China Popular Itineraries |
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Folk songs are the oral pieces created and collected by the labouring peo-ple in their working practice. They are usually handed down orally, with con-stant artistic treatment, therefore they are the crystallization of wisdom of the labouring people.
It is not an exaggeration to say that folk songs are regarded as the father of traditional music. The other forms of Chinese traditional music are influ-enced by folk songs which provide them with richer sources and wider back-ground.
In the following, folk songs are classified into two categories in terms of nationality: those of Han nationality and those of the minority nationalities. And as for singing style, those of Han nationality are classified into three cate-gories: work songs, field songs and popular tunes.
Work songs are the folk songs labourers sing with one person leading, while working in a group to synchronize their movements. Different regions have their own names for work songs.
As is said by Lu Xun, one of the greatest writers of China, the primitive motive to create work songs is that: "Our earliest ancestors, the primitives, were not able to speak. When working together, they had to express them-selves, which impelled them to make more and more complicated sounds. For example, when they felt it difficult to carry a log and didn't know how to ex-press, one of them began to cry ' yo -ho, yo - ho. ' This is a kind of creation, the 'yo - ho' school. " (Taken from Qie-jie-ting, one of the collective works by Lu Xun) Therefore, work songs have some practical values of easing fa-tigue. Among the most famous ones are Ha Yao Gua, songs of the lumber-jacks in the north-eastern China; Song of Striking Stones, songs sung by the building workers while laying the foundation in Changde, Hunan Province; Cui Dong Cui, songs sung by the farmers while gathering in the grain in Hubei Province; and Boatmen's songs, songs sung by the boatmen while crossing the Chuanjiang River in Sichuan Province.
Work songs show in the most direct and simple way the optimistic spirit of the working people. Music rhythm and working rhythm echo each other in perfect harmony, which keeps the spirit of work songs lasting forever in Chi-nese traditional music. |
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