The formation date of Zhangha of the Dai ethnic group cannot be accurately determined at present. We can only make a rough judgment and analysis from the information about the origin of Zhangha in Dai ancient books and folklore.
The Dai literature treatise "Waleima Yogan Ha Dai" (i.e., "On Dai Poetry") says that the ancestors of the Dai people moved from the period of eating chestnuts and fruits to the period of eating muntjac and red deer meat. When the hands and feet are constantly picking chestnuts and fruits to eat, they often encounter situations where their feet and hands are stabbed and fall from the tree, or they roll down the cliff and die. When they suffer such setbacks and misfortunes, they will moan, Wails and cries;... When a tiger or red deer is killed, everyone will be happy, laughing, laughing, jumping and jumping, and keep shouting: There are so many, enough for us to eat, chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Over time, this sad or happy mood naturally became people's oral tradition and gradually evolved into a song. This period was the era of sporadic ballads. There was no rhyme or meter yet. They were sung purely when the heart was happy and when they were satisfied. The tone was like a bird pecking wood, like a stone rolling down a slope, or like a fruit falling on a wild vine. This is basically the same as the saying that if the Dai people have Dai people, they will have Dai songs, and if there are Dai songs, they will have Zhangha. However, there is an obvious difference between the Zhangha during this period and the semi-professional Zhangha that was later formed by social division of labor.
When the mobile life of the ancestors of the Dai people gradually changed from gathering and hunting to a period of settled farming, dripping water or singing tunes and the legend of Zhangha and Galanduo birds illustrate that the emergence of Zhangha is closely related to productive labor and residence. environment and other aspects are closely related.
There are many opinions on the exact age of Zhang Ha. According to Dai folklore, 2,500 years ago, a man named Mahaga Zayana Ting compiled Buddhist sutras into lyrics. It is also said that Payalaw came to Xishuangbanna for hunting and once shot a golden red deer. He shared the deer meat with everyone. So everyone rejoiced, and those who danced well became "Zhang Fan" and those who sang well became "Zhang Ha"
According to the legends and other relevant information of the Dai people, Zhang Ha of the Dai people was born around Between the 6th and 8th centuries AD. The first stage is after the Dai people entered the class society. As a result of the social division of labor and the needs of the masses, Zhangha was nurtured and cultivated among the masses. The second stage was in the early 15th century. Before the Dai people generally believed in Theravada Buddhism, the Zhangha custom had been formed among the Dai people. The third stage is after the first half of the 15th century, when the folk custom of Zhang Ha was transformed into semi-professional singers. The fourth stage is after the mid-15th century, when local political power was combined with theocratic power. All the Dai people believed in Theravada Buddhism. Folk singers were included in the jurisdiction of the lords' laws and regulations, and Zhangha was elevated to a part of the social system. The fifth stage is after the 1950s, when Zhang Ha and other workers were liberated, became the masters of their own country, and became the singers of the new era.