Qifulin is China's best known singer of Manhan folksongs.

Born in Zhunger Banner of Inner Mongolia in 1953, Qifulin, is the country's best known singer of Manhan folksongs. A full-time farmer and part-time singer, like most folk artists he is self-trained. Over the past decades he has introduced this cultural heritage of his ethnicity to regions along the Yellow River and won fame as one of China's foremost ethnic crooners. In 2012 he was designated an official inheritor of China's intangible cultural heritage.

"The Yellow River flowing by Zhunger is the glue binding the Mongolians and Han peoples, two folks who are bosom friends." Sung for 200 years, Manhan folksongs are indigenous to the Loess and Ordos plateaus where Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region meet. A blend of Mongolian and Han singing techniques engender an exuberant, earthy style.

Qifulin, a Mongolian, is a household name on the Ordos Plateau. People clamor to greet him whenever he appears in a bustling part of town, or is encountered ambling along a rural dirt track. According to this revered folk singer, best known for his rendition of 99 Turns of the Yellow River, the prime quality of a Manhan folksinger is the ability to compose an impromptu piece according to circumstance. A singer thus plays it by heart and by ear, rather than hewing to set rules. A good voice is of course equally important

Childhood Obsession to Lifelong Profession

Qifulin was born to a Mongolian family in Xiaotanzi Village in Zhunger along the Yellow River. As song and dance lurk within the genes of Mongolians, it was natural for the youthful Qifulin to develop a keen interest in the Manhan folksongs which sprang from the lips of locals, his parents included.

"It was a time without radio or TV, and other forms of recreation were scarce," Qifulin recalled, "so the villagers entertained themselves by singing Manhan folksongs. Daily exposure to this genre naturally inculcated it." His devotion to the art impresses other villagers: "He has been a big fan since boyhood. His family's poverty never dented his zest for singing."

Whenever a performance was staged locally – a rare event then – young Qifulin would sit for hours on a stool, his eyes riveted on the stage, while his contemporaries soon lost interest and started fidgeting. One day, as he was herding sheep, word spread that a troupe was performing in the next village. He locked his flock in a vacant courtyard and went to audition for a walk-on part with the troupe. Qifulin's father panicked at sunset when there was no sign of him or the sheep. When his dad finally found him late that night, the youth was onstage singing in his debut performance.

Years went by and Qifulin became a teamster, hauling coal, charcoal and other freight around the plateau. On these long, tedious journeys Manhan folksongs became his closest companions and confidantes. "That trucker job prepared me for my later singing career," Qifulin said. "I experienced more of the world and learned ever more Manhan folksongs. During this time I nurtured the ability to turn an offhand observation into a song."

This talent soon won him acclaim among local farmers. At 20, he enlisted to build a canal connecting to the Yellow River. The work was arduous, but Qifulin still made time for his pastime, leading antiphonal singing with co-workers in the course of their labor. One day, under the glow of the setting sun, boats were skimming on the sweltering Yellow River by the construction site, a sight that suddenly inspired Qifulin. He dropped his spade, dashed to the river, and belted out a refrain. His resounding voice carried far in the wide expanse, equally to boatmen tallying on the waters and farmers tilling in the fields.