Xie Qingliang

By staff reporter JIAO FENG

GUANGXI Zhuang Autonomous Region is one of the five ethnic minority autonomous regions in China. Located in northern Guangxi， Yizhou City is home to different ethnicities， the majority Zhuang group and hometown of the Zhuang “Melody Queen” Liu Sanjie. A renowned figure in Zhuang culture， Liu Sanjie and her tales and folk songs are widely recounted. Locals believe that gexu– a Zhuang minority open folk song contest– has recently been revived thanks to Liu Sanjies popularity. Every year on the third day of the third lunar month， festivities are held across Guangxi to celebrate the gexu tradition and the memory of Liu Sanjie. And Yizhou City is regarded as the most representative region of Liu Sanjies folk song art.

Since winning the title of “Guangxi Melody King”in 1997， Xie Qingliangs fame has spread far and wide. But what sets Xie apart from other performers of the same art is not necessarily his impressive vocal range or captivating performances， but rather his quick wit and humor. Xies talent lies in his ability to compose rhythms and words on the spot. He even greeted China Todays journalists with an improvised welcome song when they visited him at his home.

Growing up with Folk Songs

Folk singing is a time-honored tradition in Guangxi and has many arenas， from the farmlands to weddings and funerals. Folk songs also play a predominant role in various festivals. The widespread folk song phenomenon has accorded Guangxi the reputation as “a sea of songs.” Moreover， local people enjoy antiphonal singing， where one starts， and others follow. If after several rounds of interactive singing， no one can follow a singer with a melody， then that singer wins the singing crown.

The environment in which Xie Qingliang grew up was equally permeated with singing. From dawn until dusk， in fields and by the riverside， folk songs were a central part of his fellow villagers daily lives. Xie recalls that since his village had no electricity when he was growing up， singing folk songs was the only form of entertainment. “Folk song is our regional treasure. Although there are seven or eight types of specific rhythms， the lyrics can be diverse because they are all improvised，” said Xie proudly.

Xies love for folk songs grew gradually. As a youngster， he would often try to copy the songs he had heard while herding sheep or collecting firewood. But it would be a few years before he could master the art of improvising lyrics.

Xie explained that there is a dazzling variety of folk songs in Zhuang culture： birth celebration songs， love songs， wedding songs， anniversary songs and comic songs， to name a few. Every village has at least one rhythm， a signature beat， distinct from others. Yizhou is home to the most rhythms in Guangxi. There are normally four lines in one folk song. During a musical dialogue in antiphonal style， the performances change depending on the opponents age and gender. All singers involved throw themselves whole-heartedly into the musical dialogue， and this intensity inspires their lyric creativity.

Xie Qingliang was so obsessed with the antiphonal singing that he pushed himself to watch all the various staged celebrations in the village. He had mastered antiphonal singing by the age of 17 but at that time， there were no folk singing teachers so Xie had no choice but to look to the singers he knew for guidance. When he listened to their antiphonal singing， Xie would imagine himself in their place and think about how he would sing the song. And he wouldnt just listen； he would compose lyrics， too， saving a “draft” in his head every time and seeking advice if he got stuck. Seasoned folk performers encouraged him to feel the song， telling him， “If you love singing， you will voluntarily manage to understand and digest it. With time it will become second nature.” Xie Qingliang was often invited to join in antiphonal singing at festivals， celebrations or other local events if singers were short of partners. This was an opportunity Xie relished since it gave him good experience and taught him valuable lessons for the next performance. Xies hard work paid off. He established a strong foundation for folk song performance and his compositions got better and better.

Listen to Xie Qingliangs folk songs and you will find they include a number of smart and appropriate analogies of daily life related to his careful and sensitive observations. Folk songs are by definition based on everyday life， which is why they are popular with everyday people： Song is life， life is song， and the two are inseparable. For example， Xie sings：

Others cultivated rice， which is flowering early，

But our field has just been plowed.

Despite the dry climate， I plant sugarcane；

Cause I know when it will shoot.

The everyday language used is accessible to everyone and appeals to listeners. Therefore， Xie has always paid attention to accumulating local idioms from people around him. However， the most charming factor of folk songs， according to Xie， lies in their improvisation. Xie also believes folk songs need to move with the times and reflect the contemporary lives of common people. In his words， people come to folk song events mostly for entertainment. Therefore， compositions must be closely related to their lives and reality.

In keeping with current trends and local tastes Xie Qingliang developed his musicality by composing four delightful， modern tunes： the Dongping tune， the Tongbiao tune， the Lilailuo tune （meaning “good and plenty” in the ethnic Zhuang language） and the Melody King tune. These four tunes are well known by many folk singers today. Moreover， Xie enjoys innovating and rewriting lyrics. After three or four performances he usually shelves his lyrics. Nowadays， Xie writes love songs for folk song festivals during the farming low season. Looking at his mounting pile of musical scores， Xie said he would rearrange them when he was too old to walk.

In 2006， the Liu Sanjie ballads were listed among the first group of national intangible cultural heritage items. Xie Qingliang was named an inheritor of national intangible cultural heritage in 2012. At the award ceremony， he even improvised a folk song to express his excitement at receiving this honor.

Resorting to New Media

On the subject of heritage， Xie believes that in order to pass on and develop the tradition of folk songs， one needs to learn from other artistic forms. In the last 20 years， xiaopin， a type of Chinese comedy in the form of a short skit between two or more performers， has become popular. Noticing this trend， Xie came up with an idea to borrow features of xiaopin and add them to his folk songs， thus extending their appeal to a wider audience. But he admits he knows little about how to teach the art of folk singing to the next generation. “All I can do is give advice to competition novices，” he said.

Social media has been another channel through which Xie Qingliang has been able to promote the art of folk singing in recent years， and it has enabled him to connect with folk fans across the country. He has discovered that folk song enthusiasts come from all walks of life but the Internet gives them a common platform to share their compositions with fellow singers. Xie Qingliang regards these netizens as the ideal inheritors of folk songs and the Internet as the perfect modern-day method for disseminating the art of folk singing.

However， as with many aspects of modern culture， the Internet is both a blessing and curse for the art of antiphonal singing. The problem with taking folk singing forward in the cyber era is that it risks losing contact with its roots – the masses， rural culture and folklore. Xie has found that some of the songs pay too much attention to grace of wording， which takes away the fun and entertainment of spontaneous， improvised antiphony. To counter this risk， Xie plans to organize some online folk song activities and invite experienced and talented folk song singers to take part. He sings：

New tide is rolling in the sea of songs，

Sanjies culture is being spread.

Watered by the Internet，

The flowers of folk song are blossoming anew.

Hundreds of flowers compete from spring to autumn，

Colorful and varied，

With a netizen folk song club，

We would sing together all over Asia.

Xie Qingliang still lives a rural life. He makes his living through farming， but folk singing remains a high priority in his life. He no longer cares whether he is the “Melody King.” His main concern now is introducing folk song to audiences everywhere， to show them how interesting and what fun it can be， and to entertain the locals.

In June 2014， the Yizhou government held a free folk song workshop at the municipal library and invited Xie to introduce the basic elements like singing techniques and composing skills. He taught participants a series of popular folk songs and helped the entire class with an improvised piece. Xie Qingliang hopes initiatives such as this will enable the next generation to keep the spirit of folk song alive.