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Shijing and Han Yuefu SONGS THAT TOUCH OUR SOUL A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FOLK SONGS IN TWO CHINESE CLASSICS: SHIJING AND HAN YUEFU by Yumei Wang A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Art Graduate Department of the East Asian Studies University of Toronto © Yumei Wang 2012 SONGS THAT TOUCH OUR SOUL A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FOLK SONGS IN TWO CHINESE CLASSICS: SHIJING AND HAN YUEFU Yumei Wang Master of Art Graduate Department of the East Asian Studies University of Toronto 2012 Abstract The subject of my thesis is the comparative study of classical Chinese folk songs. Based on Jeffrey Wainwright, George Lansing Raymond, and Liu Xie’s theories, this study was conducted from four perspectives: theme, content, prosody structure and aesthetic features. The purposes of my thesis are to trace the originality of 160 folk songs in Shijing and 47 folk songs in Han yuefu , to illuminate the origin of Chinese folk songs and to demonstrate the secularism reflected in Chinese folk songs. My research makes contribution to the following four areas: it explores the relation between folk songs in Shijing and Han yuefu and compares the similarities and differences between them ; it reveals the poetic kinship between Shijing and Han yuefu; it evaluates the significance of the common people’s compositions; and it displays the unique artistic value and cultural influence of Chinese early folk songs. ii Acknowledgments I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Professor Graham Sanders for his supervision, inspirations, and encouragements during my two years M.A study in the Department of East Asian Studies at University of Toronto. I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Yangqian Ke 扬茜柯 at Anhui University in China for her help with my thesis proofreading. During this process, Professor Ke provided some profound insights into the subject of my study and encouraged me to dig deeper. Without her encouragement and help, this thesis would get nowhere. I would like also to express my gratitude to Mr. Difu Shi at University of Toronto for his help in use of the template of dissertation. Finally, I would like to express my true gratitude to my husband Mr. Zongping He 宗平何for his support these years. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my son Albert Yuchu He at University of Toronto for his help in many ways. It is he who has revived my dream in pursuit of further study, encouraged me to rise to the challenge of the harsh time, and urged me to enrich my life. iii Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Brief Introduction of Theoretical Background ..................................................................... 1 1.2 Background of Shijing and Han Yuefu ................................................................................. 4 1.3 Purpose of the Comparative Study ...................................................................................... 8 Chapter 1.1. Outline of the Comparative Study ................................................................... 11 Chapter 2 The Originality of Folk Songs in Shijing and in Han Yuefu................................. 17 Chapter 2.1. Tradition of the Poem Collection (cai shi 採詩) ............................................. 17 Chapter 2.2. Comparison of the Practice of cai shi 採詩between Zhou and Han ................. 21 Chapter 2.3. The Originality of Folk Songs in Shijing ........................................................ 24 Chapter 2.4. The Originality of Folk Songs in Han Yuefu .................................................. 26 Chapter 2.5. Summary .......................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 3 Musical Features of Folk Songs from Shijing and Han Yuefu ............................. 31 Chapter 3.1. Musical Features of Folk Songs of Shijing ..................................................... 31 Chapter 3.2. Musical Features of Folk songs of Han Yuefu ................................................ 36 Chapter 3.3. Comparison of the Similar and Different Musical Features of Folk Songs between Shijing and Han Yuefu ............................................................................................... 43 Chapter 3.4. Summary .......................................................................................................... 51 Chapter 4 Aesthetic Features of Folk Songs in Shijing and in Han yuefu ............................ 54 Chapter 4.1. Aesthetic Features of Folk Songs in Shijing ................................................... 54 iv Chapter 4.2. Aesthetic Features of Folk songs in Han Yuefu .............................................. 67 Chapter 4.3. Comparison of Similar and Different Aesthetic Features of Folk Songs between Shijing and Han Yuefu ............................................................................................... 73 Chapter 4.4. Summary .......................................................................................................... 80 Chapter 4.5. Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 82 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 84 Appendices ................................................................................................................................... 87 v 1 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1Brief Introduction of Theoretical Background The focus of this comparative study is on classical Chinese poetry, in particular, folk songs from Shijin g 詩經 and Han yuefu 漢樂府. It involves the comparison of folk songs of two dynasties, Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC) and Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) in an attempt to research into the similarities and differences between folk songs of the two dynasties. There are three major trends that scholars and critics employ in the research or in the comparative study of classical Chinese poetry. The first major trend based on Jeffrey Wainwright’s poetic theory, which is stated in The Basics: Poetry ,1 is to search for the basic structure of ancient Chinese songs and poems. As for this research, it mainly demonstrates the basic elements of Chinese poetry, including the tones of voice, verse line, rhyme, stanza, and image. Those scholars and critics of this trend believe that the basic structure of songs and poems fundamentally is based on poetic language and the poetic language is usually marked as sounds of words. They thus discover poetry’s oral roots and measure the length of syllable, musical beat and rhythm in constitution of the cadence of the words which is a device working on human acoustical senses. 2 The bell and the Drum by C. H. Wang and In the Voice of Others by Joseph R. Allen are use such theoretical trends in practice. The two researches focus on the poetic language. In the bell and the Drum , 3 C. H. Wang considers Shijin g as formulaic poetry which originates from the Chinese oral tradition and identifies its roots in cadential unity that is instituted by acoustic “stock phrases”. Joseph R. Allen in his In the Voice of Others also supposes that yuefu poetry is a product of intertextuality, in other words, yuefu poetry is “the diachronic dynamics of the intratextual set” which is similar acoustic models along with similar poetic themes shared by composers and listeners or readers. However, C. H. Wang and Joseph R. Allen pay more attention to basic acoustic structure of poetry, ignore the essence of ancient Chinese songs and poems that is the true voices from ancient Chinese people, refracting reality of that time. The second major trend based on a comparative aesthetic theory which is discoursed by George 1Jeffrey Wainwright, The Basics: Poetry (London; New York: Routledge, 2004) 2ibid, pp. 6. 3C.H. Wang: The Bell and the Drum (London: Berkeley, Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1974), 2 Lansing Raymond (1839-1929) in his Poetry as A Representative Art ,4 is to manifest the relationship between the psychical concepts and the physical expressions in rhythm and harmony. The scholars and critics of this trend attempt to trace the relation between human’s thoughts and poetic language which is believed to exist in poetry by George Lansing Raymond. Those scholars and critics thus analyze various melodies of songs, recognize poetic language or musical sounds because they believe that music and poetry are an instinctive unity which is “a primitive ejaculation form of utterance in any sense”, corresponding with man’s thoughts when sounds are developed into the forms of poetry. 5 Therefore, the scholars and critics of the second trend work on poetic structure as the first trend does, but they mostly focus on distinction and comparison of poetic sounds in order to understand the themes from poems and songs and finally grasp man’s true thoughts. The Making of Early Chinese Classical Poetry by Stephen Owen 6 and the Popular Songs and Ballads of Han China by Anne Birrell, 7 are probably considered as executing George Lansing Raymond’s aesthetic principles and practice as such. In The Making of Early Chinese Classical Poetry , Stephen Owen traces the derivation of the elements of forms from ancient Chinese poems to summarize early Chinese classical poetry as “composition by theme”. Anne Birrell in her Popular Songs and Ballads of Han China regards Han songs
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