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Abstract
In 1922, Chang Hui (1894–1985) published in Folk Song Weekly ten ballads with a shared motif: “seeing her through a bamboo curtain” (gezhe zhulian kanjian ta). Regarding the ballads as at once ten place-based, local folk songs and one placeless, national poetry, Chang urged attention to the exemplary influence of folk songs on the unification of languages in early twentieth-century China. Throughout the folk song campaign (c. 1918–c. 1927), however, the potential of folk songs to facilitate nationalization of Chinese language and literature remained arguably unfulfilled. This article examines the reasons for folk songs’ lack of influence on modern Chinese literary history. Through an analysis of contesting ideas and agendas regarding the literary nature of folk song, the author reveals that folk songs were rediscovered at a moment of modern Chinese history when prevalent discourses on Chinese language and literature could not fully accommodate the folk, the dialect, or the oral nature of folk song.
Acknowledgments
I thank Professors Jing Tsu, Haun Saussy, and Peter C. Perdue as well as two anonymous Twentieth-Century China reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. This work was supported by the Council on East Asian Studies at Yale University.
Notes
1 Chang Hui, “Duiyu tougao zhujun jin yijie” (Note to folk song contributors), Geyao zhoukan (Beijing: 1922–1925, 1936–1937; repr., Taipei: Zhongguo minsu xuehui, 1970) 1 (December 17, 1922): 2–4. The gender-neutral third-person pronoun ta is used in the motif to refer to a female protagonist. Below, I discuss how this particular reality of the writing system influenced folklorists’ endeavors to develop a national poetry through Chinese folk songs. Unless otherwise indicated, translations in this article are my own.
2 Chang Hui, “Duiyu tougao zhujun jin yijie,” 2–4.
3 Chang Hui, “Duiyu tougao zhujun jin yijie,” 4. Hu Shi was the first Chinese scholar to advocate comparative study of folk songs in China. Chang cited with approval an essay by Hu about comparative folk song studies. Hu Shi, “Geyao bijiao yanjiu de yigeli” (Comparative study of several Chinese folk songs), Nuli 31 (December 3, 1922): 11–3, repr. Geyao zhoukan 46 (March 9, 1924): 7–8.
4 Chang Hui, “Duiyu tougao zhujun jin yijie,” 2–4. Quotation marks in the passage are as in the original. To be grammatically correct, the opening quotation mark should appear after, rather than before, the Chinese character for shuo (say, speak).
5 Li Jinxi, Guoyu yundong shigang (History of the national language movement) (1934; repr. Beijing: Shangwu yinshuguan, 2011), 139–70. See also John DeFrancis, Nationalism and Language Reform in China (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1950). The controversy over standardization of a national sound in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century China has drawn scholarly attention in recent Chinese and Sinophone studies. See Elisabeth Kaske, The Politics of Language in Chinese Education, 1895–1919 (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 77–160, 323–90; Jing Tsu, Sound and Script in Chinese Diaspora (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010), 18–48, 192–203; Jin Liu, Signifying the Local: Media Productions Rendered in Local Languages in Mainland China in the New Millennium (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 19–58.
6 Li, Guoyu yundong shigang, 151–70. Exchanges among Li Jinxi, Zhang Shiyi (1896–1969), and other linguists on jingyin (the Mandarin sound) versus guoyin (the national sound) were primarily published in the Xuedeng (Learning lamp) supplement to Shishi xinbao (The China times; Shanghai) between October 1920 and June 1921. For recent studies on jingguo wenti, see Yuan Xianxin, “Yuyin, guoyu yu minzuzhuyi: cong Wusi shiqi de guoyu tongyi lunzheng tanqi” (Sound, national language, and nationalism: on the controversy over unification of national language in the May Fourth period), Wenxue pinlun 4 (2009): 136–42.
7 Zhou Zuoren, “Geyao yu fangyan diaocha” (On the relationship between folk songs and dialect study), Geyao zhoukan 21 (November 4, 1923): 1–3. From 1922 to 1924, Geyao zhoukan published 12 articles on Chinese dialects. In 1924, Geyao zhoukan published a special issue on a new phonetic system designed by the linguist Lin Yutang for transcribing and analyzing Chinese dialects. “Fangyan biaoyin zhuanhao” (Special issue on phonetic notation for Chinese dialects), Geyao zhoukan 55 (May 18, 1924).
8 Zhou Zuoren, “Geyao yu fangyan diaocha,” 1–3.
9 Hu Shi, preface to Wuge jiaji (Collection of 100 Wu folk songs), ed. Gu Jiegang (1926; repr. Taipei: Dongfang wenhua gongyingshe, 1970), 1–7.
10 For example, see Geyao yanjiuhui (Society of Folk Song Study), “Kanci” (Inaugural remarks), Geyao zhoukan 1 (December 17, 1922): 1–2; Chang Hui, “Women weishenme yao yanjiu geyao” (Why should we study folk songs?), Geyao zhoukan 2 (December 24, 1922): 1–2 and 3 (December 31, 1922): 1. See also the five prefaces to Wuge jiaji (edited by Gu Jiegang) written by Hu Shi, Shen Jianshi, Yu Pingbo, Qian Xuantong, and Liu Fu and the lecture scripts by Zhu Ziqing, Zhongguo geyao (Chinese folk songs) (Tsinghua University, China: 1929–1931; repr. Taipei: Shijie shuju, 1958), 9–70.
11 “Kanci,”1–2.
12 An anonymous reviewer brought to my attention that in Chinese music departments in China's music conservatories, scholars also teach and research regional folk song traditions.
13 “Beijing daxue zhengji quanguo jinshi geyao jianzhang” (Peking University's general guidelines on collecting modern Chinese folk songs), Beijing daxue rikan (Beijing: Peking University daily, 1917–1932; repr. Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1981), no. 61, February 1, 1918, 1.
14 Hu Shi, “Fukan ci” (Note on resumption of publication), Geyao zhoukan 2, no. 1 (April 4, 1936): 1.
15 “Kanci,” 1.
16 “Kanci,” 1.
17 See, for instance, Gu Jiegang, ed., Meng Jiang Nü gushi de gequ jiaji (First collection of songs on the tale of Lady Meng Jiang) (Beijing: Beijing daxue ge yao yanjiuhui, 1925); Gu Jiegang, “Meng Jiang Nü gushi de zhuanbian” (Transformation of the tale of Lady Meng Jiang), Geyao zhoukan 69 (November 23, 1924): 1–8; Gu Jiegang, ed., Meng Jiang Nü gushi yanjiuji (Collected studies on the Lady Meng Jiang tale) (1928–1929; repr. Taipei: Minsu shuju, 1969). For recent scholarship on folklore studies in modern China, see Haiyan Lee, “Meng Jiang Nü and the May Fourth Folklore Movement,” in Wilt L. Idema, trans. & ed., Meng Jiangnu Brings Down the Great Wall: Ten Versions of a Chinese Legend (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2008), 24–41. Lydia Liu examined the dynamic between folklore studies and the formation of a national popular culture in modern China. Lydia Liu, “A Folksong Immortal and Official Popular Culture in Twentieth-Century China,” in Judith T. Zeitlin and Lydia H. Liu, eds., Writing and Materiality in China: Essays in Honor of Patrick Hanan (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2003), 553–609.
18 In addition to articles published by Chang Hui in Geyao zhoukan in 1922, see Zhu, Zhongguo geyao, 9–70; Hu Shi, preface to Wuge jiaji, 1–7.
19 Hu Shi, “Fukan ci,” 1–3.
20 See Zhou Zuoren, “Zhongguo min'ge de jiazhi” (Value of Chinese folk songs), Geyao zhoukan 6 (January 21, 1923): 4; Wei Jiangong, “Wei Jiangong xiansheng geiwo de xin” (Letter from Mr. Wei Jiangong), Geyao zhoukan 8 (March 4, 1923): 8; Shen Jianshi, “Shen xiansheng dafu ‘Wei xiansheng jigei wo de xin’” (Mr. Shen's reply to “Letter from Mr. Wei”), Geyao zhoukan 9 (March 11, 1923): 6; Shao Chunxi, “Wo duiyu yanjiu geyao fabiao yidian yijian” (My humble opinions on folk song study), Geyao zhoukan 13 (April 8, 1923): 1; Bai Qiming, “Dui ‘Wo duiyu yanjiu geyao fabiao yidian yijian' de shangque” (Deliberation on “My Humble Opinions on Folk Song Study”), Geyao zhoukan 14 (April 15, 1923): 3; Shao Chunxi, “Geyao fenlei wenti” (On the issue of folk song categorization), Geyao zhoukan 15 (April 20, 1923): 1; Lin Wenlin, “Zai lun geyao fenlei wenti” (The issue of folk song categorization revisited), Geyao zhoukan 16 (April 29, 1923): 3; Wang Zhaoding, “Zenyang qu yanjiu he zhengli geyao” (How to study and classify folk songs), Geyao zhoukan 45 (March 2, 1924): 1.
21 Zhu Ziqing, “Xiandai shige daolun” (Introduction to poetry section of Compendium to Chinese New Literature), in Zhongguo xinwenxue daxi daoyanji (Anthology of introductions to Compendium to Chinese New Literature) (1940; repr. Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 1982), 184–213.
22 Liu Fu was part of China's first generation of Western-educated linguists. For an informative and engaging biography of Liu Fu, see Liu Xiaohui, Fuqin Liu Bannong (Liu Bannong: A daughter's memoir) (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 2000).
23 Liu Fu, trans. and ed., Guowai min'ge yi (Translation of foreign ballads), vol. 1 (Beijing: Beixin shuju, 1927). Liu selected 80 ballads in English or French translation from folk song anthologies edited by European folklorists, including M. H. Colet, ed., Chants et chansons populaires de la France (Paris: H. L. Delloye, 1843); Trébucq Sylv, ed., La Chanson populaire et la vie rurale des Pyrénées à la Vendée, 2 vols. (Bordeaux: Feret & fils, 1912); Old Songs in French and English (Philadelphia: Penn Publishing, 1923). Liu published several of these ballads in Chinese translation in 1926 in the weekly Yusi. Liu's intended series of foreign folk songs had, he admitted in the anthology's preface, remained an idea without comprehensive planning. Liu Fu, “Zixu” (Preface), in Liu, Guowai min'ge yi, 14.
24 Most anthologies of foreign or dialect folk songs published in China in the 1920s focused on one particular region. For instance, Zhong Jingwen, Malai qingge (Malaysian love songs) (Shanghai: Yuandong tushu gongsi, 1928); Xie Yunsheng, Taiwan qingge ji (Collection of Taiwanese love songs) (Guangdong: Zhongshan daxue yuyan lishi yanjiusuo, 1927).
25 Zhou Zuoren, “Zhou xu” (Zhou's preface), in Liu, Guowai min'ge yi, 4.
26 Liu Fu, “Zixu,” 1.
27 See Chang-tai Hung, Going to the People: Chinese Intellectuals and Folk Literature 1918–1937 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Council on East Asian Studies, 1985), 38–9; Qin Xianci, Xiandai wentan binfenlu: zuojia jianying pian (A florilegium of the modern Chinese literary arena: sketches of writers) (Taipei: Xiuwei zixun, 2008), 17–20. Many journal articles and online essays quote the passage as historical documentation.
28 For informative and captivating recollections of Liu's career in popular literature, see Qin Xianci, “Liu Bannong ersan shi” (A few reminiscences of Liu Bannong's early years), in Yaxian, ed., Liu Bannong wenxuan (Collected essays by Liu Bannong) (Taipei: Hongfan shudian, 1977), 259–65; Gui Wenya, “Fang Cheng Shewo tan Liu Bannong” (On Liu Bannong: an interview with Cheng Shewo), in Yaxian, Liu Bannong wenxuan, 266–73.
29 Zhong Jingwen and Chang-tai Hung analyzed the quoted passage in studies of the folk song campaign. Both scholars, however, focused on issues that can be inferred from, but are not concretely related to, Liu's narrative. Hung argued that the passage reflects the moment Liu Fu “decided it would be more fruitful to proceed in his new endeavor collectively rather than individually.” Hung, Going to the People: Chinese Intellectuals and Folk Literature 1918–1937, 38–9. Zhong argued that Liu's narrative reveals Peking University's unprecedentedly liberal, dynamic atmosphere. Zhong Jingwen, “‘Wusi' qianhou de geyaoxue yundong” (The folk song study movement during the May Fourth period), in Zhong Jingwen, Zhong Jingwen minjian wenxue lunji (Essays on folk literature by Zhong Jingwen), vol. 1 (Shanghai: Shanghai wenyi chubanshe, 1982), 357–8.
30 Liu Fu, “Zixu,” 1.
31 Liu Fu, “Zixu,” 1.
32 See Liu Fu, “Wo zhi wenxue gailiang guan” (My views on reforming literature), Xin qingnian (Shanghai, Beijing: 1915–1922; repr. Tokyo: Daian, 1962) 3, no. 3 (May 1, 1917): 219–31; “Shi yu xiaoshuo jingshen shang zhi gexin” (Reform of the spirit of poetry and fiction), Xin qingnian 3, no. 5 (July 1, 1917): 1–10; “Fengda Wang Jingxuan xiansheng” (Respectful response to Mr. Wang Jingxuan), Xin qingnian 4, no. 3 (March 15, 1918): 268–85.
33 In addition to articles published by Chang Hui in Geyao zhoukan in 1922, see Zhu, Zhongguo geyao, 9–70, and Hu Shi, “Hu xu,” 1–7.
34 Liu Fu, “Zixu,” 1; italics mine.
35 Liu Fu, “Zixu,” 1.
36 Liu Fu, “Wo zhi wenxue gailiang guan,” 219–30.
37 “Beijing daxue zhengji quanguo jinshi geyao jianzhang,” 1.
38 Cai Yuanpei, “Xiaozhang qishi” (Announcement by the president), Beijing daxue rikan, no. 61, (February 1, 1918): 1.
39 Cai Yuanpei, “Xiaozhang qishi,” 1.
40 Lu Xun, “Bian” (The tablet), Yusi 4, no. 17 (April 23, 1928): 3, repr. In Lu Xun, Lu Xun quanji (Complete works of Lu Xun), vol. 4 (Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 2005), 88.
41 Liu Fu, “Zixu,” 1; italics mine.
42 Liu Fu, “Zixu,” 13.
43 Liu Fu, Wa fu ji (Earthen crock) (Beijing: Beixin shuju, 1926), 2–3.
44 Baron Guido Vitale, Chinese Folklore: Pekinese Rhymes (Beijing: Pei-t'ang Press, 1896), 9–10.
45 Chang Hui, “Duiyu tougao zhuju jin yijie,” 2.
46 Chang Hui, “Duiyu tougao zhuju jin yijie,” 3.
47 Chang Hui, “Duiyu tougao zhuju jin yijie,” 2–4.
48 Chang Hui, “Duiyu tougao zhuju jin yijie,” 2. This English translation, with modifications, is based on Vitale's 1898 translation.
49 Chang Hui, “Duiyu tougao zhuju jin yijie,” 3.
50 Chang Hui, “Duiyu tougao zhuju jin yijie,” 3.
51 Chang Hui, “Duiyu tougao zhuju jin yijie,” 4.
52 For systematic review and analysis of the creation of a character for the feminine third-person pronoun in written Chinese, see Huang Xingtao, “Ta” zi de wenhuashi (Cultural history of the character “ta”) (Fujian: Fujian jiaoyu chubanshe, 2009).
53 Vitale, Chinese Folklore: Pekinese Ballads, 9.
54 For studies on the entextualization of folklore and the “recontextualization” that occurs when oral traditions are written down, see Elizabeth C. Fine, The Folklore Text: From Performance to Print (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984); Elizabeth C. Fine, “Leading Proteus Captive: Editing and Translating Oral Tradition,” in John Miles Foley, ed., Teaching Oral Traditions (New York: Modern Language Association, 1998), 59–71; Richard Bauman and Charles L. Briggs, “Poetics and Performance as Critical Perspectives on Language and Social Life,” Annual Review of Anthropology 19 (1990): 59–88.
55 Dong Zuobin, Kanjian ta (Seeing her) (1924; repr. Taipei: Dongfang wenhua shuju, 1970).
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Flora Shao
Flora Shao is a PhD candidate in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale University.