Traditional Miao musical instrument finds new life

Guiyang — As a teenager, Luo Tingkai would hoist his father's handcrafted lusheng onto his back and trek three hours from his home in Pilin village to sell the instruments at the bustling township market.

Pilin village lies in Gaopo township, a Miao ethnic community nestled in the mountains near Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province.

The craft of making the Miao lusheng, an ancient instrument of six bamboo pipes, has been passed down here for over two centuries. Its music weaves through every stage of Miao life.

Now 62, Luo is a devoted guardian of this time-honored sound. He began learning to play the lusheng at just 12 years old, and after junior high, he apprenticed under his father to master the craft.

"The lusheng is a symbol of our Miao people and a lifelong companion," said Luo. "Wherever we go, we can never be without it."

Passed down orally from master to apprentice, with no written manuals, the tradition demands at least five years of study before an apprentice can craft a lusheng independently.

Keeping this "sound of an ethnic people" alive, however, has not been easy. For a long time, fewer and fewer young people were willing to invest the time to learn the craft. Luo admitted that for the young, working away from home means "easy money", while making the lusheng yields "just one pair a week".

In 2020, Luo was honored as a provincial-level inheritor of intangible cultural heritage. His greatest hope is to see more people embrace the craft. These days, his city-dwelling son returns home on weekends and holidays to learn it from him.

Many Miao children still learn to play the instrument from an early age. Wang Tingliang and Wang Pinggui, both in their 30s, started learning the lusheng in their early teens.

Three years ago, they sought out Luo and became his apprentices.

"Our ethnic heritage has to be passed on," Wang Pinggui said. "We've always loved playing the lusheng, and now it's our generation's turn to carry it forward."

The process of crafting a lusheng — from selecting the bamboo and shaping the wind chest to forging the reeds and tuning — tests the artisan's patience and precision. Carving the wind chest is a delicate, high-stakes task; the slightest misstep can undo days of painstaking work. As the bamboo pipes are sanded again and again, the constant friction of bamboo dust against the palms leaves hands covered in thick calluses.

"There is no room for fear in craftsmanship," Luo added.

During festivals, Luo organizes lusheng performances and sets up educational display boards to raise villagers' awareness of preserving the tradition. Whenever the sound of the lusheng fills the air, local Han and Bouyei residents gather to watch, and people from neighboring villages and beyond frequently make the trip to seek his guidance.

"Everyone is welcome to learn," he said. "I don't charge a penny. My only wish is to pass this craft on to the next generation."

Luo has also brought his self-made compact three-pipe lusheng into local primary and secondary schools. By using modern numbered musical notation to transcribe traditional melodies, he helps children pick up the playing techniques more quickly.

In addition, he has shared lusheng through short videos, which have garnered over 10,000 views each. "This is the pride of our ethnic group, and it means a lot to me," one netizen commented.

There was a time when it was lusheng-making that put food on the table for Luo's family.

Today, thanks to online exposure, the traditional art has gradually reached beyond Gaopo, and brought in a growing number of orders. "Our lusheng sell very well," he said. "Every one we make finds a buyer."

But in Luo's view, the wider the reach, the more crucial it is to keep standards high. "The tone, the appearance, the craftsmanship — everything has to be up to standard," he said. "If the quality isn't there, customers won't come back."

To promote the deep integration of intangible cultural heritage preservation with rural revitalization, a lusheng workshop was established in Gaopo in August 2025.

Integrating lusheng-making, skills training, cultural exhibitions and hands-on learning experiences, the workshop invited Luo to serve as its technical director. Visitors can observe the entire lusheng-making process up close and even try their hand at tuning reeds and assembling bamboo pipes.

XINHUA