Changli Folk Songs
01 · Historical Records
Changli folk songs are a kind of folk ditty circulated in Changli County in the north-east of Hebei Province; their origin can be traced back to the Yuan dynasty, and they now have a history of more than seven hundred years. In view of the historical transmission and development of Changli folk songs, in 2000 Changli County was named by the Ministry of Culture a “home of Chinese folk songs”.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Classified by subject matter, Changli folk songs fall into four types, labour chants, narrative and legendary songs, love songs and daily-life songs, and they are performed in three forms: yangge style, single-voice singing and alternating duets. The fisher men's chants popular in the eastern coastal area represent the mainstream of Changli folk songs; most of the veteran folk singers were born in the eastern district and are famous for singing fisher men's chants. Singing is generally accompanied by such ethnic instruments as the erhu, yangqin, sheng, pipa, suona and flute; when it is sung in a village courtyard, a pair of bamboo clappers or a single erhu is enough. The melodies of Changli folk songs are mostly in zhi mode, followed by yu mode; gong mode is less common and jue mode the least common, and there are relatively few pieces that change mode. They have a fresh, beautiful and plain artistic style. Changli folk songs have deep cultural foundations and are a treasure of the folk art of Changli County. Over a long period the Changli County Cultural Centre repeatedly organised large-scale field investigations and interviews, collecting 155 traditional folk songs, 7 labour chants, 5 hawker's tunes and 22 anti-Japanese folk songs, and successively worked up fine pieces such as Jian Mian Hua, Mo Li Hua, Xiu Deng Long and Kan Xiao Xi. Folk artists such as Cao Yujian performed outstandingly and became well known throughout the region.
Jian Mian Hua
One of the fine pieces worked up from Changli folk songs.
Mo Li Hua
One of the fine pieces worked up from Changli folk songs and a staple in the repertoire of the inheritor Wang Shijie.
Xiu Deng Long
One of the fine pieces worked up from Changli folk songs and a staple in the repertoire of the inheritor Wang Shijie.
Kan Xiao Xi
One of the fine pieces worked up from Changli folk songs.
Zheng Dui Hua
One of the Changli folk songs that the inheritor Wang Shijie can sing fluently.
Local-voice singing technique
Sung in the “rusty throat” manner on the basis of the local dialect, it requires accurate mastery of eight technical points: retroflex sounds, trilled gutturals, throat tremolo, throat-and-nasal tones, auxiliary syllables, glides, grace notes and a heavy closing tone.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Because the districts of the county differ, the distribution of folk song types also differs. Labour chants prevail in the eastern coastal area; the mountain songs of the southern district are mainly in yangge style; and the western district borders on Luan County, the birthplace of Pingju, so single-voice pieces and duets are relatively numerous there. Changli folk songs are based on the local dialect and sung in the “rusty throat” manner, which requires accurate mastery of eight technical points: retroflex sounds, trilled gutturals, throat tremolo, throat-and-nasal tones, auxiliary syllables, glides, grace notes and a heavy closing tone.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present most well-known Changli folk song artists are over sixty and most people who love folk songs are in middle age or above; in these circumstances the transmission of Changli folk songs has run into great difficulty, and even many folk song families face the danger of a break in the line, so protective measures are urgently needed. Wang Shijie (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, Han, born in April 1940, a native of Laoting County, Hebei Province. From childhood he was steeped in Laoting shadow puppetry, Laoting dagu and lianhualuo, and grew deeply interested in folk art. From 1960 he studied Changli folk songs under the veteran artist Cao Yujian, and from then on followed an artistic path of learning, singing, transmitting and spreading Changli folk songs. He continually absorbed the essence of local Changli theatre, so that Changli folk songs could innovate and develop. He can sing many Changli folk songs with strong local character, among them Xiu Deng Long, Jian Mian Hua, Mo Li Hua and Zheng Dui Hua. For many years he took part in cultural performances, gave lectures, and sang, taught and coached in a number of colleges and schools. In 2015 he compiled one hundred representative Changli folk song pieces and had them printed in a collection. In 2016 he served as chief editor of the book Changli Folk Songs. Representative inheritor of Changli folk songs, inscribed in the fifth national-level batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wang Shijie 05-2094
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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