Xuzao

01 · Historical Records

By the Ming and Qing dynasties, manuscript copies of shuangge songs recording the pronunciation of the Shui language in Chinese characters had already appeared.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Xuzao, in the Shui language, has "xu" meaning "song" and "zao" meaning "double", that is, the Shui shuangge or "double song". It takes its name from the fact that a performance is made up of two parties and that the pieces are always even in number, and it is a narrative singing art unique to the Shui people. Its origins are not recorded in any document, and it has a long history of oral transmission among the people. Xuzao is sung in the Shui language without instrumental accompaniment, using chorus, solo, rhymed speech, chanting and harmony; the singers take on two or more roles in the song. The chanting is made up of backing chorus, accompanying voices, an opening song, harmony, and a chorus-supported refrain at the end of the song. Each group of songs contains an even number of pieces; each song is relatively independent, and several songs are combined to express a complete theme. According to the functional setting in which it is used, it is divided into welcoming-guest shuangge, festival-banquet shuangge, mourning and remembrance shuangge, and the like. It is strongly ritual in character: the melody and mode of each tune are strictly regulated, and the set pieces of narrative singing follow rigid musical formulae. Its vocal style has a comparatively stable melodic skeleton, forming a multi-sentence, single-tune structure with an introduction, a thematic vocal style and a coda. At the coda of a sung section, all the listeners present may join in the backing chorus. Audience participation is a major characteristic of shuangge narrative singing. The repertoire of Xuzao falls into story and non-story types; representative works of the former include The Golden Oriole and the Cuckoo, Loquat and Plum, and Tiger and the Rainbow Dragon, while the latter include Song of the Creation of Humankind, Song of the Bridge-Building and Song of House-Praising.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

It is mainly transmitted in Sandu County, the only Shui autonomous county in the country, and its area of distribution radiates from this centre to surrounding areas such as Qiannan Prefecture and Qiandongnan Prefecture. Its structure is divided into spoken narration and chanting: it opens with spoken narration introducing the relationships among the main characters (people, or anthropomorphised plants and animals), then moves into chanting, interspersing spoken narration as needed.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Xuzao is transmitted chiefly through villages and family lineages, and is passed on largely among farming communities; Shuigen Village in Zhonghe Town, Sandu County is an important base for its transmission. As one form of music used in the folk customs of the Shui people, Xuzao circulates widely among the villages, woven into their history and daily life; it carries precious information from several disciplines — language, folklore, music, literature and history — and is an important source for studying the history and culture of the Shui people. Its types and artistic techniques are varied, its manner of singing is distinctive, and through oral transmission it quietly fulfils a function of moral education, giving it significant historical, artistic, cultural and social value.

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Xuzao (Qiannanbuyizumiaozuzizhizhousandoushuizuzizhi, Guizhou) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗