Bai Suo

Bai Suo (1937-1992) was born in Küriye Banner and spent his life in J̌arud. Bai Suo’s father Baoliao was a locally well-known folk singer. His paternal uncle was a folk singer and played the fiddle (quγur) well. Bai Suo attended school until he was 16. After leaving school, he made a living by tending livestock. It is at this time that he began to recite tales accompanied by the fiddle. When he was young, Bai Suo trained his skill in performing the tales with the help of the elders of the community, who had a profound knowledge of the narrative tradition from having witnessed the performance of tales on many occasions. Bai Suo studied under the guidance of the renowned bard Mönggö-γooltu (1914-1969), and for a short period under the guidance of the bard J̌aγana (1903-1986), who also was a renowned bard. Bai Suo learned the entire novel Kusi ǰuwan / Kuxi zhuan “Story of Pain and Joy” from a book composed in Mongolian, inserting poetry of his own into the story.