Chapter 105 Sanqu

By the end of the Song Dynasty, many of the ci were unsingable. On the one hand, the literati’s creations were too elegant, and they had lost the popularity and life-oriented characteristics of ci.On the one hand, it is the fragmentation of the old spectrum.It is the songs that can be sung, most of which have been sung for hundreds of years, and they are no longer fresh. Therefore, rulers and literati turn their attention to the folk, to find new forms in folk songs, to absorb fresh nourishment, to create new art form.This time they found Sanqu. Sanqu is a new form of art song that emerged in the Yuan Dynasty. It is a "slang song" that has been continuously developed by the northern nationalities in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties since the Tang Dynasty, and the art including libretto derived from these "slang songs". A new artistic genre gradually formed on the basis of forms such as Zhugongdiao, Changzhuan, Taozhen, Guzici, Yuanben, etc.

Compared with Ci, the structure of Sanqu is much more free.Unlike Ci, there are very strict regulations on the number of words, structure, tune, and rhyme of each Ci card.The length and structure of the same Qupai can be quite different, especially many "lining characters" can be added.From this we can know that the melody structure and musical form structure of Sanqu should be relatively free, providing both creators and singers with more room for development.It uses the language system that is popular in the north. The entering tone disappears, and three tones are assigned to Ping, Shang, and Go.

There are two kinds of Sanqu, Xiaoling and divertimento. Xiaoling refers to a single ditty.Most of these ditties come from folk and poetry.The number of sets is a suite composed of two or more tunes in the same palace tune. It is the inheritance and development of Daqu, Guzici, Zhugong tunes, singing and so on since the Tang and Song Dynasties. In the late Yuan Dynasty, Nanqu, which was popular in the south, was greatly developed, and even a combination of north and south appeared.