In the late Yuan Dynasty, Nan Opera spread through Kunshan in southeastern Jiangsu, and was combined with local language and music. Through the singing and promotion of local musicians, it became known as Kunshan Tune in the early Ming Dynasty. Later, it was reformed by Wei Liangfu and some other artists who lived in Taicang, and absorbed the strengths of music from other regions, summed up a series of singing theories, and formed a euphemistic and delicate Kunqiang singing system. During the Wanli period, Kunqu Opera expanded from Wuzhong to all parts of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and was introduced to Beijing and Hunan, quickly replacing the Yiyang Opera that was prevalent in Beijing at that time. At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Kunqu Opera spread to Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangdong and other places. After Kunqiang was introduced to various places, it was combined with local dialects and folk music to develop many genres, forming a rich and colorful Kunqiang system. After the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Kun Opera in various places gradually declined, and the remaining ones include Nan Kun in Jiangnan, Bei Kun in Beijing, Yong (Jia) Kun in Wenzhou, and Xiang Kun in Hunan.
In the development and prosperity stage of Kunqu Opera, most of them were bachelors of letters, from the creators of scripts to the improvers of music. For example, Wei Liangfu, who played a decisive role in the formation of Kunqu Opera music style, and Liang Chenyu, who wrote "Huansha Ji" and other playwrights, were all ordinary people with talent and learning but no fame. In addition, the lyrics of Kun Opera are gentle and elegant, and some are even obscure and remote. The music of Kun Opera is low-pitched, gentle, delicate and lingering. Strictly speaking, it should be regarded as the music of literati. However, from the formation process of Kun Opera, we can see that it is inextricably linked with folk music in many regions. Moreover, the Kunqu opera music that has been developed to this day also has the characteristics of multi-purpose and local characteristics. In some districts and counties far away from big cities, Kunqiang opera there takes on a simpler style, closer to folk music. In addition, Yiyang Qiang, which is one of the four major tunes of the Ming Dynasty along with Kunqiang, is the Gaoqiang that has been developed to this day. Although it was produced and spread for the same age, and also uses legendary scripts such as Kunqu Opera, it retains more folk traditions in music. .
In addition to the complex relationship between literati music and folk music, court music and religious music also have intricate connections with folk music. From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the imperial government established a tradition of collecting folk music and established specialized music institutions. After folk music entered the palace, it was adapted to varying degrees by officials and artists in the government and used as ceremonial music inside and outside the palace. After the Southern Song Dynasty, the palace dismantled the institutions specializing in collecting, sorting, training and performing music, and basically adopted the method of recruiting folk artists to perform in the palace. The palace's use of folk music not only changed the original appearance of folk music, but also promoted the development of folk music through the power of the government.
There are also a large number of folk music elements in religious music. For example, the wind music in Buddhist temples in Beijing and the Taoist cave music popular among many ethnic groups in Yunnan include seasonal ditties from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, various opera tunes and folk instrumental tunes.
Mr. Zheng Zhenduo, a famous Chinese literary theorist, said: "The development of orthodox literature is closely related to the development of 'popular literature'.
... Like five-character poetry, Han Yuefu, new Yuefu in the Six Dynasties, lyrics from the Tang and Five Dynasties, music from the Yuan and Ming dynasties, and palace tunes from the Song and Jin Dynasties, which new literary style did not originate from the folk? ""When folk songs gradually died out, this kind of folk songs became the property of literati. " ("History of Chinese Popular Literature", Writers Publishing House, February 1954 edition)
In addition, folk music itself also has different components and different stages of development. For example, labor chants in folk songs, The main creators and singers of folk songs and rural ditties are basically farmers. These songs are mostly used as a way for singers to entertain themselves, and the tunes are less processed, and the emotions are sincere and simple. They are often professional artists or semi-professional artists who are engaged in farming or handicrafts. These songs are mostly used for singing in streets, restaurants and teahouses, and the audience is mostly ordinary citizens or wealthy people. In order to exchange for rewards and cater to the audience's taste, these tunes are popular. Artists have done more processing, and the form is more artistic and commercial. From content to form, it has become secular and complicated: it is sincere and frank, breaking through the constraints of old ethics and pursuing individual liberation, and It shows the narrow-mindedness, weakness, negativity and even low taste of small producers. This is also the case in opera and folk art (rap). According to statistics, there are more than 300 types of folk art and opera in modern my country. Among the types of music and operas, there are those that are often or mainly performed in big cities and have high cultural and artistic standards. There are also those that are rarely or basically not performed in big cities and have relatively low cultural and artistic standards. Rough varieties. Those varieties that are often performed in big cities, such as Peking Opera, Beijing Yun Dagu, etc., have historically had literati participate in their creation and performance, and there are more opportunities to observe and learn other sister arts in big cities, making them eclectic. , integrated and developed more in content and form, but on the other hand, it also relatively expressed and spread the artistic taste, moral concepts and behavioral norms of the ruling class, literati and citizens.
In the development of modern music life, more professional literary and art workers are involved in the performance, adaptation and creation of folk music varieties, which developed and flourished after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Folk music is inseparable from the creative work of professional literary and art workers. However, this creative work does not break away from the foundation, nature and traditional accumulation of folk music, nor does it deviate from the long-term development of our country's folk music. Characteristics. Therefore, this kind of creation is fundamentally different from professional music creation.
So, what are the characteristics of Chinese folk music?
2. Characteristics of Chinese folk music
1. Vernacularity
The so-called vernacularity is also called locality or regionality. China has a vast territory, with an area close to that of the entire Europe (China covers an area of ??approximately 9.6 million square kilometers, and Europe covers an area of ????approximately 9.6 million square kilometers. (10.16 million square kilometers). In terms of terrain, there are plateaus, mountains, hills, plains and basins; in terms of climate, there are temperate zones with distinct four seasons, subtropical zones that are evergreen all year round, and the tropical zone in the far south; in terms of economic production methods There are different types of industries, such as industry, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishing. Therefore, under the homogeneity of large ethnic groups and large cultures, the geographical climate, natural production conditions, social changes, cultural traditions, dialects, and pronunciation of each region are affected. etc., all have different characteristics. People also have different lifestyles, customs, personalities, and aesthetic tastes. Moreover, the degree of such characteristics and differences is inversely proportional to the development of transportation and the frequency of external exchanges: the more developed the transportation, the more external exchanges, and the regional characteristics tend to be blurred; conversely, the more congested the transportation, the more frequent exchanges with the outside world. The smaller the number, the more distinct the regional characteristics tend to be. Therefore, the regional characteristics of folk music in remote mountain villages with inconvenient transportation are often enough to make it unacceptable and incomprehensible to outsiders who have just arrived. And this is the reason why music produced in an overly closed environment is difficult to spread outside.
The regional characteristics of folk music are mainly reflected in the following aspects:
① Linguistic characteristics
There are many ethnic groups in my country, in addition to 56 identified ethnic groups , according to statistics in 1990, there are still more than 749,000 people who have not identified their ethnic affiliation. Among the 56 ethnic groups, except for the Hui people who use Chinese, all other ethnic groups have their own languages, belonging to 11 language families in 5 language families. Some ethnic groups, due to historical population migration and other reasons, have complicated situations where their ethnic languages ??belong to the same language family but different language families. For example, the language of the Yugu people living in northwest my country belongs to the Altaic language family, but the western Yugu language belongs to the Turkic language family, and the eastern Yugu language belongs to the Mongolian language family. The genealogical classification method that divides the world's languages ??into language families, language families, language branches, etc. is based on the unique components of pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary that are preserved between a language and its mother tongue during the differentiation process. classified. A language family is a general term for languages ??that have the same origin. A language family is subdivided into language families and language branches based on the newness of the language. The further down the hierarchy, the more closely related its members are. Each national language has its own phonetic system. From nation to language branch, language family, and language family, the higher you go up, the greater the differences between phonetic systems. There are four elements in the composition of speech: pitch, timbre, length and intensity. They are also the four elements that make up music. Voice characteristics affect the pitch, timbre, rhythm and intensity of music through the lyrics in songs, and use vocal works as a bridge to influence the musical vocabulary and embellishment methods in instrumental works. In addition, within a larger nation, there are differences in dialects. Dialect is the regional variation of language within a nation. Taking Chinese as an example, there are seven major dialect areas: Mandarin, Wu, Gan, Hakka, Hunan, Min, and Cantonese. Under each dialect area, dialect pieces, dialect fragments, and dialect points can be further divided. In general, differences between dialects are smaller than differences between national languages. However, the differences between some dialects of Chinese, such as Beijingese and Cantonese, are greater than the differences between some national languages, such as Russian and Ukrainian. As far as the restrictive effect of pronunciation on music is concerned, the greater the difference in pronunciation between different ethnic groups and different regions, the greater the difference in music. Therefore, folk music that uses national languages ??or dialects has much more distinctive features than professionally created music that uses ethnic dialects.
Chinese has many dialects, and there is a saying that "the pronunciation is different for ten miles". This causes the same folk song to change in pitch due to different pronunciations when it is spread in different regions. The following examples are two variations of the folk song "Meng Jiangnu" produced in Jiangsu and Hebei. On the basis that the basic musical tone remains unchanged, some subtle changes in pitch movement lead to differences in the character and temperament of the two tunes. In summary, the tunes in Jiangsu are soft and euphemistic, while the tunes in Hebei are strong and angular:
After Qin Shihuang unified China, in order to establish centralized rule, communicate between regions, and unify the whole country law, weights and measures, currency and writing. However, he only solved the problem of "the same text of the book", but not the "same pronunciation of the language", so he left a rich and colorful folk music to future generations.
②Character traits
As for the role of geographical patterns, Hegel once summarized three aspects, namely, the role of geographical environment on the economy, the role of social relations and political systems, Effect on human character. The geographical environment determines people's lifestyle and also infects their character and temperament. People who have had some travel experience often feel that people in different regions have different personality tendencies. Generally speaking, people in the north of our country are rough and bold, while people in the south are delicate and gentle. Writer Shen Congwen once said: "Clouds have local characteristics: the clouds in northern China are thick, and the people are also thick. The clouds in the south are lively, and the people are also lively." ("Looking at Clouds in Yunnan") Feng Zikai also said : "The surrounding mountains and rivers have a great influence on people's character. The peculiar mountains in Guilin give Guangxi people a peculiar character. They are courageous, persevering, straightforward and straightforward." The Yangtze River in Sichuan is mighty and rapid, and the mountains are strange and steep. .
The constant noises, cheers and boos on the field express their likes and dislikes in time, and also reflect the closer relationship between the audience and the actors (creators): except for commercial performances, the audience is the actor’s bread and butter. In addition to relationships, the actors of folk music have a more harmonious, more equal, and more direct relationship with the audience. This may be one of the reasons why folk music is more lively and energetic than professional music.
3. Variability in dissemination
The oral and heart-to-heart transmission method of folk music, as well as the characteristics of locality and improvisation, have led to variability in the process of its dissemination. This variation generally falls into the following categories:
① Regional variation
When a folk tune is spread in a different place, the melody will change due to changes in the dialect of the lyrics. The mood of the tune will also change due to the different personalities of people in different places. The "Meng Jiangnu" from Jiangnan and Hebei mentioned above (Example 1) actually includes changes in these two aspects. Please take a look at the development of the same song "Embroidered Purse" in central Shanxi and northern Shaanxi:
The two "Embroidered Purse" are basically the same from lyrics to melody. There are only a few subtle differences, but they express The emotional difference between the two is revealed: Shanxi's "Embroidered Purse" is bright, pretty, and full of joy; Northern Shaanxi's "Embroidered Purse" is simple, depressive, and reveals a sense of desolation. In addition, the singer of "Embroidered Purse" in Shanxi uses a bright and sweet tone, while the singer of "Embroidered Purse" in northern Shaanxi uses a hoarse, astringent tone, which highlights the contrast between the two. When singing the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th bars of "Embroidered Purse" in Northern Shaanxi, the combination of the hoarse timbre and the descending melody created a weeping effect.
② Emotional rendering variation
Some relatively simple, straightforward tunes that are neutral in emotional expression (such as Example 6) have been processed and adapted in the process of dissemination. Finally, it has a distinct and detailed emotional tendency (Example 7). The former has a simple and straightforward melody, while the latter has a fiery and enthusiastic melody, which vividly expresses a girl's excitement before going to the theater:
③ Expression function expansion variation
Folk music There is a tradition of multiple uses. It is a common way of creating folk music to replace the melody that expresses a certain theme with the lyrics of other content, and then modify the melody to adapt to the new content. For example, some tunes in folk songs were originally used to describe the sad content in folklore (such as Example 1 "Meng Jiangnu"), and were later used to express love ("The Lover") or heroes in romance novels ("Three Kingdoms") ; The same seasonal ditty, "The Broken Bridge" can not only express the lingering love and sorrow of a woman ("Chuanxin Tune"), but also express the bride's joy when getting into the sedan chair ("The Sedan Arrives at the Door"), or sing about the four seasons. The busyness of productive labor ("Song of the Four Seasons"); etc. Some tunes or tunes in opera and folk art music are smooth and smooth at medium speeds, slow and lyrical at slow speeds, and lively and enthusiastic or intense at fast speeds. Of course, in addition to the changes in speed of these tunes, the traditional and simplified melodies are also added and deleted, and the lines of the tunes are also changed accordingly.
④ Mutations in crossover and penetration between genres
Some folk tunes have absorbed the expression techniques of folk art music, enhancing the expressive function of narrating stories and developing plots; some folk tunes have absorbed the expression techniques of folk art music. The expression techniques of opera music have expanded the ability to express dramatic conflicts and intense emotions; some folk instrumental music, from the plot to the structure of the music, are strongly influenced by opera; some instrumental music or vocal music absorb each other when playing and singing The method of moistening the tone broadens the expression techniques and scope of expression. And so on.
In short, the variation of folk music in the process of spreading is a means of its development and enrichment. This feature makes folk music endless and full of vitality.
4. People's character
Starting from "National Style" in "The Book of Songs", folk music has shown the joys, sorrows and joys of ordinary people that are different from those of the ruling class. Praise of labor, hatred and ridicule of those who are unkind to the rich, injustice and resistance to the dark rule of the government, sympathy for the misfortunes of the poor, praise of pure love, and longing for a better life, etc.
Because the content of folk music was often incompatible with the requirements of feudal rule, many emperors in history banned it. For example, in the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Wuzong of the Yuan Dynasty banned the singing of "Song of Merchant"; in the Ming Dynasty, Taizu banned singing and dancing; in the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi, Tongzhi, and Daoguang banned the singing of Yangko and "Lotus Blossoms", etc. In the face of the emperor's ban, the people did not show weakness. A folk song in northern Shaanxi goes: "The big stars in the sky are in charge of the small stars, and the futai on the ground is in charge of the military. Only the prefect is in charge of the county. Who can control the singers." ("Selected Folk Songs of Northern Shaanxi" compiled by He Qifang) Another Fujian folk song It sang: "New officials have many things to do, and they don't care about money and food. If folk songs are banned, civil and military talents will be cut off." It shows contempt for the government and literati, as well as confidence and pride in the talents of the working people. , giving people a great shock.
Due to China’s thousands of years of feudal rule and the rulers’ constant bans and transformations, the degree of resistance and other positive factors in folk music varies between regions. Generally speaking, these positive factors are greater in rural areas than in cities and towns, in remote areas than in inland areas, and in genres and varieties that are rarely performed in big cities, than in genres and varieties that are often performed in big cities.
5. Versatility
The function of professional music is to entertain and perform for the audience on the stage. Folk music is versatile. It can be for self-entertainment, singing a song to vent strong emotions when you are extremely sad or joyful; it can also be for other people's entertainment, showing off your ability to control music in front of everyone, and gaining the praise and appreciation of others. Admiration; it can be used as a medium to convey feelings between young men and women, and can also be used in wedding and wedding ceremonies; it can be the organizer and conductor of collective labor, and it can also be a means of imparting knowledge about production and life; it can be used to educate people who are illiterate. Among the working people, it serves as a history book recording the changes over the years, and it can also be used as a textbook to promote the glorious achievements of national heroes; it can be a children's game, or an elder or leader's encouragement and call to the people; and so on. The versatility of folk music makes it closely related and inseparable from all aspects of people's lives, making it a folk encyclopedia.
3. Understanding and evaluation of folk music
According to the method of creation and inheritance, music can be divided into oral and written. Of course music is different from literature. "Oral literature" and "written literature" can clearly indicate their production, existence and dissemination status literally and conceptually, while written music still requires players and singers to turn the score into living music. This process inevitably involves the secondary creation of performers and singers. Even so, there is a huge difference between spoken music and written music. In short, oral music leaves a lot of room for performers and singers in terms of improvisation, but on the other hand, oral music cannot be fixed on the score like written music because there is paper and pen. , you can think and deliberate over and over calmly.
Special creation and inheritance methods have brought the following results to the development of folk music -
First of all, there are a large number of "ready-made ideas" and "ready-made patterns" used in folk music. " phenomenon. For example, the repeated use of the same vocabulary and the same metaphorical techniques in the lyrics, the pattern of melody movement within a region, the consistency of the segment structure and the way of moistening the tune; (in other words, folk music only reflects the local style), but does not reflect the local style. Personal style; the similarity of accents in operas and raps, and the singleness of the techniques of structuring music; etc.
Secondly, although there is no shortage of highly developed techniques in folk music, these techniques only remain in the stage of oral theory and cannot have widespread dissemination and more common practice opportunities to carry them forward like written theory. Moreover, due to the long-term inconvenience of transportation, many regions in our country are isolated from each other. Folk music varieties rarely get the opportunity to communicate with the outside world and learn from each other with other art varieties. As a result, many highly developed skills in folk music are still in the stage. A single and dispersed state, for example, the folk songs in one area have rich timbre changes, the folk songs in another area have complex and expressive vibrato techniques, and the folk songs in another area have beautiful and moving words and phrases,...techniques And the state of scattered achievements has greatly weakened the development of folk music.
Thirdly, although the origin of folk music is earlier than that of professional music, objectively speaking, its development progress is slower than that of professional music. Professional music not only has a well-thought-out foundation in notation, but also can receive timely feedback and comments from critics after it is performed in front of the public. It is also accompanied by technical theories that are constantly summarized. More importantly, it has the ability to make its creators and the economic conditions for performers and singers to engage in the music profession, which ensures the quality of professional music. These are all things that folk music lacks. Except for those folk music varieties that can occupy a place in big cities or palaces and can get some of the above-mentioned professional music development conditions, the vast majority of folk music has been in a state of self-destruction in rural villages for a long time. Because they cannot be summarized and organized in time, the talents and achievements of countless outstanding folk artists are like meteors in the sky, their light is fleeting. Some folk music varieties declined prematurely before they were fully developed. Without the support of financial, material and human resources, folk music involuntarily rises and falls with the passage of time.
For example, those folk music varieties that can live in big cities or palaces are superior to rural music in terms of material and artistic exchange conditions, but because they are under the strict rule of the government, their spiritual The independence and uninhibitedness and the simplicity and freshness of temperament have been lost, and some contain vulgar and vulgar content, and even become a tool to maintain the power of the ruling class and promote feudal moral concepts.
Although folk music has the above-mentioned limitations, as the voice of the working people, in essence, it fully demonstrates the most positive and glorious aspects of the people's spiritual outlook. Although the technical development of folk music is relatively slow due to the way of creation and inheritance, it has been continuously refined and sublimated through the accumulation, processing and screening of people's collectives over thousands of years, and its artistic level and expressive power have been greatly improved. It is perfected day by day, becoming the most true, good and beautiful music in the world. It is the best part of human cultural achievements. It can purify people's souls, improve people's realm and sentiment, and cultivate and improve people's artistic feelings and discernment abilities. It has immortal artistic vitality.