Yao'an Bazi tune

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Yao'an Bazi cavity

Applicant: Yao'an County, Yunnan Province

Item No.: 595

Project No.: Ⅱ - 96

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: Traditional Music

Region: Yunnan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Yao'an County, Yunnan Province

Protection unit: Yao'an County Cultural Center

Brief introduction of Bazi cavity in Yao'an

Applicant: Yao'an County, Yunnan Province

Yao'an Bazi tune is a unique folk song style in the northwest of Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. It is mainly spread in Yao'an County's villages dominated by Han nationality. It is mostly sung by young men and women of Han nationality in the spring planting season and when the seedlings are green.

Yao'an Bazi tune has a long history. It is said that it was introduced from the Central Plains after Zhu Yuanzhang pacified Yunnan in the Hongwu Period of Ming Dynasty. In the process of development, it constantly integrated with the local folk tunes and gradually became fixed. It can be divided into shangbazi tune and xiabazi tune. Shangbazi tune is integrated with the minor melody of Yi People's love songs in mountainous areas. When singing, the voice is mellow and soft, and the melody is low and elegant. It is commonly known as "Xiaobing tune". Xiabazi tune has a high pitched voice with a range of D1 to A2. It has a wide range of notes. The lyrics of Yao'an Bazi tune are divided into two parts: subject and adverb. The two parts are quite different in content, but they are inseparable from the melody in the whole aria. Adverbs are also called "Duo Ban" and "Duo Ye". In fact, they are tongue twisters in singing. They follow the "Duo Ban" in Beijing Opera and Yunnan opera. When adding "number" and "singing", they can be completed in one go without any pause. They require the singer to have the skills of high range, clear speech and good enunciation. "Duoban" singing, often Yao'an Bazi village and place name number in it, before and after attention, interesting, fully show the singer's language ability.

Most of Yao'an's Bazi tunes are sung in the field, accompanied by flute, erhu and percussion instruments. Its representative tunes include "Twelve genera", "picking flowers in December", "guessing Tunes", "counting Yaozhou", "counting place names", etc. The duet between male and female Bazi tune usually takes one noon or one afternoon, and some sing for several days and nights until one of them is willing to bow down. Bazi tune of Yao'an has been popular among the people for a long time.

Bazi tune of Yao'an has distinctive characteristics of traditional folk culture, which is an important reference material for the study of Yi folk song form and folk culture. At present, there are few people who can sing the traditional Yao'an Bazi tune. This folk art form is on the verge of extinction and needs to be rescued, protected, developed and revitalized.