Asia, Land of Light and Sound
  • This section introduces reproduced contents of the booklet and CD for exhibition, 'Kim, Soo-Nam & Choi, Sang-il - Asia, Land of Light and Sound (6 to 29 July 2005, Seoul, Republic of Korea)'. Kim, Soo-Nam, documentary photographer representing the Republic of Korea, has started his profession as a photo journalist in Dong-A Ilbo and contributed to introduce the beauty of shamanistic and traditional culture of ethnic minorities by traveling everywhere in Asia. He never let the camera out of his hands till his last day in Chiang Rai in Thailand in 2006, next year of the exhibition. His enormous works still pass down Asia’s value to the world. Choi, Sang-il, who believes that ‘folk songs everywhere contain the unembellished thoughts and sentiments of their people’, has shown various broadcast programs, music albums, and books on folk song and music in Korean and Asia since his join to Munhwa Broadcating Company (MBC). Until now, he continues his contributions including recording diverse intangible cultural heritage and promoting it through excellent broadcast program such as ‘In Search of Our Sounds’. In recent, he received commendation from the president and Award for Professional Achievement in Producing. We express our gratitude to the families of the late Kim, Soo-Nam, and MBC producer Choi, Sang-il for allowing to make these precious collections available online, so that the beauty of living heritages in the Asia-Pacific will be better known to the world.
Miao of China Thai Golden Triangle Indonesia Bali, Indonesia Myanmar Kam (Dong) of China Sri Lanka The Philippines Ladakh, India Japan Okinawa, Japan Southwestern China Ladakh Mongolia Uzbekistan 
  • The Miao people have a holy gong called tonggu. The front of the gong is engraved with a sun emblem, which symbolizes the Miao people. One person strikes the gong while another controls the sound by blocking or releasing it with a wooden barrel from the back.

The Miao are known for their dancing, especially the dances performed by women accompanied by the tonggu. Men also play a wind instrument called lusheng, to which the women dance in concentric circles.

The lusheng is popular among the Miao, Yao, Kam, Zang (Tibetan people), and other ethnic minorities in the Chinese southwest. It used to be played solely by males and only after a harvest. They believed that if one were to play a lusheng while the rice is still growing, the spirit of the rice would leave the stalks to dance to the music, making for a poor harvest. Another theory is that the spirit of the rice would be saddened by the music, stunting the growth of the crop.

In traditional Miao belief, rice spirits are young Miao women. This is why they are so eager to sing and dance with young men. However, this belief has changed with the times and people can play the lusheng and dance anytime. The instrument is popular even among women.

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