Chinese Folk Song Chinese Folk Song

Folk Song is a form of music through which the working classes have traditionally expressed their emotions and feelings. It is inspired by, and is an integral part of, everyday life of the Chinese working classes and is passed down and elaborated from generation to generation. Folk music features simple language and, vivid imagery, and has many genres and forms, such as labor songs, mountain songs, major aria, minor aria, and part singing.

Chinese folk music has a long history. In the ancient primeval society folk music usually went together with dancing. It is said that there are eight divine songs by Ge Tian and they are always accompanied by dancing. Guofeng is a part of the Book of Songs and contains the lyrics of folk songs in 15 different areas from the West Zhou Dynasty to Spring and Autumn. In later times, Songs of the Chu Dynasty, Yuefu Music Style in the Han Dynasty, melodies in the Tang Dynasty, bagatelle in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and other ballads from different regions in different dynasties are actually folk songs in nature. In more recent times during the revolution, people created many new styles of excellent folk songs. Some of these songs were created by combining new words with old melodies, while others by elaborating and developing the old melodies.

China is a large nation with a diverse array of ethnic groups, each of which has their own unique set of folk songs that constitute a solid foundation of Chinese musical heritage. The co-existence of different artistic forms, such as dancing, instrumental music, and opera, offer a fertile environment for the future development of Chinese music. Professional music is usually created by drawing materials from the folk songs of different ethnic groups. For this purpose, either the whole song can be used and performed or part of the song can be used as the basis for a more original work.