Jiangxi Lianhualuo Balladry
01 · Historical Records
Lianhua luo consists of little “falling-flower” tunes sung by monks collecting alms and by laypeople begging for food since the Sui and Tang dynasties; it was already popular in the marketplaces of the Song dynasty, and by the mid-to-late Ming dynasty it had spread to northern Jiangxi, where it combined with local speech, mountain songs and lantern-festival folk performance to take shape as Jiangxi lianhua luo. In the Qing dynasty it was transmitted in central, western and southern Jiangxi alike, and because of differences in dialect and in master-disciple lineage it gave rise to numerous branch schools — the Yingtan and Poyang lianhua luo of northeastern Jiangxi, the Ji'an and Nanchang lianhua luo of central Jiangxi, the Fuzhou lianhua luo of southeastern Jiangxi, the Ganzhou lianhua luo of southern Jiangxi, and the Yichun and Pingxiang lianhua luo of western Jiangxi. In earlier times performers usually beat out lianhua luo at the Spring Festival lantern fairs, at the Lantern Festival, at weddings and funerals, and at markets, or went from street to street singing in place of begging; from the 1950s onward it gradually shifted to staged performance and to the form of art used for publicity and enlightenment.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Its traditional performance form is basically a chanted narrative recited to the accompaniment of percussion instruments used to beat time, with only minor differences from place to place. For instance, the lianhua luo current in the Pingxiang area is usually performed by a single person who holds in the left hand a half-bamboo tube two cun wide and threaded with seven copper coins (the “lianhua clapper”), swings it to beat time, and strikes a drum with the right hand for accompaniment, accompanying his own “speech-singing”; there is also a form in which one person sings while several others join in the chorus. It is performed in the various local dialects of Jiangxi, is strongly flavoured with local colour, is narrated mainly in rhymed verse, and includes a small amount of spoken prose between the longer pieces. The sung text is based mainly on an upper- and lower-line pattern of seven characters, with one rhyme for every two lines or one rhyme for a whole piece. The vocal style is of the qupai (tune-pattern) system; the tune patterns in common use differ from one branch school to another, but only in minor ways. Take the vocal style of the Pingxiang area: it consists of two parts, zhengban counting-singing, which is half recited and half sung, and tuoqiang chorus singing, which is performed on the final line of each section; its melodic rhythm is distinctive and its style is festive and bright. The accompanying instruments differ from branch school to branch school, but share the common features of being made of bamboo and being played to beat time. Its content can tell a story, can express feeling, and can also be amusing, giving it strong artistic expressiveness. As for traditional repertoire, each branch school has its own speciality: those of western Jiangxi in the Pingxiang area mostly portray historical stories and local customs, those of central Jiangxi mostly narrate long-form stories, and those of southern Jiangxi mostly present antiphonal duets and long-form stories told in song. Its modern newly composed programmes mostly depict figures of the present day. Jiangxi lianhua luo is accessible in content and vivid in language; it is an important vehicle and mode of expression in the spiritual life of the people and one of the important channels through which ordinary people receive ideological and moral education. Its vocal styles are varied, its texts are elegant, and its aesthetic functions are rich, making it of great significance for the study of the dialects, tune books and vocal styles of the Jiangxi region.
The lotus clappers
In Pingxiang the singer shakes a half bamboo tube two inches wide threaded with seven coins while beating a drum, sometimes with a chorus.
Counting and choral cadence
Pingxiang singing pairs a half-chanted counting section with a choral drawn-out cadence on each stanza's last line.
Bamboo clappers
Regional styles differ but all use struck bamboo clappers accompanying a recited-and-sung narrative.
Regional schools
Western Jiangxi favours local history, central Jiangxi long tales and southern Jiangxi duet performances of long stories.
Master-pupil transmission
Taught by apprenticeship and word of mouth, the form appeared in northern Jiangxi by the mid-to-late Ming and spread across the province in the Qing.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Jiangxi lianhua luo is a quyi form transmitted over most of Jiangxi Province; it had already appeared in the northern Jiangxi area by the mid-to-late Ming dynasty, and by the Qing dynasty it was being transmitted in central, western and southern Jiangxi alike, giving rise to numerous branch schools. The branch schools vary while sharing a common core, each with its own distinctive character, and the form stands apart among its fellow genres of quyi. “Yingtan lianhua luo” and “Poyang lianhua luo” of northeastern Jiangxi, “Ji'an lianhua luo” and “Nanchang lianhua luo” of central Jiangxi, “Fuzhou lianhua luo” of southeastern Jiangxi, “Ganzhou lianhua luo” of southern Jiangxi, as well as “Yichun lianhua luo” and “Pingxiang lianhua luo” of western Jiangxi, are all relatively representative branch schools. It has a long history, a wide distribution and a rich repertoire, and possesses fairly high cultural value.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The principal mode of transmission of Jiangxi lianhua luo is apprenticeship — taking a master and taking on disciples — and oral transmission from mouth to ear. At present the project is in good condition of continuity, and the strength of inheritance and protection is constantly increasing.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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