Wugang City Making Efforts To Excavating Qingquao Folk Songs
Source:Wugang City Government NetworkWriter:OfficeTime:2014-09-29Clicks：次
Abstract: Qingqiao folk songs, mainly based on oral speech, especially on folk slang, is simple but poetic and lively. They are easy to understand in traditional folk style.
On June 24, the director of the Culture-Broadcast-Press Bureau Of Wugang City along with some office workers went to Chaoshui Village, Qingqiao Village and Bantang Village of Qingqiao Township to excavate and collect “Qingqiao folk songs”. They went into the fields and visited houses in the mountains to make known to the local people the importance of the excavation and collection of folk songs and also to find elders who can sing folk songs.
Old Sun Zhongcheng, aged 74, was one of them whom they found. He put down his knife with which he was gathering firewood and sang two lines, “I will be filled with sadness without singing a folk song, and my heart will be delighted while I sing.” He is able to make up songs and sing readily, inspired and excited by the scene where he is. His songs mainly cover daily life and farming work. They can be sorted into love songs, farming songs, persuading songs and so on. He told us he loved singing from his childhood and was able to sing continuously for three days and nights without repeating the same. His great grandfather and his parents were all excellent singers. Now his children can sing some, too.
Qingqiao folk songs can be divided into two categories: level-tone songs and high-tone songs. The reason why the folk songs are passed down to this day without dying out is that they have their own striking local characteristics. First, full of local speech and slang, they are native, thus becoming simple. Second, they are graceful but easy to understand. Third, they are poetic, though based on traditional style. Fourth, they are lively because of being about everyday life.
The director in charge of the bureau asked his party to make all efforts to record the words and music of the songs to be collected and publish a Qingqiao folk song book as soon as possible. A folk song festival is also planned in order to highlight the local culture.
(translated by Yi Daoqun)
On June 24, the director of the Culture-Broadcast-Press Bureau Of Wugang City along with some office workers went to Chaoshui Village, Qingqiao Village and Bantang Village of Qingqiao Township to excavate and collect “Qingqiao folk songs”. They went into the fields and visited houses in the mountains to make known to the local people the importance of the excavation and collection of folk songs and also to find elders who can sing folk songs.
Old Sun Zhongcheng, aged 74, was one of them whom they found. He put down his knife with which he was gathering firewood and sang two lines, “I will be filled with sadness without singing a folk song, and my heart will be delighted while I sing.” He is able to make up songs and sing readily, inspired and excited by the scene where he is. His songs mainly cover daily life and farming work. They can be sorted into love songs, farming songs, persuading songs and so on. He told us he loved singing from his childhood and was able to sing continuously for three days and nights without repeating the same. His great grandfather and his parents were all excellent singers. Now his children can sing some, too.
Qingqiao folk songs can be divided into two categories: level-tone songs and high-tone songs. The reason why the folk songs are passed down to this day without dying out is that they have their own striking local characteristics. First, full of local speech and slang, they are native, thus becoming simple. Second, they are graceful but easy to understand. Third, they are poetic, though based on traditional style. Fourth, they are lively because of being about everyday life.
The director in charge of the bureau asked his party to make all efforts to record the words and music of the songs to be collected and publish a Qingqiao folk song book as soon as possible. A folk song festival is also planned in order to highlight the local culture.
(translated by Yi Daoqun)