Liu Sanjie

Liu Sanjie
BornDuring the Song dynasty
NationalityChinese
Other names
  • Liu Sanmei
  • Liu Sanhua
OccupationFolk music singer
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese劉三姐
Simplified Chinese三姐
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLiú Sānjiě
Wade–GilesLiu San-chieh

Liu Sanjie (Chinese: 刘三姐) was a Chinese folk music singer, who is the Liu family's third daughter, with an original name of Liu Shanhua. Liu is a legendary figure of Zhuang people in Guangxi and her songs were melodious and touching, therefore she was dubbed as the "Goddess of Singing".[1] The earliest story about her can be found in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Many legends and folk songs about her were created starting in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.[2] Liu Sanjie is said in one version to be a commoner girl born in 703 in Zhuang. She was said to be a wunderkind, able to compose impromptu songs at will. Her songs were touching and sonorous, so she was called the Song Fairy.[3] She subsequently taught singing in the surrounding areas. Many people have come to compete with her in singing. Her talent, however, attracted jealousy from the local hoodlums, which resulted in her early death. The evil farmer Mo Huairen was said to make Liu Sanjie his slave girl and bribed officials to oppress her when she refused to do so. Despite various versions of Liu Sanjie's tales, for hundreds of years, Zhuang people have maintained their adoration for her.[4]

  1. ^ "The Legend of Liu Sanjie". The World of Chinese. 31 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Who is Liu Sanjie". China Daily. 31 August 2009.
  3. ^ X, Mei. 1991. "The New Singer of Liu Sanjie's Hometown", outlook. vol.36
  4. ^ Tan, Y. 2018 'The Legend of Liu Sanjie', The World of Chinese