Wu Ge Wu Ge: A Brief History

Author: Gu Jiegang et al. compiled, Wang Xuhua edited
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-08-01
Features: The collection and research of modern Chinese folk songs originated with Lu Xun. As early as 1922, Lu Xun proposed suggestions and methods for collecting and organizing folk songs from various regions. In his "Proposal for Propagating Art" (Monthly Journal of the Compilation Office, Ministry of Education, December 1922), he suggested establishing a "National Literary Arts Research Association" to organize folk songs, folk sayings, legends, and fairy tales; to elaborate on their meanings, distinguish their characteristics, and further develop and promote them, thereby supporting education. This proposal summarized three points: 1) Collecting and organizing folk songs required establishing an organization like the "National Literary Arts Research Association" to handle the task; 2) The method for organizing folk songs was to "elaborate on their meanings and distinguish their characteristics," and further develop and promote them; 3) The role of folk songs was "to support education." This was the earliest proposal in the history of modern Chinese folk song collection, organization, and research. In the same December, Zhou Zuoren wrote "A Study of Children's Songs," which was one of the earliest articles on children's songs, published in the January 1914 issue of the "Monthly Journal of the Shaoxing County Education Association." It was later reprinted in the "Daily Journal of Peking University" and the "Folk Song Weekly" (Issues 33-34). At that time, he was collecting children's songs from the Yue region, so he also published a call for collecting children's songs and fairy tales in the same issue of the journal: "I wish to collect children's songs and fairy tales and compile them into a collection to preserve the characteristics of Yue culture and provide materials for folk studies and children's education. This task is too extensive and cannot be accomplished by one person alone. I sincerely hope that scholars of the time will share their knowledge and offer guidance to make this possible, which would be a great fortune." However, due to the conservative atmosphere at the time, Lu Xun's proposal and Zhou Zuoren's announcement did not attract much attention and had little impact. The true modern collection and research of Chinese folk songs began with the folk song collection efforts at Peking University. Zhong Jingwen, in the preface to "The Jiangsu Folk Song Collection," stated that the systematic and scientific collection of folk songs in China began in 1918 with the establishment of the Folk Song Collection Office at Peking University, which was later renamed the Folk Song Research Association. He also pointed out the differences between ancient and modern folk song collection, saying: "In ancient China, there were also editors who compiled folk song collections, such as Yang Shen's 'Ancient Style Folk Songs,' Li's 'Yue Style,' and Du Wenlan's 'Ancient Folk Sayings.' However, these collections were either limited to compiling from classic texts or to collecting from ethnic minorities, with the intention of preserving ancient traditions and curiosity, which was quite different from the modern scientific approach to organizing and preserving folk songs." I believe that in addition to organizing and preserving, there should be further scientific research on these folk songs from various perspectives, including literary folklore and social life.