The Western songs (Xiqu) of the southern dynasties (420-589) - a critical study

Abstract

Though the Western songs or Xiqu have been frequently anthologized alongside the Wu songs to represent the folk poetry of the Southern Dynasties (420-589 A.D.), there has been as yet no attempt to study the songs in depth. It is the purpose of this study to fill the gap.

The songs are viewed primarily as an orally delivered art, fostered by a particular social context and a regional folk tradition. The ethnic and musical backgrounds are discussed, then the lyrics are analysed in terms of themes, imagery, prosodic structures, formulaic language and puns. The emphasis is always on the distinctive features of the songs which may reflect a regional folk tradition and the peculiarities of oral delivery. The result of this study points up the presence of regional folk tradition, which has, in matters of music, incorporated into itself some significant non-Han-Chinese elements, and was interactive with the literary tradition and other local song traditions•. The finding should not only enrich our understanding of an important song repertory, but also reveal something of the Chinese folk literature in general. The work should, moreover, form part of the basis for a systematic investigation of the interaction between the folk and the literary traditions in the Chinese culture.