Materials about
Zhejiang ballads in Pre-Qing Dynasty Times are scarce. We can only refer
to those fragmentary records like Zuo Tan Ge (Singing While
Plucking) in History of Wu and Yue State written by Zhao
Ye of Eastern Han Dynasty, and Yue Ren Yong Ji Ge (Songs of Oars in
Yue) in Shuo Yuan (Talks of the Garden) written by Liu Xiang of
Western Han Dynasty.
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From the
Three Kingdoms Period, the songs in Wu dialects began to spring up in the
south of Jiangsu and north of Zhejiang. The General Anthology of Yuefu
Poems, compiled by Guo Maoqian of the Song Dynasty, listed two kinds
of authentic songs in Wu dialect: Qian Xi Qu (Front Stream Tunes) and A Zi
Ge. Qian Xi, now called Yuying Stream, is located to the south of Wukang
Town of Deqing County, Zhejiang. In Southern Dynasties, some workshops in
the area, which taught singing and dancing, were named after the stream.
According to Deqing County Annals written during Emperor Kang Xi's
Reign, there were Qian Xi Workshop and Hou Xi (Back Stream) Workshop in
the south of the county. It was the home to many famous performers of the
Southern Dynasty. The number of the workshops still reached to several
hundreds in Tang Dynasty. Cui Hao of Tang Dynasty wrote in his poem, "I
love the wonderful Qian Xi dance and sing whole night long, hoping the
dawn never to come." From these, the Qian Xi Qu was probably the songs and
tunes going round in this area.
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In
Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasty, Zhejiang ballads developed
quickly in south Qiantang River. According to Life of Xun Li - History
of the Southern Dynasty, one was sure to find singing and dancing in
every county with more than hundred households and in every city with
fairs. Tai Ping Yu Lan (Imperial Review) cited from Pei
Ziye's Song Lue (Outline of Song Dynasty) a similar description
that singers and dancers crowded the mansion of every nobility and rich
merchant. The eastern Zhejiang was no exception with nobilities indulged
in the beautiful sceneries and feasts with singings and dancing. Zuo Si of
Jin Dynasty compared the ballads of Wu and Yue State in his work To the
Capital of Wu, so did Geng Xin of the Northern Dynasty in his Mourn
for the River South. This mentioning in the same breath of Wu and Yue
ballads indicated that the two enjoyed same popularity in eastern and
western Zhejiang. In the coastal areas like Shaoxing, Ningbo, Wenzhou and
Yuhang, many pieces of celadon burial furnishings of Jin Dynasty were
unearthed, on which there were figures of people beating drums, playing
instruments, dancing and doing vaudeville. Another profile of the musical
world of the time reflected by these cultural relics was that the figures
were all foreigners with Roman noses, sunken eyes, and dressed in Hu
costumes and accessories. This showed that the powerful Hu (the non-Han
nationalities living in the north and west of China in ancient times)
brought with them the culture of the Middle Plain and of the Western
Regions as they moved southward.
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A set of five small
gongs |
After
Sui and Tang Dynasty, Zhejiang was of more and more importance as Chinese
economic and cultural centers gradually moved southward. Hangzhou was
chosen capital for both Wuyue State of the Five Dynasties Period and the
Southern Song Dynasty. Especially the Southern Song's sovereignty resided
in Hangzhou for more than 140 years, making the beautiful city political,
economical and cultural center of the country, and become the city of top
military importance in southeast China.
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The
thriving economy and culture of the city accelerated the development of
townsfolk music culture. One of the characteristics of city music culture
of the time was the Qu Zi Ci, which began in Tang Dynasty and popularized
in Song Dynasty. It was a quite novel form of folk songs in cities. As
scholars and poets emulatively composed lyrics to the tunes for singers,
they left behind in Zhejiang a rich heritage of masterpieces. For
instance, Bai Juyi of Tang Dynasty recalled Hangzhou as the most memorable
place in the River South, while Su Dongpo of Song Dynasty compared the
West Lake in Hangzhou to Xi Zi (a well known beauty in the ancient times),
who is always lovely adorned or not. The "Most Popular Poet" Liu Yong used
to sing his paean here to the sweet-scented osmanthus in autumn and the
innumerable acreage of lotus flowers in summer while the Solitary Hill
hermit Lin Bu, who took plum flower as his wife and crane as his son, was
lost in the reflection of the sparse plum branches in the shallow limpid
pond and the flowers' faint sweet scent in the dim moon light. During her
sanctuary stay in Wuzhou (the present Jinhua), the woman poet Li Qingzhao,
reached the peak of poetic perfection in mourning for her vain search, her
loneliness. And the patriotic poet Lu You, left us his famous apothegm in
his stay in Shangyin (the present Shaoxing): Never lose heart when lost,
because another village will appear from behind the cascades of willows
and flowers. Other musical temperament masters like Zhou Bangyan, Zhang
Xian, Jiang Kui and Zhang Yan used to live in Zhejiang for a long time.
Bai Juyi of Tang Dynasty and Su Dong Po of Song Dynasty, in particular,
were the chief magistrates of Hangzhou. Their activities gave a positive
push to the development of the townsfolk music culture of Hangzhou and
Zhejiang. According to The West Lake Sightseeing Annal by Tian
Rucheng of Ming Dynasty, Bai Juyi, in his post as the prefect of hangzhou,
enjoyed himself freely among the mountains, the lake and the flowery
poems. So was Su Dongpo. Su claimed to be the only one after Bai who had
enjoyed the beautiful scenery to the full. Objectively speaking, their
enjoyable reign did spark the relative cultural development. In the mean
time, they spread consciously the knowledge of music and literature, as
Bai Juyi wrote in his poem Farewell to the Studio in the County: no
other things help change the mores better than to teach people understand
poetry.
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At Cao's place in
Jinhua, a folk bank is playing Hua Tou Tai. |
On one hand,
the scholars sucked in nourishments from the folk songs as they
participated in the creation period and the performance. On the other
hand, they helped popularize and develop folk music culture far and wide.
In addition, Lin'an in the Southern Song Dynasty (the present Hangzhou)
produced a kind of "Xiao Ci (mini-Ci, classical poetry conforming to a
definite pattern)". According to Meng Liang Lu, a team of three to
five performers would sing Xiao Ci along the streets while one or two
small girls dancing and twisting on their heads, shoulders or their
stretching arms. And The Past Stories of Wulin brought to notice
the girls in restaurants, who would come voluntarily and sing for tips.
These drifting performers sang in the tea houses, restaurants or along the
streets instead of Gou Lan and the training workshops; They sang to the
common passersby instead of the nobilities. As a result, the Xiao Ci they
sang was not as delicate and elegant as Qu Zi Diao and Zhu Gong Diao.
Instead, it was a kind of more exoteric songs with popular lyrics and
tunes which better suited lower class people. Some tunes of Xiao Ci were
probably the offhand works upon their familiar tunes in life. As Ment
Liang Lu put it, the songs were actually imitations of the voices in
the capital or in the fair, say, peddlers' shouting, added the five-tone
scaled music.
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In Jiushao Hall of
Fenghua, a folk band is playing General Returns After
Victory. |
What's
more, another two kinds of ballads, Deng Diao (lantern tunes) and Lian Hua
(Lotus Flower) also prevailed Zhejiang in Tang and Song Dynasties.
According to The West Lake Sightseeing Annal, the Lantern Festival
in Hangzhou was a grand occasion ever since Tang Dynasty. This could be
proved by Bai Juyi's poem: lamplight lit up every fair and every household
flows with songs and music. Ou Yangxiu of Song Dynasty also wrote in his
poem: Last Lantern Festival, lamplights made a day on the flower market.
According to Hangzhou Prefecture Annal, about five days around the
Lantern Festival, the whole city was decorated with lanterns and colorful
silk streamers. It seemed like spring had come and all flowers blossomed.
Drum beats and music were sonorous all day long. Dozens of folk dancing
teams came out in the dusk and jostled each other in the long line. Their
programs included: Male and Female Pestle Songs, Celebrate the
Harvest, the Joy on the Field, Rowing on Dry land,
Bamboo Horses, etc. As was suggested by the names of these
programs, many dancing teams came from the outskirts of towns and cities.
Customs in Zhejiang cited one Zhu Zhi (bamboo branch) Ci:
Snowflakes filled the sky with the deafening firecrackers; country songs
and dances were better than all the instruments; fully loaded with cakes
and dumplings, poor men were grateful to Taiping Heavenly Troupe.
Beginning from the New Moon, one beggar covered his head with ragged bags
and turned himself into a fine cow. Another beggar led the "cow" with a
straw rope and a groom, sang auspicious wishes in Lian Hua Luo to beg for
foods. This showed that Lian Hua Luo of Zhejiang was popular not only in
cities and towns, but also in the vast rural areas.
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In Ming
and Qing Dynasties, Zhejiang pop tunes and songs reached their peak. The
most popular programs include: Nao Wu Geng, Ji Sheng Cao, Luo Jiang Yuan,
Yu He Ye, etc. Most of these programs could be found the Sequel of Ni
Shang compiled in 1795 and Tracing Sound of the White Snow
compiled in early 19th century.
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Hangzhou "South
Yangzi String And Pipe Ensemble" Research Society is playing San
Liu (three and six). |
After
liberation, the music staff in Zhejiang gathered together more than three
thousand songs, and compiled upon them A Selection of Zhejiang
Ballads, A Selection of Zhejiang New Ballads in Thirty Years
and The Collection of Chinese Ballads-Zhejiang Volume. The rich
valuable heritage laid a solid foundation for artistic works. In 1966 when
the National Amateur Writer's Song Contest was held, the local born songs
The Mini Mat Roofed Boat and Tea Please won second prizes.
A Beautiful Heart became the "best song" of 1979's National Songs
For The Mass. Rains On Spring River, Everyone Loves West
Lake, and Dragon Well Tea with Tiger Spring Water were taken
into The Complete Collection of Chinese New Literature - Music. The
three songs, 56 Strings Joining Beijing, Spring Out By West Lake
and Autumn In The Seaside, won "Five Top Project Award" issued
by the CCCPC Publicity Department in 1997, 1999 and 2001 respectively.
Especially in 1984, Zhang Jianyi from Hangzhou Singing and Dancing Troupe
participated in the Third Vienna International Opera Contest. For his
mellow and full voice, his orthodox Italian bel canto and his natural
affective performance, he became the top of the 247 selected singers from
all countries and won the "Special Award" issued by The World Of
Operas. At the same time when he was giving performance in Budapest,
he was honored as the best performer and got the "Hundred Flowers
Award".
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The folk artist of
Shenze, Pan'an county is playing Si Chui (four blowings) in his
special costume. |
In the fifty
years after liberation, Zhejiang produced many new ballads not only for
professional performance, but also for mass musical activities. In the
fifties, a singing sodality was set up in Hangzhou. The province held in
succession the 1st and 2nd Provincial Folk Music and Dance Performance for
people to view and emulate, and also send some representative teams for
the National Music Week. In early sixties, Zhejiang repeatedly held the
Provincial Amateur's New Songs Contest, New Song Competition and various
performances, and collected extensively ballads from all parts of the
province. Since the eighties, Zhejiang mass musical activities of modern
times became more regular, as was shown in the 3rd Zhejiang Mass Vocal
Music Contest, the 4th Zhejiang Music and Dance Festival, Song-writing
Contest based on the theme of "Love China, Love Zhejiang", "Songs of the
Enterprises" Singing Contest, Zhejiang Art Festival, Singing Contests of
Singers from the Three Rivers, and various concerts like "Spring of West
Lake" "Spring of the Deer City" "Spring of the Southern Lake". The
Provincial School Singing Contest, Ningbo "Chorus Festival" and the
Provincial Rural Singers' Contest held from the nineties further boost the
musical appreciation level of the people. It was also in these activities
that lots of talented singers like Shen Shaoquan and Hu Xiao'e were
discovered and cultivated.
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TGongs
Bay |
As far as
style is concerned, Zhejiang ballads fall into the following six general
categories.
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Hao
Zi (work song sung to synchronize movement, with one person leading):
refers mainly to the work songs when laboring. The musical temperament and
rhythm work closely into the pace of labor, making the hard work full of
fun. Due to the complicated geographic features, people's way of living
are different, hence the great variety of Hao Zi. For example, there are
Hao Zi of the fishing population alongside sea and on the island, Hao Zi
at waterwheels on the northern plains, quarry Hao Zi in the southern
mountains, boat towing Hao Zi in the watery regions, cormorant Hao Zi on
rivers and Porter's Haozi at the docks, etc. Among them, the most flavored
ones are Fishermen's Hao Zi around Zhoushan Isles and the Sea Enbankment
Hao Zi in Hanyan County north of Hangzhou Bay.
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Shan
Ge (ballads sung in the fields or mountains): refers mainly to the
songs sung when the rural people are working in the fields, or rowing in
the rivers, or resting in the shed to enjoy themselves and divert
themselves from boredom. Shan Ge has stretching tunes and relatively free
rhythm. Zhejiang Shan Ge can be classified as the ones on the plains
around Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou, and the ones in the hills and
mountains. The plain north to Qian Tang River occupies only nine percent
of the total area of Zhejiang Province, while the rest, including the vast
hills and small pieces of coastal plains (Ningbo and Shaoxing plain,
Wenzhou and Taizhou plain, for example), takes up 91 percent. Shan Ge on
the northern plain, called Wu Ge (Songs of Wu) by both ancient and
contemporary scholars, has the fundamental tune "Di Luo Sheng", from which
evolved into seven different tunes: Di Luo Sheng, Luo Yang Ge, Dai Tou Ge,
Yang Sao Tou, Hai Luo Diao, Ji Ji Ge and Ping Diao. They are independent
of each other, but have a general name "Jiashan Tian Ge (songs of the
field)", which is known as an outstanding breed of Wu Ge.
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A folk band of
Shenxian County is playing Summer Rain. |
Xiao Diao
(ditty): refers mainly to the popular songs and ditties in the city
and countryside. Xiao Diao used to prevail in Zhejiang as the term "River
South Xiao Diao" and "Jiangsu and Zhejiang Xiao Diao" both refer to
popular songs and ditties in Suzhou and Hangzhou, heart of Wu-dialect
speaking regions. Since Xiao Diao is melodious and pleasant to the ear,
people easily accept it. They express their feeling by working features of
the time into lyrics of Xiao Diao. There are altogether more than 20
fundamental tunes of today's Xiao Diao in Zhejiang, such as Meng Jiang
Nv, Wu Geng Diao and Wu Xi Jing.
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Deng
Diao (lantern songs) and Lian Hua (lotus flower): refers mainly
to the folk singing and dancing music on festivals. On lantern festivals,
lanterns of different kinds contends to see which one is the most
beautiful and most popular. Some lantern players dance while singing, some
use musical instrument instead of vocals. However, songs always accompany
the Tea Lantern, Flower Lantern, Horse Lantern and so on. Deng Diao does
not have a uniform tune of the province. Most of them work on their own
local tunes. Among the most popular ones are the Tea Lantern song
Picking Tea Leaves and a Flower Lantern song Plum Flower
Blossom. And the one of the most distinct local flavor is Ningbo's
Song of the Horse Lantern.
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The folk artists in
Gao's Troupe of Dinghai is playing Zhoushan Gongs And
Drums. |
"Lian Hua" is named after
the patterned back vocals "Lian Hua Lian Hua Luo" in the latter part of
the tune. The monk Pu Ji of Song Dynasty said in his book Five
Lantern's Meet that Lian Hua Luo was the age-old song of the beggars."
Lian Hua popularized in Zhejiang with its two forms: the major one and the
minor one. It can also be classified into two categories according to its
themes: the traditional one with the relatively stable form and content,
and the improvisational ones full of humorous and vivid auspicious
wishes.
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Yi
Shi Ge (rite songs): refers to folk songs sung on particular
ceremonial occasions. It has three major kinds: wedding songs,
silkworm-raising songs and sacrificial songs. Representatives of wedding
songs are Congratulations to the Groom of Zhoushan Isles and
Lang Liu Yuan of the northern plain. The most special one of
Zhejiang is the silkworm-raising songs, which prevail especially in the
northern plain around Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou.
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Playing
gongs | |
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