Molun
01 · Historical Records
It originates in ritual chanting among the Zhuang people; by the latest period of the Qing dynasty it was already current in Jingxi, Guangxi, and it has a history of more than 200 years. After the 1950s the newly composed works Mao Hong Yu Yuyin (Mao Hong and Yuyin) and Yihua Jiemu (Grafting a Flower onto a Tree) were sung far and wide, and performers went to Cao Bang Province in Vietnam to sing under makeshift sheds.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Molun means in the Zhuang language “a ritual song with a long, winding melodic course”; it is the most representative traditional quyi form of the Zhuang people, and the only quyi form distributed across the China-Vietnam border. It is handed down generation by generation in Zhuang society, remains flourishing to this day, and is now current mainly in the counties and cities of Jingxi, Debao, Napo, Tiandeng and Daxin in southwestern Guangxi. Molun is performed in the Dejing vernacular, a Zhuang dialect; its performance form is flexible and varied, and the performer may sit, stand or move about, with props such as the folding fan, the hand drum, the embroidered ball and the bell. In its early period the only accompanying instrument was the bronze bell; there are now the maguhu, the sanxian, the tuhu and so on. The shangjia form of Molun is in the yu mode, while the xiajia form is in the gong mode. Its lyrics are in verse form, mainly seven-character lines, with occasional five- and three-character lines; the number of lines in each sung section is unrestricted, and the rhyme falls on the ending and the middle of the lines, that is, the last word of the preceding line rhymes with a non-final word of the following line, with careful alternation of level and oblique tones in the rhyming positions. Its spoken portions make skilful use of folk proverbs, colloquialisms, puns and xiehouyu (two-part sayings). In performance, singing is the principal element and speaking the auxiliary one; speaking and singing are combined and interlock one after another, carrying a flowing and recurrent aesthetic significance. Its traditional repertoire works are mostly adapted from folk legendary stories or transplanted from Han Chinese sung texts, and reflect sorrowful and plaintive content. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression the composed works Songfu Dangbing (Seeing a Husband Off to Join the Army) and Shengli Sibie (Parting in Life and Death) circulated widely. After the reform and opening-up began, modern Molun works such as Huainian Zhou Zongli (In Memory of Premier Zhou), Zhao Xin Deng (The Lamp That Lights the Heart) and Huilei Juqi You Changzheng (Shedding Tears to Raise the Flag and March Off Again) became classic repertoire works. Molun art is widely current among the Zhuang people and is a required item in the stage programmes of local literary and art troupes, with numerous learners.
Songfu Dangbing (Seeing a Husband Off to Join the Army)
During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression the composed works Songfu Dangbing (Seeing a Husband Off to Join the Army) and Shengli Sibie (Parting in Life and Death) circulated widely.
Shengli Sibie (Parting in Life and Death)
During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression the composed works Songfu Dangbing (Seeing a Husband Off to Join the Army) and Shengli Sibie (Parting in Life and Death) circulated widely.
Huainian Zhou Zongli (In Memory of Premier Zhou)
After the reform and opening-up began, modern Molun works such as Huainian Zhou Zongli (In Memory of Premier Zhou), Zhao Xin Deng (The Lamp That Lights the Heart) and Huilei Juqi You Changzheng (Shedding Tears to Raise the Flag and March Off Again) became classic repertoire works.
Zhao Xin Deng (The Lamp That Lights the Heart)
After the reform and opening-up began, modern Molun works such as Huainian Zhou Zongli (In Memory of Premier Zhou), Zhao Xin Deng (The Lamp That Lights the Heart) and Huilei Juqi You Changzheng (Shedding Tears to Raise the Flag and March Off Again) became classic repertoire works.
Huilei Juqi You Changzheng (Shedding Tears to Raise the Flag and March Off Again)
After the reform and opening-up began, modern Molun works such as Huainian Zhou Zongli (In Memory of Premier Zhou), Zhao Xin Deng (The Lamp That Lights the Heart) and Huilei Juqi You Changzheng (Shedding Tears to Raise the Flag and March Off Again) became classic repertoire works.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
According to its melodic structure, Molun is divided into two major schools, the shangjia and the xiajia.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Jingxi Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Centre, the folk performance troupe of the Jingxi Zhuang Museum and the Wuping Street Intangible Cultural Heritage Zhuang Molun singing troupe are the important groups transmitting the art of Molun. The origins and course of development of Molun reflect a trajectory running from belief ritual to performing art, so it has important historical value; the content of its repertoire works, its musical structure and its sound-and-rhyme patterns embody the aesthetic taste and artistic value of the Zhuang people; its rigorous verse language, using the highly skilled devices of “fu, bi, xing” (descriptive exposition, analogy and evocation), produces an effect of combining narration with commentary and so displays consummate literary value; it is a synthesis of literature and music, with poetry as its substance and music as its expression, and therefore carries high cultural value; it conveys truth, goodness and beauty, promotes positive energy, and has important educational value.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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