Research On The Artistic Value Of Pusongling’s Folk Song

Pu Songling, a famous litterateur as well as a folk music artist in the Qing Dynasty, has enjoyed a great reputation of “a living fossil folk songs of the Ming and Qing dynasties”, which has been lasting for about three hundred years in his hometown, Zichuan, Shandong Province. He contributes greatly to the music and the folk literature with his composing of fifteen kinds of folk songs in the spoken vernacular and the local dialect of his hometown. These folk songs fit the frame of Qupai cluster and are intended to be sung in the local popular tunes. They are well understood and widely accepted by the broad masses because they suit both refined and popular tastes with the vivid language which is the result of Pu Songling’s creative innovation of his precedent music. The selection and creation of Qupai reflect the rich local color and music characteristics of Shan Dong folk songs, due to the fact that he took into consideration various factors such as the plot, the need of characters’ performance, the traditional singing principle, and the peculiar feature of the local dialect. There are kinds of performance forms, rap and opera. The folk songs use dialects to standardize the singing style and method, sung with the natural voice and the strong guttural.This thesis consists of six parts: the introduction of the thesis, Pu Songling’s life and creation condition, the ideology and artistic characteristics of his folk songs, the music form of his folk songs, the artistic value of his folk songs, and finally the conclusion. The beginning part briefly introduces the research situation of his folk songs at home and abroad. In the first chapter, the author introduces Pu Songling’s life and his folk songs and makes detailed analysis on social environment and historical conditions which Pu Songling created folk songs. The formation of Pu Songling’s folk songs, which was related to the musical environment at that time,his bumpy road of life and his social hierarchy, mirrors his musical talent.The second chapter elaborates the sources of Pu Songling’s folk songs which include myths, strange stories from a Chinese Studio, and what he had seen, heard and so on. A detailed elaboration is made about how, through his works, Pu Songling exposes the dark officialdom, sings the praises of the darkness of society, extols people’s revolt, criticizes the disadvantages of the imperial examination system, reflects the plight of people’s life and praises the heroes. The second section includes the artistic characteristics of Pu Songling’s folk songs in terms of rapping, popularity, irony and comedy.In the third chapter, the author focuses on the music forms of Pu Songling’s folk songs, and meanwhile classifies his music structure,the features of his folk songs,the back sleeves structure and joint sleeve structure. Besides, it gives an example of his works in folk songs to demonstrate the point. In the second section, it describes his aesthetic appreciation of music which is embodied in his folk songs.In the fourth chapter, the thesis summarizes the significance of this research, and summarizes the artistic value of his folk songs. There is no doubt that his works play a significant role in history, the liberation of ideology, and the development of music in Zichuan area.