.
However, the initial adaptation was not ideal. Zhen Zhen then immersed himself in the history and culture of the Jingpo people. "The more I learned, the deeper I fell into it. I was deeply moved by the stories of patriotism and love for home among the ethnic groups on that land." Historically, the Jingpo people wielded spears and knives in heroic struggles to defend the nation's sacred territory. In 1898, during the Sino-British demarcation of the border in Longchuan, Dehong, Jingpo people argued on just grounds and fought courageously, thwarting British ambitions to encroach on Chinese border territory; in 1910, when over 2,000 British troops invaded the border, the Jingpo people resisted strongly, eventually forcing Britain to承认 Pianma, Gulang, and Gangfang as Chinese territory; during the War of Resistance against Japan, Jingpo people actively joined guerrilla forces to resist the Japanese army that had invaded western Yunnan. Speaking of the Jingpo people's patriotic sentiment, Zhen Zhen recounted it in great detail.
Once the "Munao Zongge" video was released, netizens from all corners of the country and beyond flooded the comments. They were surprised and enthralled by a feast of song and dance with distinctive charm: it begins with powerful, soul-stirring drumbeats, accompanied by visuals of a grand scene with thousands dancing in unison. When the AI-generated singing voice rises, the "male voice" is deep and steady, inherently epic; the "female voice" is ethereal and soaring, with great penetrating power. The interplay between the strong and the soft, the call and response, instantly stirs the blood. A careful appreciation of lyrics mentioning the "hearth," "Gaoligong Mountains," "Tea Horse Road," "mang luo gongs," and "silver studs" reveals that each image is a microcosm of Jingpo history and life. The three verses, cycling repetitively, convey the hardships of the Jingpo ancestors' migration, the warmth of the hearth, and the strength of unity among all ethnic groups.
"Although it lacks the support of top influencers or capital promotion, this song, dance, and related videos have spread across the entire internet amidst a wave of collective effort where everyone contributes and creates," Dong Jianbin, head of the Dehong Prefecture Jingpo Ethnic Culture Troupe, stated. "As the copyright holder of the 'Munao Zongge March,' we have always maintained an open and inclusive attitude." The viral "Munao Zongge," while retaining the original melody, possesses greater contemporary appeal for music dissemination. It effectively communicates to the outside world the recognition, shared by the ethnic groups of Dehong including the Jingpo, of the consciousness of the Chinese national community, as well as their heroic spirit in creating a new and better life.
Dong Jianbin indicated that the current popularity of "Munao Zongge" shows no signs of waning and has the potential to spark a wider prairie fire. For some sober reflection, one key takeaway is that good works must grow from the soil and be welcomed by the common people!
Now, the massive attention has also brought the retired composer Shi Legan, now in his seventies, back into the public eye. This artist, born in 1955 in a Jingpo mountain village in Qingping Township, Longchuan County, Dehong, who loved learning and passing on ancient Jingpo songs and music from childhood, has had his growth and creative experiences shared by netizens through articles and short videos. When he learned that "Banxia Shuiyu" Zhen Zhen might visit Dehong on May 1st and potentially meet him, Shi Legan was very happy.
"AI is continuously expanding the boundaries of artistic expression, realizing various possibilities for the integration and mutual enhancement of multiple art forms," remarked Shi Legan. Although not very familiar with AI technology, while acknowledging its capabilities, he also cautioned, "Human emotional expression and intellectual creation will always be the soul of art."
Gao Xuehong, a music expert from the Yunnan Arts University, pointed out that in recent years, the application of artificial intelligence in the cultural and artistic fields has been constantly breaking boundaries. From literary creation to visual arts, from music arrangement to film production, AI is gradually transforming from an "auxiliary tool" for artistic creation into a "collaborative partner" for creators, opening new dimensions for the development of new mass culture. Amidst this prosperity, artistic creation in the AI era also faces many practical challenges, such as homogenization of works, ambiguity in copyright ownership, and frequent instances of infringement. Some works lack ideological depth, emotional warmth, and artistic individuality. There is an urgent need to clarify the boundaries between AI-assisted creation and original creation, fully respect originality, and prevent copyright infringement issues at the source.
Gao Xuehong believes that "in the wave of new mass culture, characterized by public participation, empowerment by new technologies like AI,承载 by new media, and the integration of diverse arts, showcasing characteristics of integration, interactivity, and mass participation, traditional and excellent ethnic culture will be continuously excavated, systematized, and revitalized. In response, there will be more and more breakout hits and widely popular excellent works."
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