When Zheng Mingming was a child growing up in Quanzhou, Fujian province, her daily life was steeped in the sounds of Nanyin, an ancient style of Chinese music. Her grandmother, a longtime musician at a local Nanyin hall, passed down this tradition—a repertoire of hundreds of songs in the Minnan dialect that has been handed down through five generations. This early exposure would eventually lead Zheng to perform on international stages.

On March 28 and 29, Zheng played the Nanyin pipa, a crooked-neck lute held horizontally, during a concert at Hong Kong City Hall as part of the 54th Hong Kong Arts Festival. She performed alongside five fellow musicians from Tiam Drop, a youth ensemble established in 2021, presenting Nanyin for the first time at the prominent arts event, which featured around 1,200 artists from around the world. Their performances drew a diverse audience of over 400 people who responded with enthusiastic applause.

Nanyin is regarded as a “living fossil” of Chinese musical heritage, originating in Quanzhou and boasting a history of 800 to 1,000 years. Traditionally performed in the Minnan dialect, it features instruments such as the pipa, dongxiao (a vertical bamboo flute), erxian (a two-stringed bowed instrument), and sanxian (a three-stringed lute). In 2006, Nanyin was designated as part of China’s national intangible cultural heritage, and in 2009 it was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Zheng described Nanyin as more than just music; she called it a way of life encompassing rituals, culture, and human connection. Many of the songs are rooted in ancient stories, including local Minnan legends like that of Chen San and Wu Niang, which have inspired countless interpretations by performers over the years.

The ensemble’s founder and producer, Cai Kaidong, a seasoned musician with experience in contemporary music production, initially found Nanyin’s melodic style challenging to grasp. He noted that its texture, centered on melody without the harmonic progressions and rhythmic structures familiar to modern listeners, makes it difficult for many to appreciate without guidance.

To bridge this gap, Cai has adhered to a philosophy of “no changes, only arrangements,” preserving Nanyin’s original lyrics, melodies, playing techniques, and tonality. He introduced subtle enhancements—a bass line played on the daruan, a long-lost Chinese plucked instrument, and a rhythmic framework using the cajon, a neutral percussive instrument—both chosen to avoid imposing non-native musical characteristics on the traditional sound.

These carefully considered arrangements provide a clearer structural arc to the music, making it more accessible to younger audiences without compromising authenticity. At the festival, Tiam Drop also conducted an interactive segment, teaching the audience to sing along, an experience Cai described as profoundly moving.

Following the festival, Tiam Drop held a sharing session at the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, where council member Kenneth Fok Kai-kong praised the group’s dedication to cultural preservation. Cai emphasized the importance of contemporary generations approaching traditional music with sincerity and respect, hoping their efforts ensure that the legacy of Nanyin continues to resonate into the future.