Zhenba Folk Songs
01 · Historical Records
Zhenba County lies at the southernmost tip of Shaanxi Province. The folk songs current there have a long history and are the wealth created and accumulated by the people of Zhenba over thousands of years. More than four thousand have now been collected, divided mainly into labour songs (hao zi), mountain songs, maoshan songs, small tunes, folk-custom songs, sacrificial songs and other kinds. Zhenba lies deep in the Bashan mountains, bordering Sichuan and Hubei; the language of its folk songs is plain and concise, natural and flowing. They not only record the local course of history, conditions of life and local customs, but also carry the task of publicising moral norms and spreading labour skills, and so have become an important tool for promoting education.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Its folk songs are rich in content, and more than four thousand have now been collected. Zhenba folk songs are divided mainly into labour songs (hao zi), mountain songs, maoshan songs, small tunes, folk-custom songs, sacrificial songs and other kinds. Among them, labour songs come in two kinds: first, hao zi that set a common working rhythm, such as the hao zi for hauling stone and for ramming rammed earth; second, hao zi that adjust the mood of labour, such as the hao zi for carrying the second brother on the back. They are sung mostly on the spur of the moment, often with one leader and many joining in, and have a distinctive power. Mountain songs deal mainly with love, and take the forms of solo, unison and antiphonal singing. Male voices are mostly sung in a high, resonant high register, and can also be sung in the vigorous and heroic level register with free rhythm; female voices are sung uniformly in the level register, with lingering drawn-out tones that are winding and subtle. Representative pieces include "Beating the Immortal Peaches", "Tiny Feet in Red Embroidered Shoes" and "The Sun Sets Behind the Ridge and All Four Valleys Fall in Shadow". Small tunes generally use a multi-stanza narrative form, with complete singing texts handed down; those that have both text and chapter are represented by "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai", "Ten Li Pavilion", "Ten Thoughts" and "Ten Admonitions". Zhenba folk songs are mostly in a single-section structure, and their modal make-up consists chiefly of four-tone or five-tone zhi modes, with yu, shang and gong modes next. Their melodies are elegant and plain, and their lyrics make much use of the devices of comparison and evocation, full of romantic fantasy. Filial piety songs are accompanied when sung, the accompanying instruments comprising one self-made sheepskin drum nicknamed "basin drum", one large gong, one yunluo and one pair of cymbals.
Beating the Immortal Peaches
Mountain songs deal mainly with love and take the forms of solo, unison and antiphonal singing; male voices are mostly sung in a high, resonant high register and can also be sung in the vigorous and heroic level register with free rhythm, while female voices are sung uniformly in the level register with lingering drawn-out tones that are winding and subtle. Representative pieces include "Beating the Immortal Peaches", "Tiny Feet in Red Embroidered Shoes" and "The Sun Sets Behind the Ridge and All Four Valleys Fall in Shadow".
Tiny Feet in Red Embroidered Shoes
Mountain songs deal mainly with love and take the forms of solo, unison and antiphonal singing; male voices are mostly sung in a high, resonant high register and can also be sung in the vigorous and heroic level register with free rhythm, while female voices are sung uniformly in the level register with lingering drawn-out tones that are winding and subtle. Representative pieces include "Beating the Immortal Peaches", "Tiny Feet in Red Embroidered Shoes" and "The Sun Sets Behind the Ridge and All Four Valleys Fall in Shadow".
The Sun Sets Behind the Ridge and All Four Valleys Fall in Shadow
Mountain songs deal mainly with love and take the forms of solo, unison and antiphonal singing; male voices are mostly sung in a high, resonant high register and can also be sung in the vigorous and heroic level register with free rhythm, while female voices are sung uniformly in the level register with lingering drawn-out tones that are winding and subtle. Representative pieces include "Beating the Immortal Peaches", "Tiny Feet in Red Embroidered Shoes" and "The Sun Sets Behind the Ridge and All Four Valleys Fall in Shadow".
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Zhenba County lies at the southernmost tip of Shaanxi Province, and the folk songs current there have a long history, being the wealth created and accumulated by the people of Zhenba over thousands of years. Folk-custom songs are sung mainly when local folk events are held, including marriage songs such as "The Bride Weeps as She Marries" and "The Mother Instructs Her Daughter", funeral songs such as the "filial piety songs", and songs used on other occasions such as birthday celebrations and house-building, like "Paying Homage for Longevity" and "Words of Good Omen at Building the House". The language of Zhenba folk songs is plain and concise, natural and flowing; it not only records the local course of history, conditions of life and local customs, but also carries the task of publicising moral norms and spreading labour skills, and so has become an important tool for promoting education. Zhenba folk songs are passed on continuously among the local people.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present fewer and fewer people in Zhenba sing folk songs, a break has appeared in transmission, and large amounts of manpower and material resources are urgently needed to repair the gap.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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