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Please Stay, Guest from Afar

Author: Source: Updated:2019-04-28

Please Stay, Guest from Afar (traditional music) is a traditional music piece circulated in the Sani stockaded village of Shilin Yi Autonomous County in Kunming. It is widely circulated and popular in Sani people’s settlements in Shilin.


Sani people of Yi ethnic group in Shilin are forthright and hospitable. Every time they invited guests, when the moon rose, the hosts and guests would sing and dance around the bonfire in the village venue, and their songs were later collected by Mr. Jin Guofu to compose Circle Dance. In the 1950s, he also wrote songs including Following Chairman Mao Forever and Grass Sprouting in Spring based on that. Later, Jin Guofu, Fan Yu, and Mai Ding cooperated according to the melody based on the previous three songs to adapt these into the Sani chorus Please Stay, Guest from Afar. After adaption, the song was cheerful, beautiful and smooth, and very popular among people. It won the gold medal at the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students. In 1998, Shilin Yi Autonomous County People’s Congress deliberated and approved this song as the county song of Shilin. At present, all Shilin people know how to sing this song. Respected Premier Zhou loved this song very much, and had arranged performance of this some many times for the reception of state guests. Liked by many domestic and foreign people, this song is also sung widely.


"Flowers on roadsides are coming out, fruits on the trees are waiting for people’s picking up, please stay, guest from afar. Old Gui Mountain also weaves welcome, please stay, guest from afar, let's sing for happiness... With passionate and cheerful melody as well as warm and simple lyrics, this song expresses Sani people’s ethnical characters and features - frankness, passion, and hospitality.  

The music is based on Sani folk music with strong Sani characteristics. It uses 2, 4, and 6 based on 1, 3, and 5 structure so that the melody is not only full of  ethnical style but also beautiful, cheerful and lively - very popular among people.

In 2005, Please Stay, Guest from Afar (traditional music) was included in the first batch of Kunming Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection List upon the approval of Kunming Municipal People's Government (K.Z.F.[2005] No. 57).

ICP, Yunnan: No.18001383-1 Real name of the Internet: Stone Forest in China Copyright: Yunnan Shilin Scenic Area Administration

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