January 2020
Beixnuengx means compatriot in the Zhuang language. I was born and raised in the city. Although I am Zhuang (China’s ethnic group), am I Beixnuengx? I want to find my identity. So I started with Zhuang folk songs. I set off from Nanning to Wuming, Baise, and then to Mashan, my hometown that I have never been to. I met people singing songs in WeChat groups; I joined the Zhuang song festival at the entrance of the village, I visited 100-year-olds who still make Zhuang brocade... What are the stories of those singing folk songs? What Beixnuengx culture is revealed in folk songs? Along the way, I slowly uncovered the much advertised Zhuang culture and saw her in the most original form. In the end, how did I answer my initial question?