Chashan Work Songs
01 · Historical Records
The tea-mountain work song is a form of folk song formed by the Yao people in long labour and life; it is widely current in the Huangxikou Yao area of Chenxi County, Hunan Province, and has been transmitted for more than four hundred years. Chenxi County in Hunan Province borders Xupu to the east and adjoins Zhongfang to the south; there are now nearly forty thousand Yao people there, living mainly in the Huangxikou Yao area. When the Yao people dig into the tea hills they sing this kind of labour song, which serves to set a common working rhythm and raise labour enthusiasm.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The tea-mountain work song, widely current in the Yao areas, is a form of folk song formed by the Yao people in labour and life and has been transmitted for more than four hundred years. When the Yao people dig into the tea hills they sing this kind of labour song, which serves to set a common working rhythm and raise labour enthusiasm. When a group digs into the tea hills, the singers beat gongs and drums on the mountaintop, singing a passage of the tea-mountain work song and beating the gongs and drums for a while, to spur on those digging the hill. Sometimes the form is used in which one person sings and the many join in. The melody of the tea-mountain work song is high and undulating, stirring and far-carrying, uninhibited and turning; its singing techniques are extremely difficult to master. The singers' pronunciation is very unusual, the melody moves mainly in the high register, and the sound they produce is so powerful that not even a pair of suona can drown it - truly a wonder.
Drum-led mountain-top lead-singing
When a group digs into the tea hills, the singers beat gongs and drums on the mountaintop, singing a passage of the tea-mountain work song and beating the gongs and drums for a while, to spur on those digging the hill.
Solo lead with chorus response
On some occasions the form of one lead singer with many joining in is used, alternating with the gongs and drums leading the performance.
Octave-leaping high register
The melody moves mainly in the high register and the singer's pronunciation is unusual; the sound produced is so powerful that not even a pair of suona can drown it - truly a wonder. Inheritor Mi Qingsong leaps an octave up when performing, his voice high and ringing with a metallic penetrating power.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Chenxi County in Hunan Province borders Xupu to the east and adjoins Zhongfang to the south; there are now nearly forty thousand Yao people there, living mainly in the Huangxikou Yao area. The tea-mountain work song vividly records the production and living conditions of the Yao people within Chenxi, and after several hundred years of transmission it has gradually become an important part of the spiritual life of the local people.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, with the development of the social economy and the change of traditional modes of labour, the living environment of the tea-mountain work song has changed greatly; this distinctive form of folk song art has no successors, is on the point of being lost, and urgently needs strong support from the relevant departments so that rescue and protection work can begin at once. Mi Qingsong (from the official record of the associated inheritor): male, Yao nationality, born in September 1957, native of Chenxi County, Hunan Province. He has a distinctive singing style and leaps an octave up when performing; his technique is thoroughly mastered. His voice is unusual and high, with a metallic penetrating power and a strong local flavour. In 2015 he compiled and published the book "Chenxi Tea-Mountain Work Songs". He is a representative inheritor of the tea-mountain work song, a fifth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage item. He established a training base for the tea-mountain work song in Luozishan Yao Township and trained more than sixty disciples; his chief disciple Mi Zhaole has fully mastered the singing techniques of the work song and has taken part in performances and won prizes many times.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Mi Qingsong 05-2101
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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