The Wu ballad

Year:2006

Sort: Folk Literature

Area: Jiangsu province

Serial No.: Ⅰ-22

Declarer: Suzhou city, Jiangsu province

The Wu ballad is the oral folk stories passed down in areas with the same dialect, including southern Jiangsu province, northern Zhejiang province, Shanghai, and other areas in the delta of the lower reaches of the Yangtse River. In ancient China, these areas were called Wu, and the dialect was hence called the Wu dialect. It was well-known for its tender and soft tone. In the city of Suzhou, the centre of Wu ballad, the songs were passed down orally through generations.

Generally, the Wu ballad has several forms such as the prologue song, the love song, the narrative song and the children's song. The special rhythm of the Wu ballad is close to that of the poetry in the "I-Ching." The pattern is two words, two words and four words. Though the singers sung the ballad without any instrumental accompaniment, the plain intonation can be characterized as the theme of the Wu ballad.

The Wu ballad has a long history dating back to the Warring States period (770 - 221 BC). During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD), the merchants and the literati took great pains to record the ballads. The Qing Dynasty has been recognized as the prime time of the Wu ballad.

The Wu ballad is valuable in terms of art, the study of ancient society, history, folk culture and world views in Wu areas, and its dialectology.