Jiufeng Folk Songs

10.Jiufeng Folk Songs

Nominating Unit: City of Shaoguan

Distributed in mountainous villages such as Nine Peaks, Five Hills, Da Yuan, Beixiang and Liang Jiang, especially in Nine Peaks where they are extremely popular, Jiufeng (meaning “Nine Peaks”) Folk Songs gain its name from this particular place. And legend has it that the songs can be dated back to the end of the Song Dynasty.

The lyrics touch upon a wide range of topics, including aerial farming, rituals and customs, production and trade, romance, religious beliefs, reproduction and education, etc., a vivid reflection of the locals’daily life, psychology, concepts and feelings from one generation to another. Most of the lyrics, though improvised, have strict requirements for rhyme, content and logic.

Sung mainly in Hakka, the song’s rich tunes have declined in number with the passage of time. Now those still popular are Sister Liu Sha, Mountain Climbing, Going to Nanjing, Jiufeng Mountain and Cow’s Tail Village, five in total. Jiufeng Mountain Songs are outstandingly featured by the different styles it applies on different occasions, which cannot be either mixed or replaced.(https://www.daowen.com)

For example, Sister Liu Sha Tune is sung when people are lumbering, rafting or selling wood, with seven characters per line and fourlines per segment pattern as the typical one for narration and expression. This typical tune is dense in words, long in tune, neat in rhythm, pleasant in melody and smooth in sound. The Mountain Climbing Tune is applied on occasions when people climb mountains to lumber, to cut cogon grass, to transport goods, to shop in private rural markets and to visit relatives. It has assimilated the mountain-shouting tune’s temperament of Yao Ethnic Minority to produce a melody of lasting charm. The Nanjing Tune, sung when lovers are bidding farewell to, or are courting each other, is adequate in expressing ardent feelings. Jiufeng Tune, sung in daily life for interpersonal communication and mockery between husband and wife, is easy to sing out loud without much constraint. The Cow’s Tail Village Tune is usually sung by women while they are cutting grass on hills. They often hum the songs to release their piled-up grievance and to express longing for their parent’s home. Though unusual in the mode transfer and tinted with sadness, the tune overshadows others among all Jiufeng Folk Songs.

Jiufeng Folk Songs are not only valuable to the study of society, psychology and folk customs but also a treasure for folk music collections. However, changes of production and living modes, with the advanced development of modern cultural media in particular, have displaced Folk Songs’ status as an important entertainment outlet and an important source of spiritual comfort. Locals either no longer sing the songs or do not know how to sing them. Measures are urgently needed to rescue this intangible cultural heritage.