Banyun Work Songs
01 · Historical Records
Porters' work songs are a form of folk song that arose in heavy manual labour such as loading and unloading by hand, carrying on the shoulder and pushing or pulling goods; in collective transport labour they can unify the pace, regulate breathing and raise spirits. The Liangping taier diao is a form of folk music current within Liangping County in the north-east of Chongqing Municipality; it arose from everyday production labour and folk-custom activities, and its exact date of formation can no longer be ascertained, but judging from every indication its history of development should be no less than five hundred years.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Porters' work songs are a form of folk song that arose in heavy manual labour such as loading and unloading by hand, carrying on the shoulder and pushing or pulling goods; in collective transport labour they can unify the pace, regulate breathing and raise spirits. Most porters' work songs have no fixed lyrics; one voice leads and the others respond, or the leading and responding voices overlap, producing a polyphonic form of singing. The Liangping taier diao is a form of folk music current within Liangping County in the north-east of Chongqing Municipality; it arose from everyday production labour and folk-custom activities, and its exact date of formation can no longer be ascertained, but judging from every indication its history of development should be no less than five hundred years. The Liangping taier diao existed at first in the form of a labour song; its lyrics are plain and humorous, its melodic contour free-flowing and concise, and it is easy to spread. After several centuries of development it gradually became a form of folk music sung in a humming, self-entertaining way. By function the Liangping taier diao comprises three main types of tune: first, the stamping-foot tune, chanted and sung in a high style while working and carrying heavy loads, which combines chanting with singing, is lively and high-pitched, and has witty, humorous lines, and is the most widely circulated, most used and richest in content of all the Liangping taier diao types; second, the four-sedan tune, used when carrying a bridal sedan chair, which is chanted but not sung, though the chanting itself still follows a concise melodic contour; third, the dragon-pole tune, also called the up-the-hill tune, chanted and sung when carrying a coffin, which combines chanting with singing in a desolate, mournful style. Apart from the four-sedan tune, the lyrics of the Liangping taier diao are generally four lines or eight lines, with a few in six lines; the first, second and fourth lines rhyme, while the third may or may not. Besides this, the Liangping taier diao can also have its lyrics improvised on the spot, which greatly strengthens the directedness of the singing. In the course of its long transmission, outstanding singers of the Liangping taier diao have emerged one after another.
Ta-jiao tune
The tune chanted and sung in a high style while working and carrying heavy loads; it combines chanting with singing, is lively and high-pitched and has witty, humorous lines, and it is the most widely circulated, most used and richest in content of the Liangping taier diao types.
Si-jiao tune
The tune used when carrying a bridal sedan chair; it is chanted but not sung, though the chanting itself still follows a concise melodic contour.
Long-gang (Shang-shan) tune
The tune chanted and sung when carrying a coffin; it combines chanting with singing in a desolate, mournful style.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
By function the Liangping taier diao is divided into three main types of tune: first, the stamping-foot tune, chanted and sung in a high style while working and carrying heavy loads, which combines chanting with singing, is lively and high-pitched and has witty, humorous lines, and is the most widely circulated, most used and richest in content; second, the four-sedan tune, used when carrying a bridal sedan chair, which is chanted but not sung, though the chanting itself still follows a concise melodic contour; third, the dragon-pole tune, also called the up-the-hill tune, chanted and sung when carrying a coffin, which combines chanting with singing in a desolate, mournful style. Its lyrics are generally four lines or eight lines, with a few in six lines; the first, second and fourth lines rhyme.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Banyun Work Songs.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Liangping taier diao is both a way of relieving fatigue and coordinating the pace in the productive labour of the porters and an important form of entertainment in the life of the local people; it has research value in many fields such as folklore and ethnomusicology. At present the spread of advanced production tools has changed the old traditional mode of production by shoulder-carrying and back-bearing; in these circumstances the Liangping taier diao has gradually lost the environment in which it used to live and its development is obstructed. As the old porters die off one after another, the Liangping taier diao faces the danger of disappearing completely, and the work of protecting and transmitting it is urgent.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wu Mingyu 05-2109
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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