Singing Spring Festival greetings has its ancient roots in giving farmers advice on when to sow, Xin Wen reports in Xi'an.
Chunguan folk artisans Zhou Tinghuai (left) and Mao Yongcheng visit and give their blessings of spring to villagers in Nanzheng district of Hanzhong, Shaanxi province, on Jan 25. The folk art of "chunguan singing spring" has been an intangible cultural heritage in Shaanxi. (HUO YAN / CHINA DAILY)
With a song in his heart and singing a melodious tune from the mountainous area, Zhou Tinghuai stands at the door of a villager in Nanzheng district of Hanzhong city in Shaanxi province. With a bag slung over his shoulder, he carries a carved figurine of a farmer riding a bull.
At the door he sings: "When I enter the door, the joy arrives, like a god proffering a gift, that a precious horse laden with gold. This is a prosperous region, and a gifted money tree as a godsend arrives."
The lyrics represent joy and harmony, so no matter who listens, they will feel blessed, he believes.
Zhou, 62, has been engaged in singing for spring blessings for more than 40 years. Since the mid-1970s, he began visiting villagers in the Qinling-Bashan Mountains. He hopes his performance will help give them a feeling of the joy of the season.
Zhou is one of the 48 chunguan, or folk artisans who give the blessings of spring to villagers in rural areas of southern Shaanxi. Every year from the 10th lunar month to the end of the first lunar month of the new year, he crosses mountains to sing and also give them tips on farming.
The custom actually began with an emperor realizing the best way to give farming advice to rural people would be to sing to them.
He will present a spring poster printed using woodblocks as a gift, on which are displayed the four seasons and 24 solar terms, as well as advice about when to sow.
The scene, part of the tradition called "chunguan singing spring", has been preserved for thousands of years. It is also a kind of ancient storytelling folk art.
In 2007, the folk art of chunguan singing spring was among the first batch of intangible cultural heritage activities to be listed in Shaanxi by the provincial government.
After a blessing performance by Zhou, a villager pours some rice into his bag as a way to show her gratitude. (HUO YAN / CHINA DAILY)
In winter and spring every year, Zhou and Mao Yongcheng, 57, an apprentice of Zhou, who's also a native of Nanzheng, visit villagers' homes together, and they each usually give a solo performance. Sometimes when entering streets or densely populated villages, they will sing in unison.
After the performance, Zhou will give a spring-themed poster to people of the household, who in turn give grains (rice and soybeans) or some money to them.
"Our performance is not limited by place or music," says Zhou. "The content of the lyrics is quite extensive and inherited by apprentices from generation to generation.
"We will sometimes ad-lib by what we see, and speak accordingly based on who we meet," he says, adding that the lyrics of what they sing often emerge on the spot.
The language is witty and humorous. The content of the singing closely keeps up with the times and the lyrics change to accommodate that, according to Zhou.
"Therefore, the rule I follow when accepting apprentices is to find those who are intelligent, quick to respond, educated and have strong speaking ability," says Zhou.
Historical records show that the activity originated in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and thrived in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
Legend has it that in ancient times, farmers didn't know the exact farming seasons, so they plowed and sowed at will. As a result, harvests were often bad, due to poor timing when sowing crops.
In the Sui and Tang dynasties, officials involved in formulating the astronomical calendar at the imperial court had calculated and worked out a more accurate time scale. Farmers near the ancient imperial capital followed the new calendar to grow crops and got bumper harvests.
It is said that the Tang emperor at that time was very glad to get the information. To make more people across the country aware of the new calendar, the emperor came up with the way of delivering messages to people from door to door. In a grand festival at the end of one year, the emperor assigned his prime minister, Wang Huai'en, and artists from the imperial palace, to spread the happiness to folks.
Zhou (right) and Mao on their way to visit a village hidden in the mountains in Nanzheng district of Hanzhong city, Shaanxi province. (HUO YAN / CHINA DAILY)
According to the emperor's will, Wang wrote lyrics involving good wishes and congratulations, as well as farming seasons and feudal ethical codes, which would be recounted by actors through storytelling to give people the guidance in an entertaining way. The astronomical calendars and seasons were also printed onto posters, named "Spring Posters", which would be given to remind farmers to cultivate on time.
The Tang Dynasty was one of the most prosperous periods in the history of Chinese civilization. In the imperial court, a chunguan was an official, while among the people, he was the person who transmitted knowledge to them.
Wang Qinghe, the curator of Nanzheng District Cultural Center in Hanzhong city, says that with the advancement of the high technology and the increasing popularity of the internet, the development of the folk singing art has been greatly impeded.
"No matter how these artisans are treated with respect and become popular among villagers, it's inevitable that this ancient storytelling folk art is declining and it's becoming more difficult for people to make a living through it," says Wang Qinghe.
With an average age of 57, these practitioners for the ancient folk art are aging, the oldest being 88 while the youngest is 46, he says.
Due to a meager income, fewer and fewer young people voluntarily chose to learn this art from senior artisans, according to him.
"Lyrics, tunes and instruments for the folk art are about to be lost," he says.
Wang Mengnan contributed to this story.
Contact the writer at xinwen@chinadaily.com.cn
