Muyuge
01 · Historical Records
The earliest known documentary record dates from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, more than 350 years ago.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Muyu ge is also called mo yu ge or mu yu ge. It is a quyi storytelling form popular in the Guangfu-speaking area of Lingnan, especially the non-Hakka area of Dongguan. In the past it was performed mainly by blind men, so it is also popularly known as manglao ge. The exact date of the formation of Muyu ge is unknown. Muyu ge is performed in the Guangdong vernacular. The performance alternates speech and song, with singing predominant. Usually one performer sits and accompanies himself on a sanxian. Within it, the ya chang style has a roundabout and extended melodic line, while the su chang style is close to rhythmic chanting. The lyrics follow a seven-syllable couplet form with the lower line rhyming, usually four lines to a stanza; odd-numbered lines end in an oblique tone and even-numbered lines in a level tone, making them plain and easy to understand and rich in local flavour. The vocal melodies use the banqiang metrical system, with marked rises and falls, plain and flowing, equally suited to narrative and to lyrical expression. The sanxian is the principal accompanying instrument, though the qinqin is also used, and the accompaniment is intermittent. Muyu ge is not only an important representative of the tanci class of long-established genres, but also a quyi genre with a rich accumulation of traditional repertoire works. Repertoire works include long, medium and short pieces in a wide range of subjects: mythic and legendary themes such as Journey to the West and The Butterfly Lovers; historical stories and heroic legends such as The Three Kingdoms, Yue Fei and The Generations of the Yang Family; works adapted from historical novels such as Tower of Ten Thousand Flowers, Zhong Wuyan and Xue Rengui's Campaign East; works adapted from Yuan and Ming zaju plays and folk tales such as The White Snake at Leifeng Pagoda and Chen Shimei at the Sanguan Hall; and works drawn directly from social life such as Third Aunt's Return Home and The Golden Mountain Woman's Lament. Since modern times, newly composed repertoire works have included The Golden Mountain Man's Lament, Chinese Workers Venting Their Grievances, Telling the Roots of the Nation's Trouble, A Letter from Golden Mountain and Songs of Going Overseas.
Elegant singing and plain reading
The elegant singing is long and sinuous while the plain "reading" approaches chant, both built on seven-character couplets rhyming at the second line.
Seated singing to one's own sanxian
One performer sits and sings to his own sanxian, with the qinqin sometimes substituted, in an unadorned metrical style.
Myth, legend and historical romance
Its long repertoire ranges from the Journey to the West and Liang Shanbo to the Three Kingdoms and the Yang family saga.
Songs of the gold mountain
Modern items voicing the lives of Cantonese emigrants heading for the gold mountain and the grievances of Chinese labourers abroad.
The blind men's song of Dongkeng
Once sung largely by the blind, the genre is today centred on Dongkeng town in Dongguan as a leading representative of the tanci-type narrative song.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
By singing style, performances are divided into ya chang and su chang (also called du ge). Muyu ge is also called mo yu ge or mu yu ge. It is popular in the Guangfu-speaking area of Lingnan, especially the non-Hakka area of Dongguan. Dongkeng Town of Dongguan City is its main place of transmission, and the protecting unit is the Dongkeng Town Cultural Service Centre. In the past it was performed mainly by blind men and so was also popularly known as manglao ge. By singing style there are two forms, ya chang and su chang (also called du ge); usually one performer sits and sings while accompanying himself on a sanxian, the melodic line of ya chang being roundabout and extended while su chang is close to rhythmic chanting. Muyu ge texts accumulated in Dongguan are rich, with long, medium and short pieces alike. Since modern times, as people from the Guangfu area went abroad to make a living, newly composed repertoire works such as The Golden Mountain Man's Lament, Chinese Workers Venting Their Grievances, Songs of Going Overseas and A Letter from Golden Mountain have appeared, reflecting the real life of the emigrant community.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
However, the survival and development of Muyu ge now face the danger of being lost, and the genre urgently needs rescue and protection.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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