Podcast Summary:

Strings of Identity: The Horse-Head Fiddle and Mongolian Identity in China
Podcast: New Books Network (Nordic Asia Podcast)
Host: Auning
Guest: Ying Song (PhD Candidate, Zhejiang University)
Date: November 5, 2025

Overview

This episode explores the Horse-Head Fiddle (morin khuur; “horsehead fiddle”) and its central role in shaping and expressing Mongolian identity in China. Ying Song shares her research, personal experiences, and fieldwork insights, revealing how this unique instrument weaves together threads of art, politics, ethnicity, and emotion within and beyond Inner Mongolia.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Ying Song’s Motivation & Emotional Connection

• Focuses on the intersection of ethnicity and arts, examining how the horse-head fiddle mirrors changes in Mongolian identity in China.
• Initial interest stemmed from broader questions of subcultures and personal identity, but fieldwork deepened her fascination with the instrument’s evolving symbolism.
• Quote:

  "It's hard to describe in words, but from that moment, I felt like the sound caught me or maybe even captivated me... that sense of being moved. Both as a researcher and as a person. This feeling makes the project so meaningful to me." (03:13)

Brief History & Evolution of the Horse-Head Fiddle

• Two-stringed bowed instrument, core to Mongolian culture, named for the horse carving atop the neck.
• Modern form only crystallized post-1949; earlier versions varied extensively and were less standardized.
• The instrument’s look and sound have dramatically changed, with pivotal reforms influenced by geopolitics and the state.
• Quote:

  “What we know as the modern horsehead fiddle actually took shape after 1949... In the 20th century, the border was drawn between Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. The instrument started developing along two different paths.” (05:22, 06:30)

Unique Approach of Ying Song’s Research

• Moves beyond musicology to an integrated sociological view: treats the fiddle as both material object and cultural actor.
• Uses theories such as the “sociological imagination” and actor-network theory to analyze how the instrument connects with a variety of social actors.
• Reveals how everyday realities, policy, and even e-commerce affect instrument design and meaning.
• Notable moment:

  “There’s one story I’d love to share: the big reform of the horsehead fiddle in the 1950s actually started with a comment from Chairman Mao after hearing a performance. He said, it sounds beautiful, but people in the back can’t hear it. And that one sentence triggered a nationwide project…” (10:58)

Fieldwork Observations: Making, Teaching, and Living with the Fiddle

• Workshops often rely on global supply chains, yet the instrument remains a symbol of taste and identity—a contrast many owners are unaware of.
• Training for horsehead fiddle is unstandardized; students face both musical and social challenges, especially those migrating from rural areas.
• Moments of disenchantment (loss of magic due to rationalization), but profound emotion and resonance upon playing and listening.
• Quote:

  “Many owners never imagined that their beloved instruments began life in such humble surroundings... Sometimes music has no borders, but in real life, the horsehead fiddle sometimes becomes a label that makes them feel even more different.” (14:26)

Political, Economic, and Cross-Border Influences

• Government reforms since the 1950s aimed to modernize and showcase the instrument as part of a national ethnic image.
• State involvement shapes policy, funding, and standardization, but grants room for artistic freedom and innovation.
• Economic impact modest—production is decentralized, lacking large companies or centralized research institutes.
• Ongoing, complex interplay between Mongolian and Inner Mongolian approaches in instrument design, tuning, and pedagogy.
• Quote:

  “Ironically, that kind of top down structure also gives artists a lot of freedom and access to funding to experiment and innovate.” (18:56)

Symbolic and Cultural Meanings Today

• In Mongolia: Official national instrument, enshrined with rituals, widespread promotion, and included in household symbolism.
• In Inner Mongolia: Less centralized symbolic meaning—one among many traditional instruments, yet increasingly used to brand regional identity for tourism.
• The instrument is transcending ethnic lines, gaining new audiences and sparking concerns about authenticity and cultural dilution.
• Memorable assertion:

  “To carve a true horsehead, you need to have lived with horses. Or if you didn’t grow up in the Mongol homeland, the instrument you play won’t have a soul.” (27:22)

Resonance, Identity, and Emotional Community

• Fieldwork revealed how music ties Mongolians to their heritage and creates shared moments of resonance (profound emotional connection).
• Stories of communal singing at gatherings, where emotion and tradition merge powerfully.
• Song argues that emotional experience is crucial to understanding modern identity, beyond rigid ethnic or material analyses.
• Quote & Story:

  “A lot of old Mongolian songs go beyond religion or ethnicity. They just touch people’s hearts... In my research, I talk about how emotional connections created through resonance have become a new way for groups to form identity today.” (31:17)

The Future: Globalization, Technology, and the Next Generation

• Instrument-making is becoming more sophisticated, aided by social media and e-commerce.
• Young musicians and artists are pushing creative boundaries, integrating the fiddle in new genres and art forms, and breaking traditional taboos.
• Formalized teaching risks losing traditional knowledge and “mystery,” but the instrument is becoming democratized.
• Quote:

  “I feel like the sacredness and the mystery around the instruments are slowly being deconstructed by young people through new media. And I’m planning to keep following how all this evolves in coming years.” (35:45)

Memorable Quotes with Timestamps

• On personal motivation and the magic of the instrument:

  "The first time I heard the househead fiddle live sitting right next to the musician, I could feel the vibration through my whole body. Deep, powerful and strangely comforting... I think that's what keeps me going, that sense of being moved." (03:00-03:13)

• On Chairman Mao's influence:

  "The big reform of the househead fiddle in the 1950s actually started with a comment from Chairman Mao after hearing a performance. He said, it sounds beautiful, but people in the back can't hear it. And that one sentence triggered a nationwide project..." (10:58)

• On modern instrument making:

  “Many owners never imagined that their beloved instruments began life in such humble surroundings.” (14:26)

• On resonance and community:

  "A lot of old Mongolian songs go beyond religion or ethnicity. They just touch people's hearts... In my research, I talk about how emotional connections created through resonance have become a new way for groups to form identity today." (31:17)

• On the future of tradition:

  “As teaching becomes more formal, a lot of the traditional knowledge, the rituals, taboos, old stories is getting lost. Many of the students I talked to actually don't know much about the cultural background of the Hausa Fido.” (35:15)

Important Timestamps for Segments

• [01:17] – Ying Song’s motivation and emotional attachment
• [04:37] – Brief history and evolution of the horse-head fiddle
• [08:19] – Unique methodological approach
• [13:17] – Fieldwork experiences: making, teaching, performing
• [18:14] – Political and economic influences on the instrument’s development
• [24:43] – Symbolic meaning: politics, identity, and branding
• [29:26] – Fieldwork reflections & the emotional core of Mongolian musical practices
• [33:38] – Reflections on the future: globalization, youth, and innovation

Conclusion

This episode provides a vivid, nuanced portrait of how the horse-head fiddle is both a repository and engine of Mongolian identity in China—an artifact that evolves as much through emotional resonance and negotiation as through sound and tradition. As globalization and new generations reshape its place, the instrument continues to provoke questions about tradition, modernization, and authenticity for Mongolians and beyond.