Skip to content
TWGHs Records and Heritage Office

“Lingering Echoes - Heritage and Innovation of Nanyin”Second Talk“Canton Music Legacy in Hong Kong: Nanyin, Banyan and Yueou by blind musicians Dou Wun and Lee Ngan-Kiu”

Nanyin, a form of Cantonese narrative singing cherished in the Pearl River Delta, boasts a profound cultural heritage. This year marks the 155th anniversary of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and the 55th anniversary of Tung Wah Museum. To celebrate, the Tung Wah Museum has joined hands with the Hong Kong Heritage Museum to organise a series of nanyin-themed activities, in a bid to preserve and share the essence of this art form, allowing the public to appreciate its style and understand its historical and cultural significance as well as its ongoing innovation and transmission through generations.

Many of the nanyin, banyan and yueou songs performed in both historical and contemporary Hong Kong originated from Canton (Guangzhou). This talk will explore how the imprint of Guangzhou has manifested in Hong Kong’s musical landscape and how the city is depicted in works from the late Qing dynasty, referencing the banyan song “The Paramours' Squabble” performed by gushi (male blind musician) Dou Wun, “Offerings by Qinglan” delivered in the yueou style by shiniang (female blind musician) Lee Ngan-kiu and other notable pieces, such as “Song of the Exile” and “Ho Wai-kwan Laments from the First till the Fifth Watch of Night”, and lyrics that recount the fire in Dashatou, Guangzhou, which occurred in the first lunar month of the first year of Qing Emperor Xuantong’s reign.

Venue:
Theatre, Hong Kong Heritage Museum (1 Man Lam Road, Sha Tin, Hong Kong)
Date/Time:
Saturday, July 12, 2025 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Speaker:
Professor Ching May-bo (Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Head and Professor of the Department of Chinese and History, the City University of Hong Kong)
Language:
Cantonese
Fee:
Free
Remarks:

* First come, first served.

* For  special arrangements under inclement weather conditions, please click here for details.

* Programmes are subject to change and cancellation without prior notice. For enquiries, please call 2770 0867.

*本辦公室已敦促屬下員工及活動提供者,於服務提供時必須留意並遵從《中華人民共和國香港特別行政區維護國家安全法》和與維護國家安全有關的香港其他法律,包括但不限於《國旗及國徽條例》、《區旗及區徽條例》及《國歌條例》,並確保在轄下單位內的行為或活動不會可能構成或可能導致在國安法或香港其他法律下屬危害國家安全,或不利於國家安全的罪行。

Back to top