Peculiarities of the folk songwriting of China on the example of melodies of the northern province of Hebei and the southern province of Guizhou

Potekhina Alena Evgenevna Bachelor's Degree, the faculty of History, Ural Federal University; Master's Degree, the faculty of Oriental Studies, Saint Petersburg State University 192174, Russia, g. Saint Petersburg, ul. Sedova, 91, k.1 ae.potekhina@yandex.ru

Kvashnina Tatyana Ivanovna Master's Degree in History, State Academic University for the Humanities; Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of World History, Moscow 620026, Russia, Sverdlovskaya oblast', g. Ekaterinburg, ul. Dekabristov, 7 tatik012893@gmail.com

Introduction

The article researches the melodies of the northern province of Hebei and the southern province of Guizhou as an example to consider the peculiarities of the folk songwriting of China. This work can serve as a reference material for those who is studying culture, specifically the musical art of China, and translation of Chinese folk materials.

Chinese traditional music is based on the pentatonic scale. «Pentatonic scale (from the Greek “pénte” – five and “tónos” – tonic) is a sound system containing 5 steps within an octave» ^[1]. The peculiarity of this music scale is that it does not have a specific tonal center, so the main tone can be any of the five degrees (notes). «Hence the five different versions of the scale with the same sound composition: 1. C D E G A C. 2. D E G A C D. 3. E G A C D E. 4. G A C D E G. 5. A C D E G A» ^[1]. In the absence of a tonic, there is a special charm and exoticism of the perception of Chinese traditional music by Europeans. The pentatonic is also the basis of the two songs presented in this article. Moreover, as a rule, Chinese folk songs are characterized with unison singing, that differ them a lot from the European polyphonic singing.

It is necessary to say that there are 56 nationalities in China now, and the Han people (汉族，hanzu) are the main ones and make up more than 90% of the total population of the country. Each province can be home for different peoples who have their own customs, traditions, art, and musical culture. In this paper, two melodies of the northeastern province of Hebei (河北) and the southern province of Guizhou (贵州) are considered as an example. The songs are completely different in content, and convey the specificity of two regions.

Folk song of Hebei

The first song is literally translated into English as «Little cabbage» (小白菜, xiaobaicai). The song is about a girl who lost her mother and was suffering from rudeness and injustice of her stepmother and stepbrother. It is obvious that «Little cabbage» is a girl’s childhood name (小明，xiaoming), which was used among relatives. In addition, the title of the song may indicate the life situation that developed with the girl after the death of her mother – she was deprived of food, fed with lean soup made of cabbage. Next, we will present the melody, as well as the lyrics in Chinese and the author’s translation into English and Russian.

In the folk songwriting of Hebei, there is a tendency to minor scale, which is influenced by the unique geographical features of the region and the socio-cultural specifics of the development of China as a whole. Сontinental climate allows the inhabitants of the province to enjoy the beauty of all four seasons, which disposes the thoughts and state of mind to lyricism. We should also not forget about the typical situation in China before the XX century, when the birth of a boy was preferred much more, and the position of girls who left from the first marriage, was not good in the family of the father and stepmother.

Another feature of the folk songs of Hebei is their narrative character or the strorytelling nature, which affects the development of a musical phrase that goes from top to bottom. Through the narration and description of events in the songs of this region, there were achieved the goals of emotional release, unification of people, as well as spread of knowledge.

There is an element frequently used in the musical phrase of Hebei songs, it is called «inserted words» (or «auxiliary words», 衬词, chenci), which adorn the melody and create its peculiar atmosphere. In «Little cabbage» these words are «亲娘呀， 亲娘呀» (qinniang ya, qinniang ya).

In terms of musical form, the songs of Hebei usually have 4 musical parts, which are called: qi (起), cheng (承), zhuan (转), he (合) (introduction, development, turn, conclusion). It is this musical form that the song «Little cabbage» has, too. The so-called «introduction» is the «self-mourning» of the main character, it focuses on the sad story that happened to the girl and her mother, and can be found in the first three musical phrases. The part «development» follows in the 4th phrase, it is a culmination, showing the cause of the girl’s suffering, specifically, the way she is treated in the house of her father and stepmother. The «turn» in the 5th phrase shows the mood that pervades the whole song. In the 6th phrase («conclusion») there is the mood of helplessness and loneliness, reflected through the interesting metaphorical technique, comparing the girl with an image of an apricot tree. In China, the peach blooms in March, when the apricot fades, this fact indicates the season describing in the song, that is early spring. In addition, the apricot tree in this case represents the girl who lost her mother, and the peach tree embodies her half-brother, since in China the peach is considered as a more useful and delicious fruit. In other words, this metaphor refers to the situation of girls in Ancient China, especially of those who lived with their stepmother. In the last sentence, a «wind» is compared to the death of the mother and symbolizes a misfortune that took the joy out of the girl’s heart.

It should be noted that the principles of singing this song combined the methods of Western (bel canto) and native Chinese music schools. The song «Little cabbage» contains not only a melody, but also an appropriate acting, in which it is necessary to show the emotions of pain and despair of a child with the help of skillful control of the volume and strength of the voice.

Folk song of Guizhou

The melody of Guizhou province «Sun is shining on Baiyan» (太阳出来照白岩, taiyang chulai zhao baiyan), which tells about the sincere love between a man and a woman, was included in the «National collection of Folk Songs» (全国民歌集, quanguo mingeji) in the 1980s, and became one of the most representative songs of the region. In addition to the fact that the song in the positive atmosphere (which is characteristic of southern peoples) talks about the sincerity and simplicity of the innermost feeling, it also conveys the cultural specificity of the southern province of Guizhou, and is also quite easy to be perceived by ear. Here we present the notes and lyrics of the song «Sun is shining on Baiyan» in Chinese with the author’s translation in English and Russian.

In total, the song «Sun is shining on Baiyan» consists of five musical phrases, and from phrase to phrase we can see an inner dynamic that indicates changes in the relationship between a man and a woman. If the first two phrases are the beginning of communication, demonstrating a certain love, then the last phrase tells that a woman and a man are already together, perhaps married. Obviously, the song should be sung by both a man and a woman: 1, 3 phrases are sung by a man, 2, 4 – by a woman, and the last fifth phrase should be performed by two people, although it is possible to sing together, starting with the 3rd musical phrase. It must be said that the author found different versions of the lyrics, which are similar in meaning, but have a difference of just a few words, so it is possible to understand that the song should be performed either by a man, or a woman, or together.

As a rule, village folk songs are sung impromptu during agricultural work, have a diverse content, simple structure, bright melody, free rhythm, indicate the sincerity of emotions, and are also common among residents of highlands, mountainous areas, fishing villages, and regions of national minorities. Guizhou, where the song «Sun is shining on Baiyan» appeared, is located in the mountains. There are two villages mentioned in the song: Baiyan (白岩) itself and Banpo (半坡).

This song has is very symbolic. The spring flowers mentioned in the first musical phrase are golden rapeseed flowers and silver plum flowers, symbolizing inspiration, joy, and the beginning of a feeling. On the Chinese language, the second line starts with the phrase that can be literally translated like «golden and silver flowers» (金花银花, jinhua yinghua). However, flowers, no matter how beautiful they are, cannot replace love of a man and woman, so the song tells: «But I don’t like those flowers, only voice of her I love». The image of the «moon» expresses the sincerity of the feeling, since it is a symbol of purity. At the same time, the moon represents sadness, as the two beloveds are far away from each other and count the days, looking at the «sickle», turning into a sharp «wedge». At the beginning of the last sentence there is an image of a «rhinoceros’ cliff» (in literal translation) that looks at the beautiful moon, just as a man looks at a beautiful woman: he is ready to give her the heart and at the end gets her consent to be together.

Conclusion

The article presents two Chinese folk songs that reflect the specificity and cultural features of the development of the north and south of China. The author, by analyzing the melodies and lyrics of the songs «Little cabbage» and «Sun is shining on Baiyan», points out some features of the folk songwriting of China. It is noted the influence of natural and socio-cultural realities on the tunes of songs. Hebei is a northeastern province which climate is in sharp contrast to the subtropical climate conditions of Guizhou, where there are no sudden temperature changes, and the location in a mountainous area gives coolness even on a hot summer day. Philosophers and historians have long talked about the undoubted influence of geographical and climatic conditions on the culture, art and worldview of the population, and it can be seen in the example of the songs presented in the article ^[4]. Moreover, in Ancient China, music was correlated with natural characteristics, months of the year, cardinal directions and constellations, and considered as one of the most important elements of the universe ^[5].

In addition, the two folk music works «Little cabbage» and «Sun is shining on Baiyan» are characterized by symbolism and the use of metaphors, that may make it difficult for perception to a person unfamiliar with the cultural and natural features of the development of Hebei and Guizhou, but at the same time gives melodies peculiarity and researchers’ attention.

From the point of musical form, other features of the two proposed songs are their unison singing, and also a basis on a pentatonic scale that has existed since ancient times in China, developing its own canons.