Haiyang Work Songs
01 · Historical Records
The Xiangshan fishermen’s chants had already begun to take shape in the Tang and Song periods and reached prosperity from the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty to the Republican period. By the mid-1960s, as manual fishing was gradually replaced by mechanization and heavy labour became steadily easier, the living space of the chants kept shrinking and the fishermen’s chants gradually disappeared. The Xiangshan fishermen’s chants had already begun to take shape in the Tang and Song periods and reached prosperity from the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty to the Republican period; by the mid-1960s, as manual fishing was gradually replaced by mechanization and heavy labour became steadily easier, the living space of the chants kept shrinking and the fishermen’s chants gradually disappeared. As a form of folk art distinctive to Xiangshan’s maritime character, it has been placed by the cultural department of Xiangshan county on the list for rescue and protection, and substantive results in protection have been achieved through various methods and measures.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Xiangshan fishermen’s chants consist of the fishermen’s chants of traditional fishery production together with the boatmen’s chants of the maritime transport industry and the like, collectively called “fishermen’s chants”.
Anchor-raising chant
One of the varieties of the Xiangshan fishermen’s chants classified by process.
Sail-hoisting chant
One of the varieties of the Xiangshan fishermen’s chants classified by process.
Oar-rowing chant
One of the varieties of the Xiangshan fishermen’s chants classified by process.
Great, one-six and small chants
Divided by the degree of effort the work requires into the great chant, the one-six chant and the small chant, with the various chants usable flexibly and interchangeably for one another.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Divided by process, the Xiangshan fishermen’s chants include more than twenty kinds such as the anchor-raising chant, the sail-hoisting chant and the oar-rowing chant; divided again by the degree of effort the work requires, they fall into the great chant, the one-six chant and the small chant, and the various chants can be used flexibly and interchangeably for one another. Shipu (East Gate) and Juexi are the principal places of origin and transmission of the Xiangshan fishermen’s chants. The chants consist of the fishermen’s chants of traditional fishery production together with the boatmen’s chants of the maritime transport industry and the like, collectively called “fishermen’s chants”; divided by process they include more than twenty kinds such as the anchor-raising, sail-hoisting and oar-rowing chants, divided by the effort the work requires into the great, one-six and small chants, and the various chants can be used flexibly and interchangeably for one another.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Shipu (East Gate) and Juexi are the principal places of origin and transmission of the Xiangshan fishermen’s chants. As a form of folk art distinctive to Xiangshan’s maritime character, the Xiangshan fishermen’s chants have been placed by the cultural department of Xiangshan county on the list for rescue and protection, and substantive results in protection have been achieved through various methods and measures. The Xiangshan fishermen’s chants have been sung from generation to generation on the basis of the boat work and the fishing work of the Shipu harbour area; their vocal style is rugged, led and closely followed, and they reflect the labour of the East China Sea fishing grounds. Compared with mechanized fishing, they preserve more completely the rhythm and the calling system of the traditional fishery processes, and are important living material for the study of the maritime folk customs and fishery production methods of eastern Zhejiang. The Xiangshan fishermen’s chants have been sung from generation to generation on the basis of the boat work and the fishing work of the Shipu harbour area; their vocal style is rugged, led and closely followed, and they reflect the labour of the East China Sea fishing grounds. Compared with mechanized fishing, they preserve more completely the rhythm and the calling system of the traditional fishery processes, and are important living material for the study of the maritime folk customs and fishery production methods of eastern Zhejiang. Even today the old fishermen of Shipu and Juexi can still sing them in sections according to such processes as anchor-raising, sail-hoisting and oar-rowing, which provides oral evidence for dating and periodizing the chants and for reconstructing the fishery processes.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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