Miao Folk Songs
01 · Historical Records
It has a long history of development; the Yong Sui Ting Gazetteer compiled in the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty already records that “the drum-hall dance went on until the hour of xu (7–9 p.m.) before it stopped” and that “men and women gathered in groups according to their kind, singing Miao songs to one another”.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Miao are concentrated mainly in south-eastern Guizhou, in the Great Miao Mountains of Guangxi, on Hainan Island and along the borders of the provinces and autonomous regions of Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guangxi. Miao folk songs are forms of ethnic folk music created by the Miao people in the course of long production and life; according to their content they fall into types such as youfang songs (love songs), wine songs, bitter songs, counter-songs, funeral songs, labour songs, songs on current affairs, children's songs and riddle songs, each with its own melody. Every form of Miao folk song contains both traditional lyrics and material composed and sung on the spot. Among them the Miao feige is high in pitch, bold and unrestrained, is performed in solo, antiphonal and choral forms, and is much loved by the Miao people. Western Hunan Miao folk songs are among the singing art forms most loved by the Miao people; they are current in the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Hunan Province, the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Hubei Province, Xiushan County of Chongqing Municipality, Songtao County of Guizhou Province and Tongren City. The lyrics take four forms, of seven, nine, ten and thirteen characters to the line, and in performance they are commonly accompanied by drums, wooden clappers, the suona and ox horns. Modern composers also often take Western Hunan Miao folk songs as material; Tan Dun's Map, for example, not only uses material from Western Hunan Miao folk songs but preserves their indigenous high-pitched vocal style untouched within it, from which the appeal of Western Hunan Miao folk songs can be seen.
Five vocal styles
The music of Western Hunan Miao folk songs is divided into “five vocal styles and ten tune-types”, including the high and stirring gaoqiang (high style), the lingering and pleasing pingqiang (level style), the baguqiang (bagu style) and gelaoqiang (gelao style), which are lyrical and stirring alike, and the feiqiang (flying style).
Ten tune-types
Tune-types including the tune sung at the door to fetch the bride, the bride-escort tune, the cry-tune, the love-song tune, the work tune, the tune for children, the weeping style, the old song-master tune and the pole-carrying song tune.
Four lyric-line formats
The lyrics take four forms, of seven, nine, ten and thirteen characters to the line, and in performance they are commonly accompanied by drums, wooden clappers, the suona and ox horns.
Tan Dun's Map
A representative work in which a modern composer takes Western Hunan Miao folk songs as material, preserving their indigenous high-pitched vocal style untouched within the work.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Western Hunan Miao folk songs are beautiful and pleasing to the ear; their music is divided into “five vocal styles and ten tune-types”, including the high and stirring gaoqiang (high style), the lingering and pleasing pingqiang (level style), the baguqiang (bagu style) and gelaoqiang (gelao style), which are lyrical and stirring alike, the feiqiang (flying style), and such tune-types as jieqin lanmen diao (tune sung at the door to fetch the bride), songqin diao (bride-escort tune), yaohuo diao (cry-tune), qingge diao (love-song tune), gongfu diao (work tune), erge diao (children's tune), kuqiang diao (weeping style), laosige diao (old song-master tune) and kangxian ge diao (pole-carrying song tune). Western Hunan Miao folk songs are distinctive in form and rich in content; they have been transmitted unbroken in the western Hunan area from ancient times to the present, and are important reference material for the study of Miao history, primitive religion, folklore and other matters.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Miao Folk Songs · Miao Folk Songs · Miao Folk Songs · Miao Folk Songs.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The melodies and performing methods of Western Hunan Miao folk songs are highly distinctive and have considerable artistic research value. As early as 1956 the noted musicologist Yang Yinliu led a dozen or more researchers from the Central Institute of Music to western Hunan to make a systematic collection of Miao folk songs and published a survey report. At present some Miao ancient songs have not yet been thoroughly excavated; at the same time, as the ethnic language is gradually replaced by Chinese and old singers die off one after another, the number of Miao song performers declines year by year. In this situation it is necessary to devote more effort to the further excavation, sorting, protection and rescue of Western Hunan Miao folk songs. Chen Qianjun (per the official record of the associated inheritor): A man of the Miao nationality, born in October 1943 in Jishou City, Hunan Province. From childhood he followed his parents, his brothers and sisters-in-law and his fellow villagers up the slopes and into the fields, bathed in the plain Miao songs, and began to sing on stage at the age of thirteen. For many years he insisted on going deep into life, actively collecting fine folk songs, proverbs, stories, jokes and the like, drawing nourishment from folk song and then refining it and taking its essence to form a style of his own; the folk songs he composed are widely sung and have had a certain influence locally. He has also taken an active part in the performance, training, collection and sorting of Miao folk songs. Representative inheritor of Miao folk songs (Western Hunan Miao folk songs) for the third national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. In 1964 he was taken as a disciple by Chen Zupin, an old song master of Xincun Village, Baiyan Township, Jishou City.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Chen Qianjun 03-0867
- Ren Maoshu 05-2118
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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