Heritage
The tune of Four Season Production
(chinaculture.org)
Updated: 2006-11-21 14:31
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Year: 2006
Sort: Folk Literature
Area: Yunnan Province
Serial No.:Ⅰ-24
Declarer: Honghe Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province
By 1999, there were over one million Hanis in China, most of whom live in the valleys of southern Yunnan Province. The Four Seasons Production song is a beautiful Hani song created during the Tang Dynasty?(618-906AD) and is an oral encyclopedia of farming culture, ethnic rites and taboos.
The Hani are a branch of the nomadic Qiang ethnic minority?who live on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and have been farming on the beautiful terrace in the mountainous region for generations.
The Four Seasons Production song is comprised of five parts; the preface, winter, spring, summer and autumn. The preface emphasizes the importance of the song in the continued survival of the Hani. The remaining four parts highlight how the Hani farm in different seasons according to their understanding of astronomy, the laws of nature, and ceremonial etiquette.
The song is structurally tight, easy to understand and can be both recited and sung. The language is lively and similar to real life. The song has a long history, and not only shows the Hani's agricultural skills, but also their societal ethics.
The song has been witness to the evolution of the Hani and of rice-cultivating civilization and in this sense is important for historical and scientific study. The plain and humorous language always delights audiences. But because of a lack of young singers, this incredible living encyclopedia is in danger of dying.
