MUZI MUZIChinese Matrix

Cantonese Yuequ and Naamyam

From the blind bard's zither to the teahouse stage

Introduction

Cantonese sung narrative: yuequ, Guangfu naamyam, muyu songs and dragon-boat songs

Yuequ and naamyam are the quyi forms sung in Cantonese in the Pearl River Delta. They range from long narratives that blind singers chanted to their own sanxian or zheng, the muyu songs and Guangfu naamyam, to yuequ, sung standing by one or two singers to gaohu and yangqin. The main forms are yuequ (V-108), Guangfu naamyam, listed as nanyin shuochang (V-112) and distinct from the Minnan nanyin of the same name, muyu songs (V-109) and dragon-boat singing (V-31). In the early Qing, Qu Dajun's Guangdong xinyu already describes long 'moyu songs' sung to the sanxian. Yuequ took shape around the mid-Qing with pieces drawn largely from Cantonese opera; after the 1911 revolution singers changed to natural voice and Guangzhou speech.

Timeline

Early Qing to present
1678 · OriginQu Dajun's Guangdong xinyu, completed in 1678, describes long Cantonese songs accompanied on the sanxian and called 'moyu songs', which women hired blind musicians to sing at seasonal gatherings; it is the earliest reliable account of muyu singing.1828 · EvolutionIn the Daoguang reign Zhao Ziyong compiled the Yue'ou, 121 songs under 97 titles written in Cantonese in the voice of the singing girls of the Pearl River flower boats; yue'ou tunes were later taken into yuequ with muyu, dragon-boat and Guangfu naamyam tunes.1925 · EvolutionIn the late Qing, blind women singers performed in Guangzhou teahouses. In the early Republic yuequ changed to natural voice and Guangzhou speech; from the 1920s sighted women singers replaced the blind performers, and the teahouse singing stages flourished most in the 1920s and 1930s.2011 · ImpactDragon-boat singing entered the first national ICH list in 2006; in 2011 yuequ, muyu songs and nanyin shuochang, nominated by Macao, entered the third batch.
  1. 1678OriginQu Dajun's Guangdong xinyu, completed in 1678, describes long Cantonese songs accompanied on the sanxian and called 'moyu songs', which women hired blind musicians to sing at seasonal gatherings; it is the earliest reliable account of muyu singing.
  2. 1828EvolutionIn the Daoguang reign Zhao Ziyong compiled the Yue'ou, 121 songs under 97 titles written in Cantonese in the voice of the singing girls of the Pearl River flower boats; yue'ou tunes were later taken into yuequ with muyu, dragon-boat and Guangfu naamyam tunes.
  3. 1925EvolutionIn the late Qing, blind women singers performed in Guangzhou teahouses. In the early Republic yuequ changed to natural voice and Guangzhou speech; from the 1920s sighted women singers replaced the blind performers, and the teahouse singing stages flourished most in the 1920s and 1930s.
  4. 2011ImpactDragon-boat singing entered the first national ICH list in 2006; in 2011 yuequ, muyu songs and nanyin shuochang, nominated by Macao, entered the third batch.

Heritage Listings

  1. 2006National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · V-31 Dragon-boat singing · no. 267 · nominated by Shunde · Foshan · Guangdong
  2. 2011National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage3rd batch · 2011: V-108 Yuequ [no. 1132 · Guangzhou] · V-109 Muyu songs [no. 1133 · Dongguan] · V-112 Nanyin shuochang · i.e. Guangfu naamyam [no. 1136 · Macao SAR · safeguarded by the Au Kuan Cheong Cantonese opera and quyi society]