"Yo yo deer roar, the best food in the wild. I have a guest, playing the harp, harp, drum and harp..."
Recently, a video of a group of teachers and primary school students rehearsing the chorus "Xiaoya Luming" in Yuxi, Yunnan became popular on the Internet.
The strong and powerful chorus of the teachers, coupled with the light and clear recitation of children's voices, awakened the public's cultural memory of the traditional classic "The Book of Songs". Many netizens said: "Youyou's ancient rhyme is so beautiful!"
However, the story behind the choir is as moving as their chorus.
She started a singing journey for the children
"As long as you like it, you can come"
The publisher of the video is named Pu Hailing. In 2018, she came to teach at Majiazhuang Primary School, Jiuxi Town, Jiangchuan District, Yuxi City, Yunnan Province. This is a rural primary school with just over a hundred students, with heavy teaching tasks and few teacher resources. She is a math teacher, a science teacher, and a music teacher.
Teacher Pu found that the children here are simple and simple, with shy and introverted personalities. Most of their relatives go out to work, and the children have nowhere to tell their worries and are not used to expressing their emotions to teachers.
Teacher Pu, who graduated from the music major, believed that music might be a bridge for children to communicate, so he came up with the idea of establishing a children's choir. She immediately took action: students from grades one to five, as long as they like to sing, can participate, no matter how well they master the pitch and rhythm.
In 2020, the Ruoshui Children’s Choir of Majiazhuang Primary School was established. The name of the group is taken from the Supreme Good Ruoshui: children’s voices are like water, clear and pure; children’s heart is like water, innocent and flawless. She hopes that children "learn to express themselves in chorus, feel happiness in team interactions, and possess the perseverance to persevere through continuous practice."
Children from Pu Hailing and Ruoshui Children's Choir are rehearsing
In order to improve her children's chorus teaching ability, Teacher Pu takes her daughter to study in Kunming, Yunnan every Saturday. For more than two years, she studied, taught, and practiced at the same time...
In addition to math classes, science classes, and music classes, the general teacher would bring more than 40 children from the choir to the music classroom to practice during each class break. For children who have difficulty with pitch and rhythm, she will call the music classroom to provide individual guidance and correct them one by one.
"As long as you like singing, you can come to the choir." In a school with more than 100 students, nearly half are members of the choir. Teacher Pu bluntly said, "As long as the children are willing, I will teach."
With the unremitting efforts of Teacher Pu, the children started from scratch, sang more enthusiastically, gradually mastered the chorus skills, and their personalities became lively.
The children's persistence has also paid off. Ruoshui Children's Choir has won the silver medal in Group A of the 8th China Children's Chorus Festival, the silver medal in Group VP4 of the 11th World Choir Games Video Competition, and was invited to perform in Shanghai.
Student Choir→Teacher Choir
The power of singing can continue
With the success of the Ruoshui Children’s Choir, the local education department discovered that the form of chorus can create a way and space for children in rural and urban areas to express themselves and talk.
In August 2022, the Yuxi Nie Er Teachers’ Chorus was established. Most of the teachers in the group come from grassroots schools in Yuxi, Yunnan, and nearly 70% teach in towns or mountainous areas. The youngest has just turned 23 and the oldest is 51.
Behind every teacher is a choir of students. The growth of teachers can directly drive the improvement of children's chorus level. The teachers of the choir strengthen their professional capabilities through formal rehearsals and performances in order to better form a professional children's choir.
In 2023, due to job transfer, Teacher Pu was unable to continue teaching in Ruoshui Children's Choir. Therefore, she applied to let her sister, who is also a music major, take over and continue the Ruoshui Boys Choir.
Teacher Pu was transferred to the primary school attached to Yuxi Normal University as a music teacher. After arriving at school, she established the Children's Chorus of the Primary School Affiliated to Yuxi Normal University.
Pu Hailing teaches students from the primary school attached to Yuxi Normal University (data picture)
Singing the "Book of Songs"
Feeling the "beauty of rhythm, rhythm, and inheritance"
The protagonist of the chorus rehearsal video that became popular on the Internet is none other than Yuxi Nie Children from the Ear Teachers Choir and the Chorus of the Primary School Affiliated to Yuxi Normal University.
Talking about the reason for choosing "Xiaoya Luming", Teacher Pu said that he likes traditional Chinese culture, and there are not many ancient works nowadays, so he really wants to try this style: "The harmony and beauty conveyed by this song The state of the world allows children to feel the beauty of rhythm, rhythm, and inheritance in the interplay of female voices, children's voices, and Chinese drums."
When students recite the "Book of Songs" with the melody, it becomes less difficult to learn. Boring. Many parents of students said, "In this way, their children can memorize the Book of Songs more quickly."
On the evening of 18th, the choir officially performed on the stage, perfectly performing the ancient rhyme and bringing an unforgettable performance to the audience. A feast of art.
The gentle chorus and the clear children's voices sing in harmony
The beauty of "The Book of Songs"
is most vividly reflected at this moment
The emotion and resonance brought by Chinese civilization
is blooming
Source "CCTV News" WeChat public account
Responsible editor He Dan
Responsibility Proofreader Liu Zixue
Editor-in-chief Yan Yun
Final review editorial board member Cao Jie