Ms Ng Wing-mui 吳詠梅女士

Award

Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa 榮譽人文學博士

Year of Award

2013

Biography

Aged 88, Ms Ng Wing-mui is an acclaimed singer and successor of Cantonese naamyam, a traditional, narrative folk music performing art of Guangdong province that is now widely adopted in Cantonese opera and operatic singing. At a very young age, she learned naamyam singing from visually impaired masters such as Liu Jiu, Runxin and Yinjiao, capturing its essence. With some 80 years of practice and performance, Ms Ng excels in both naamyam and Cantonese operatic singing, and is now recognised a master of shiniang qiang (vocal style of the blind female singers of naamyam). She is also a talented instrumentalist who specialises in the long-neck plucked lute (qinqin) and the hammered dulcimer (yangqin). In recognition of her outstanding artistry and efforts to promote this traditional art, Ms Ng received the Award of Distinction from the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government in February 2012. She was recognised by the Chinese Ministry of Culture as one of the Representative Heirs of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage in December 2012. Ms Ng was conferred the degree of Doctor of Humanities honoris causa.