(Re)mediation of memory in folk epics: The case of the Chuxiong Yi’s Meige in Southwest China

This study examines the transition of Meige (Méi Gě, 梅葛) – an orally transmitted folk epic style of the Yi community in Chuxiong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, Southwest China – from ‘communicative memory’ to ‘cultural memory’. Applying Erll and Rigney’s mediation and remediation of memory to the case of Meige , this study considers how Meige in China has been transformed since the 1950s into cultural memory, preserved in durable, materialised forms through three mediations: textual canonisation, stage performances, and circulated mass media. This study also identifies key stakeholders in the (re)mediation of Meige and explores how they determine when and how to perform or abandon certain aspects of memories. I propose a multi-faceted memory framework involving the way Meige is remembered through the power dynamics of stakeholders involved in memory transmission. In this way, this study sheds light on how oral folk epics are remembered in the context of contemporary socio-cultural values and contributes to understanding the selective nature of mediation in representing Meige in Chinese society.