Yan Mingjun
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Yan Mingjun, Male, Han, from Zigui, Hubei, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Jianghe Work Songs (Ⅱ-98). The tradition is documented in Zigui, Hubei. Within the regional tradition and school record of Jianghe Work Songs in Zigui, Hubei: The Yangtze gorge river work songs are the most distinctive and representative among the Hubei folk songs of the work-song type, and the Zigui County area of Hubei Province is their main region of circulation. 126 of them survive today, of which 94 are boatmen's chants, including nine types such as dragging the punt pole, shifting the sculling oar, punting with the oar, tracking the towrope, hauling in the towrope, raising the sail, sculling, calling for wind and the slow board; and 32 are porter chants, including chants for opening the hold, closing the hold, issuing the tally, treading the flower bundle, carrying heavy pieces, pulling the lead wire, going up the gangplank, levelling the road, going up the slope, going down the slope, pushing the wheelbarrow and counting aloud. In their vocal lines melismatic lines predominate, but there are also rhythmic-tonal lines, carrying the ancient zhi-yu modal style. The reach of the Yangtze's Three Gorges is commonly called the "gorge river", within which the Xiling Gorge is the most dangerous, and the danger of the Xiling Gorge is greatest in the stretch flowing past Zigui. Here the river surface is narrow, the current is torrential, and submerged rocks and shoals are found everywhere; for more than two thousand years Bashu-Chu boatmen have toiled and lived here, forming boatmen's chants that express their innermost feelings. In river reaches where the current is swift, the bends are large and the terrain is complex, navigation is extremely difficult, and the boats can only be moved ahead by the boatmen tracking them, so boatmen's chants grew richer accordingly.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Yan Mingjun is anchored in the documented technical standards of Jianghe Work Songs in Zigui, Hubei. Within the documented technical tradition of Jianghe Work Songs in Zigui, Hubei: Jianghe work songs are the various chants sung by boatmen on the Yangtze, the Yellow River and their tributaries; in river reaches where the current is swift, the bends are large and the terrain is complex, navigation is extremely difficult, and the boats can only be moved ahead by the boatmen tracking them. Boatmen's chants grew richer accordingly. According to the state of the navigation, Jianghe work songs can be divided into several types, among them the easygoing "downstream chants", the leisurely "flat-water chants", and the highly tense, almost shouted "upstream chants" and "death-defying chants". The reach of the Yangtze's Three Gorges is commonly called the "gorge river", within which the Xiling Gorge is the most dangerous, and the danger of the Xiling Gorge is greatest in the stretch flowing past Zigui. Here the river surface is narrow, the current is torrential, and submerged rocks and shoals are found everywhere. For more than two thousand years Bashu-Chu boatmen have toiled and lived here, forming boatmen's chants that express their innermost feelings. Among the Hubei folk songs of the work-song type, the gorge river chants are the most distinctive and representative. 126 Yangtze gorge river work songs survive today, of which 94 are boatmen's chants, including nine types such as dragging the punt pole, shifting the sculling oar, punting with the oar, tracking the towrope, hauling in the towrope, raising the sail, sculling, calling for wind and the slow board; and 32 are porter chants, including chants for opening the hold, closing the hold, issuing the tally, treading the flower bundle, carrying heavy pieces, pulling the lead wire, going up the gangplank, levelling the road, going up the slope, going down the slope, pushing the wheelbarrow and counting aloud. Yangtze gorge river work songs are characterised as high-pitched, deep and resonant, heroic and powerful. The musical melody is fused with the content, the pitch closely combining with the tones of speech; the vocal lines are free and expansive, and the rhythm and tempo depend on the specific work route, that is, on the labour carried out during singing. In the vocal lines of the gorge river chants, "melismatic lines" predominate, but there are also "rhythmic-tonal lines", carrying the ancient zhi-yu modal style. Their form of presentation is mostly one lead voice with many responding voices; the lead singer has a whole set of pieces suited to the various work routes of navigation, and sometimes improvises a few lines of navigation "jargon" according to the specific situation and need in order to direct the labour, such as calling the "live anchor chant" before setting out, humming the "sculling chant" on flat water and chanting the "raise the sail chant" with a favourable wind, and so on. For a long time the gorge river chants have been carried down without interruption among the gorge river boatmen. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Nine boatmen's chant types": Including nine types of chant: dragging the punt pole, shifting the sculling oar, punting with the oar, tracking the towrope, hauling in the towrope, raising the sail, sculling, calling for wind and the slow board. "Porter chants": Including chants for opening the hold, closing the hold, issuing the tally, treading the flower bundle, carrying heavy pieces, pulling the lead wire, going up the gangplank, levelling the road, going up the slope, going down the slope, pushing the wheelbarrow and counting aloud. "Melodic and tonal lines": In the vocal lines of the gorge river chants melismatic lines predominate, but there are also rhythmic-tonal lines, carrying the ancient zhi-yu modal style.
Nine boatmen's chant types
Including nine types of chant: dragging the punt pole, shifting the sculling oar, punting with the oar, tracking the towrope, hauling in the towrope, raising the sail, sculling, calling for wind and the slow board.
Porter chants
Including chants for opening the hold, closing the hold, issuing the tally, treading the flower bundle, carrying heavy pieces, pulling the lead wire, going up the gangplank, levelling the road, going up the slope, going down the slope, pushing the wheelbarrow and counting aloud.
Melodic and tonal lines
In the vocal lines of the gorge river chants melismatic lines predominate, but there are also rhythmic-tonal lines, carrying the ancient zhi-yu modal style.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Yan Mingjun was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Jianghe Work Songs, with Zigui, Hubei as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Jianghe Work Songs in Zigui, Hubei: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Zigui, Hubei as its declared area, and Zigui County Cultural Center (Xian Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Center) as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
The reach of the Yangtze's Three Gorges is commonly called the "gorge river", within which the Xiling Gorge is the most dangerous, and the danger of the Xiling Gorge is greatest in the stretch flowing past Zigui. Here the river surface is narrow, the current is torrential, and submerged rocks and shoals are found everywhere; for more than two thousand years Bashu-Chu boatmen have toiled and lived here, forming boatmen's chants that express their innermost feelings. In river reaches where the current is swift, the bends are large and the terrain is complex, navigation is extremely difficult, and the boats can only be moved ahead by the boatmen tracking them, so boatmen's chants grew richer accordingly.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Li Fuzhong | Huangheshuiliweiyuanhuihenanhuanghehewuju | 05-2106 | Other regional school |
| Yan Mingjun | Zigui, Hubei | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。