Jackdaws Playing in the Water

Introduction

One of the ten great suites of Chaozhou string music, so popular that it is jokingly called Chaozhou's own anthem.

Han ya xi shui is a traditional piece from Chaozhou of unknown authorship and date, played both as a Chaozhou zheng solo and by string ensembles. It is one of the ten great suites of Chaozhou string music and the one most admired and most widely played by local musicians, who jokingly call it the anthem of Chaozhou. It is set in the zhong sanliu mode and built on sixty-eight beats, moving through the toupan, kaopai and sanban stages. Its bright and lively tune pictures jackdaws frolicking on a pond. Ensembles such as the Shantou Chaozhou Music Troupe still perform it as a classic.