The traditional music in Quanzhou, known as the living fossil in the history of China music, is Nanyin.

Nanyin, also known as "Xianguan" or "Quanzhou Nanyin", is the traditional music in southern Fujian. It was listed as the intangible cultural heritage of human beings in 29, known as "the living fossil in the history of China music". It was sung in Minnan language, brought in by ancient Central Plains immigrants and blended with southern Fujian folk music, with the characteristics of ancient Central Plains music.

Nanyin, known as "the living fossil in the music history of China", originated in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, and was sung in Minnan, which is the Han music with a long history in China. Immigrants from the Central Plains in the Han, Jin, Tang and Song Dynasties brought music culture into southern Fujian with Quanzhou as the center, and merged with local folk music, forming a cultural expression with the charm of ancient music in the Central Plains.

Nanyin's singing method retains the traditional and ancient national singing method before the Tang Dynasty, and its singers and performers' second creation is very arbitrary, while Nanguan's performance also maintains the characteristics of the Tang and Song Dynasties. Its music is mainly composed of three categories, namely "finger", "score" and "qu", and it is a big kind of music with rich and complete ancient music system in China.

the historical origin of nanyin

when nanyin originated is not clearly recorded in the literature. There are many folk legends, some of which say that the court music such as "breaking" and "times" in the Daqu of the Tang Dynasty was introduced into Fujian, and it merged with local folk music to develop; It is said that it was brought by the brothers Wang Shenzhi, the king of Fujian, when they entered Fujian at the end of the Tang Dynasty.

Experts and scholars have made textual research on Nanyin's qupai, musical instruments and terms. It is generally believed that Nanyin was formed in the Song Dynasty and developed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Nanyin has a certain relationship with the music before and after the Tang Dynasty.

Nanyin retains the same name as before the Tang Dynasty, including Midnight Song, Qingping Music, backyard flower, Autumn in the Palace of Han Dynasty, Yangguanqu and so on. Nanyin and Tang Daqu have the same name, such as Santailing, Liangzhou Qu and Ganzhou Qu. In the Song Dynasty, as the imperial clan moved southward, Quanzhou, as the capital, enjoyed a prosperous commercial economy, and at the same time, culture and art were exchanged and developed.

According to the records, there were more than a thousand musicians in Quanzhou at that time, each family had three or five people, which shows the grand occasion. Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the Southern Opera, which was popular in Zhejiang and Fujian, has also had a certain influence on Nanyin, and Nanyin has kept the dramas of the Southern Opera, such as Jing Chai Ji, White Rabbit Ji, Moon Worship Ji, Dog Killing Ji and Pipa Ji.

above content reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Nanyin