Leizhou Ge
01 · Historical Records
Leizhou songs are current mainly in the ten counties, cities and districts of the Leizhou peninsula in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, where the Leizhou dialect, a branch of the Minnan language family, is spoken; they record the historical conditions of the birth, migration, labour and survival of the people of Leizhou and are already found in historical works by the Song. The girl songs among them were already very popular from the Ming, and the written song competitions have continued from the Qianlong period of the Qing to the present; a great many Leizhou song volumes, collections, charts, girl-song books and Lei opera scripts still survive in society. Leizhou songs record the historical conditions of the birth, migration, labour and survival of the people of Leizhou and are an important vehicle of Leizhou culture.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Each Leizhou song has four lines of seven characters, the last characters of lines one, two and four rhyming in Leizhou pronunciation and the fourth characters of lines two and four being in the yangping tone, the metre close to the seven-character quatrain and very catchy; it also makes great use of such rhetorical devices as metaphor, exaggeration and pun, rigorous in structure, harmonious in tone and beautiful in rhyme. Leizhou songs have wide subjects, touching labour, love, current affairs and custom; society still preserves a great many Leizhou song volumes, collections, charts, girl-song books and Lei opera scripts, and their forms of performance are varied, including solo, antiphonal and competitive singing, with wide popular participation.
Girl Songs
The form of Leizhou song popular from the Ming.
Written Song Competition
The song-competition form continuing from the Qianlong period of the Qing to the present.
Lei Opera
The opera form formed on the basis of Lezhou songs.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Leizhou songs are current mainly in the ten counties, cities and districts of the Leizhou peninsula in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, where the Leizhou dialect is spoken, with Leizhou city as their core area of circulation; they are already found in historical works by the Song, the girl songs among them were already popular from the Ming, and the written song competitions have continued from the Qianlong period of the Qing to the present. Sung in the Leizhou dialect, a branch of the Minnan language family, they involve all the people, rigorous in structure, harmonious in tone and beautiful in rhyme, with a deep popular base.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
This rare flower of the southern garden of arts is the crystallisation of the wisdom of the people of Leizhou and provides valuable material for studying and understanding the politics, economy, culture and human environment of Leizhou. Under the impact of changes in the way of life the living transmission environment of Leizhou songs is gradually being lost and protective measures are urgently needed. Salvaging and protecting Leizhou songs is an important task for transmitting the folk literature and dialect culture of Lingnan.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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