Xiaodiao

Also known as "xiaoqu", "liqu", and etc., these folksongs flourished in urban areas and markets. They are artistically refined, and their music is harmonious. They form genre of folksongs with exquisitely subtle tunes. Their influence is felt in all the cities of the country, and the short lyrical and narrative songs of some ethnic minorities have their origin in the xiaodiao.

There are many things which differentiate xiaodiao from haozi and mountain songs. First of all, the environment in which they flourished. Whereas haozi and mountain songs originated in the mountains and open country, in close coordination with collective or individual labor, xiaodiao had nothing to do with labor, circulating as they did in the wineshops and teahouses of the market towns, and being a feature of festivals and celebrations. Secondly, the means of their transmittal were different. Xiaodiao were not sung by peasants, but by urban dwellers, merchants, small handicraftsmen, and the professional and semi-professional classes. There was also another, even more important difference, and that was its artistic function. While haozi and the mountain songs had definite self-consolation value and practical applications, these aspects were basically absent from xiaodiao, which were sung mostly for the entertainment of others. Especially after the emergence of professional singers, and their performances became more polished, the conditions were formed for xiaodiao to mount the stage as an eclectic entertainment which had gradually absorbed the subject matter and forms of other types of performances.

Xiaodiao had a wide repertoire, including marriage and love among the various urban classes, the sorrow of parting, local customs, human foibles, pure entertainment, general knowledge, historical tales and folk legends. Prominent and widespread xiaodiao dealing with such themes include Picking Cherries and Peaches, Selling Sundry Goods, Flying a Kite, Swinging, Grinding Bean Curd, Mending the Jar, New Year's Greetings, Viewing Lanterns, Visiting the Temple, Picking Tea, The Courtesan Files a Suit, The Nun Dreams of the Secular Life, The Ruffian Mourns for His Wife and The Widow Visits the Grave of Her Husband.

In structure and method of artistic presentation, xiaodiao used a variety of musical forms, blending the lyrical with the narrative, and recitation and singing. The basic arrangement was in the form of the "five night watches", "four seasons" or "twelve Months". In the latter, the subject matter was recounted in 12 stages, corresponding to the months of the year. In "The Flowers of the Year", the names of the flowers which bloom in each month are taught to the audience in question-and-answer form, thus imparting some knowledge of nature in a cheerful and lively atmosphere. The well-known story of Meng Jiangnu was also told using the 12-month framework.

Because the xiaodiao were basically composed of four lines each, they were commonly known as "four-liners." The first line introduced the song, and set the tune and the basic mood; so it was particularly important. The second line was a counterpart to the first, solidifying the musical tone and feeling. The third line usually brought in new material and a new musical tone to create a deliberate contrast and effect, thereby giving the music a new momentum. The fourth line completes the third, and rounds out the balance of the song. Thus the four lines have the functions of "introduction", "development", "elaboration" and "finale". On the surface, this seems to be a straightforward musical structural relationship, but historical studies have shown that it reflects the national musical sense and the logic of Chinese ways of literary and artistic thought. We can say that the four-line format of the xiaodiao, on account of its universality and succinct incisiveness, demonstrates the formal logic which is a national characteristic.

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