Editor's note: This post was written by Kunming-based translator and cultural consultant Jeff Crosby, who has taken delegations of Yunnan folk musicians to the United States. Crosby writes the blog South of the Clouds.

Gen Dequan (哏德全), the famous Dai folk musician, passed away Tuesday night of an apparent brain hemorrhage. He was a master of the hulu (葫芦丝), a reed instrument fashioned out of drinking gourds which is popular among the Dai and many other ethnic groups throughout Yunnan and Southeast Asia. He was fifty years old.

Known as "King of the Gourd", Gen Dequan was instrumental in popularizing the folk music of the Dai people, and making their music a household name throughout China, synonymous with the cultural diversity of Yunnan Province. Throughout his career he toured many cities and countries, sharing the musical traditions of his people.

I was fortunate to know him. We first met on the Yunnan Revealed tour in 2005, when I was tour manager and he was a performer. He came again with us to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2007. He was a good man and a phenomenal musician.

GoKunming thanks Jeff Crosby for his contribution. If you would like to share a story with GoKunming readers, please contact us via the GoKunming contact form.

Tags: Dai, ethnic minorities, Gen Dequan, hulu, Jeff Crosby, music

Local artist Luo Xun's rural studio

We've added another blog to our Yunnan blogroll: South of the Clouds. This new blog is written by Jeff Crosby, an American who has spent several years in Kunming and elsewhere in Yunnan and now works for the Menghai Tea Factory.

Much of the blog is related to Jeff's experience in Yunnan's art and culture circles as well as his more recent experiences in the tea industry. Not to be confused with Cloud South, another quality Yunnan blog, South of the Clouds looks like it should be good for getting glimpses of the more unseen aspects of Kunming and Yunnan.

Tags: blogs, Jeff Crosby