| Description |
Hua’er has been one of performing arts of folk songs in Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia of China for over 600 years long since Ming dynasty. Hua’er is a folk song created by nine ethnic groups, such as Han, Hui, Tibetan, Tu, Mongol, Dongxiang, Salar, Bonan, Yugur, and each nationality shares it with others. It is an important artistic form of cultural exchange, emotional communication among nationalities, which is only folk song of its kind created and performed by multi-nationalities in China.
Hua’er’s music has been drawn its inspiration from ethnic and traditional music, it has more than 100 tunes. Their titles are called so-and-so ling, just according to the names of nationality, town or flower, such as Dongxiang ling, Tu People ling, Hezhou ling, White Peony ling etc. Hua’er’s music is based on five notes of pentatonic scale, high in tune, wide in range, free rhyme and rich expression. The libretto of Hua’er is improvised by folk singers under a certain formula, each has 3,4,5 or 6 lines, each line consists of 7 characters, it has their own metre. Its content involves daily life of farmer, and richer in love. The forms of performance of Hua’er could be solo, duet, and group competition. More than 100 traditional Hua’er folk festivals are held in Gansu and Qinghai once a year with their own time and venues, which is important place to show folk singers talents.
Hua’er, as folk song of local nationalities handed down from one generation to another, is an important tool to express people’s mind and feelings with unique social function and cultural function. “Singing my dresses, singing happiness in my heart”, “one song after another, the more songs I sing and the younger I am”, these librettos play a role to shake off their weariness and depression in the heart of singers. “Singing one by one, just for my sweetheart”, these show Hua’er is a tool of love between young man and young woman. Folk singers are low educated farmers and herdsmen, they are practitioners of Hua’er, and also spokesmen of common people. Their improvisation and performance play a part of “time mirror” with expression of the people’s voice. For instance, “Wife’s having hair dyed, daughter wants her hair in a bob, mama is having hair permed, all wants to follow the fashion, and I will pay for that.” This Hua’er says the huge change and pleased heart of farmers’ life in countryside of the northwest of China, this is also vivid oral record of social progress in China.
For the reason that Hua’er Folk Festival in Gansu and Qinghai has been included into the list of China Intangible Cultural Heritage, a large number of excellent singers were put into representative list of China Intangible Cultural Heritage Practitioner, this drew much attention to Hua’er, and increased the sense of Hua’er identity and continuity. The folk singers and persons in charge of cultural communities and cultural centers realized the importance of protecting Hua’er.
|
| Social and cultural significance |
Songs may tell of young love, the hard work and weariness of the farming life, the foibles of men and women or the joy of singing. The songs are also a vivid oral record of recent social developments in China as singers comment on the changes they observe around them. Hua’er singers may have little schooling, but the most successful and widely respected singers today have become household names, performing widely and even creating their own institutes to pass on their art to apprentices. Whether it is being sung spontaneously by rural people working in the field or travelling or performed more formally at one of more than a hundred traditional Hua’er festivals held annually in these provinces, Hua’er is an important vehicle for expressing personal feelings in a social setting and cultural exchange across ethnicities, as well as a popular rural entertainment. |
| Transmission method |
Hua’er is a folk song created by nine ethnic groups, such as Han, Hui, Tibetan, Tu, Mongol, Dongxiang, Salar, Bonan, Yugur, and each nationality shares it with others.
Hua’er’s music is based on five notes of pentatonic scale, high in tune, wide in range, free rhyme and rich expression. The libretto of Hua’er is improvised by folk singers under a certain formula, each has 3,4,5 or 6 lines, each line consists of 7 characters, it has their own metre. Its content involves daily life of farmer, and richer in love. The forms of performance of Hua’er could be solo, duet, and group competition. More than 100 traditional Hua’er folk festivals are held in Gansu and Qinghai once a year with their own time and venues, which is important place to show folk singers talents.
Folk singers are low educated farmers and herdsmen, they are practitioners of Hua’er, and also spokesmen of common people.
Their improvisation and performance play a part of “time mirror” with expression of the people’s voice. For instance, “Wife’s having hair dyed, daughter wants her hair in a bob, mama is having hair permed, all wants to follow the fashion, and I will pay for that.” This Hua’er says the huge change and pleased heart of farmers’ life in countryside of the northwest of China, this is also vivid oral record of social progress in China.
For the reason that Hua’er Folk Festival in Gansu and Qinghai has been included into the list of China Intangible Cultural Heritage, a large number of excellent singers were put into representative list of China Intangible Cultural Heritage Practitioner, this drew much attention to Hua’er, and increased the sense of Hua’er identity and continuity. The folk singers and persons in charge of cultural communities and cultural centers realized the importance of protecting Hua’er.
Mr. Ma Jinshan, 60 years old, in Hezheng county, Gansu; Ms. Wang Lianlian, 40, and Ms.Wen Xianglian, 28, in Kangle county, Gansu; Ms. Jiang Zhaowa, 66, in Min county, Gansu; Mr. Ma Jun, 46, in Minhe county, Qinghai etc, they become household names, some of them have built up a Hua’er tea house, and often arrange performance to share their experience with the rest of the group, some of them set up their own institutes to teach Hua’er to their apprentices, they are determined unremittingly to protect and pass Hua’er to next generations. |
| Community |
It is popular mainly in Zhengxian county, Hezheng county, Kangle county, Linxia county, Jishishan county, and Yongjing ncounty in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture; Min County, Lintao County, and Zhang County in Dingxi City; Zhangjiachuan County in Tianshui city; Lintan County in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qilihe District of Lanzhou City in Gansu Province; Ledu County and Huzhu County in Qinghai Province; and Guyuan City in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. As a folk song composed and enjoyed by nationalities of Han, Hui, Zang, Dongxiang, Bao’an, Salar, Tu, Guyur, and Mongol, its successors include Zhu Zhonglu (Han nationality, 1922–2007), Wang Shaoming (Han nationality, 1925–1994), Ma Jinshan (Hui nationality, 1949–), Ma Jun (Dongxiang nationality, 1963–), Wang Lianlian (Han nationality, 1969–), Dong Mingqiao (Han nationality, 1973–), and Wen Xianglian (Han nationality, 1981–), etc. |
| Type of UNESCO List |
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity |
| Incribed year in UNESCO List |
2009 |
