Shenhu Hujiang Yubin Nanyin Society 深沪沪江御宾南音社 (hereafter Yubinshe, as it is commonly called), formed in the year 1632, is the oldest nanyin society in Jinjiang.
My research purposes were to explore its historical background; to investigate how the Society managed to survive through centuries of political and social instability; to research its early practice of the now much neglected repertoire guozhiqu, which was frequently performed in Shenhu up to the early 1950s; to investigate the nanyin societies in its neighbouring villages; and to look at the recent activities of this oldest nanyin society in southern Fujian (Minnan). As the Society was known as a hub grooming many nanyin masters in the past, I have also researched the transmission of nanyin tradition (Chapter 6.4).
Yubinshe is situated in the village of Nanchun 南春村 in Shenhu, which lies on a peninsula on the southeastern coast of Jinjiang (Map 5.1):
Map 5.1 Shenhu and neighbouring towns (source: Shenhu zhenzhi 2007 (simplified))
In 1984, Shenhu became a zhen 镇 [town] consisting of 19 cun 村 [villages; formal term
‘administrative village’] and 150 zirancun 自然村 [natural villages].96 The place was officially named Shenhu during the Yuan dynasty, when it became an important port during the heyday of maritime trade.97 With the advantage of its natural deep harbour
96At present, the villages in China are divided into two administrative groups: administrative village (xingzhengcun 行政村) and natural village (zirancun 自然村). The inhabitants of a natural village usually come from the same lineage; it is a residential area of one or more clans. Compared with administrative villages, which are managed under a hierarchical structure of the CCP government, a natural village – generally smaller in size – is under the mass management of a rural committee led by the state authority.
97 The meaning of the name 深沪 (Shenhu) is interesting. The first character shen 深 [deep] references the
coupled with technological improvements, old Shenhu became famous for its shipbuilding industry dating back to early Qing. Its golden era as a prosperous shipping port was evidenced in a corpus of Qing poetry and numerous stone steles in local temples (Shenhu zhenzhi 2007:31-2). Seafaring was the principal local livelihood, and playing nanyin aboard ships was a norm for enlivening the long and boring journey of the fishermen and sailors. Frequent cross-strait nanyin music activities between the sailors and the people in Taiwan were a part of the communication of the emigrants of Shenhu origin with their relatives in their hometown (Chen Hanqing 陈汉清 [b.1926], interview, 5 October 2009).
Aside from Yubinshe, there were two other significant nanyin societies in Shenhu before the 1950s: Zouyatang 奏雅堂 and Yaqushe 雅趣社. Shenhu Yubinshe had over a hundred members, mostly government officers. The members of Zouyatang were mainly shipbuilders and businessmen, whilst the majority of Yaqushe members were from well-known families in the town. Such a membership constituency shows that nanyin music was a popular entertainment of the rich and powerful, and xianguanjian [literally ‘halls of strings and pipes’] were venues frequently visited by members of wealthy families (Su Tongmou, interview, 1 September 2009).
The society’s current name Shenhu Hujiang Yubin Nanyinshe was officially adopted when it was registered in 1994 to facilitate the opening of a bank account. The present Society building was completed in 1996 with financial aid from huaqiao [overseas Chinese] and local entrepreneurs (Fig. 5.1). In September 2009 when I started my fieldwork in Shenhu, there were over 100 society members who were nanyin players, among which around 40 were active participants.
adopted by the inhabitants, whereby an extended row of bamboo sticks tied together is inserted vertically into the sand along the bank, trapping fish as the tide ebbs (Shenhu zhenzhi 2007: Preface 2).
Fig. 5.1 Shenhu Hujiang Yubin Nanyin Society, Shenhu (field photo 2009)
Amateur nanyin groups in the vicinity
There are several other amateur nanyin groups in the vicinity of Yubinshe. In the same Nanchun village is the Sizhu Nanyin Society 丝竹南音社, an offshoot of Yubinshe, created due to conflicts between some individual members. Of some 40 musician members, roughly 10 are active performers. Most members are elderly people for whom the Society’s building functions as their daily gathering place. The members follow the routine of music-making once a week, and participate in communal activities and in nanyin competitions.
Tianshan Nanyin Society 天山南音社 is situated in the isolated village Keren 科任 村, near the seashore at the south end of Shenhu. Villages along the coastline usually have a long history of emigration, and Keren is no exception, being known as a ‘huaqiao village’. Keren has been enjoying sustained financial support from villagers emigrated overseas. Tianshan Nanyin Society, the village’s only nanyin group, was founded in the late 19th century and formally registered in 1952. In 2010, they had around 20 members, most of whom were elderly musicians. Participation in society activities was restricted to this small circle, and members do not like to be involved in public activities outside their community. Music-making is only a pastime; these old members do not have the willingness to pass the music down to the next generation as most young adults tend to leave the village, migrating to join their relatives overseas or to work in urban areas.
These musicians’ daily lives and Society activities are isolated, just like the location of their village.
Longquan Nanyin Society 尨泉南音社 is situated in Yunhuo village 运伙村 west of Shenhu, near the border of the town of Jinjing zhen 金井镇. There were sporadic nanyin groups in the village in the past, and Longquan was previously a group of young men who gathered for nanyin music-making without using a group name. Around 1970, when they found out that they were the only nanyin group in the village, they decided to maintain the tradition by seeking financial support. The Society took shape when they received their earliest funding in the 1970s from a clan association in the Philippines to buy instruments and recruit teachers. The Society was not officially registered until 2000 when the local authority let them share the second level of a communal building as their Society venue. The Society serves the inhabitants of seven to eight villages in the vicinity by providing music for folk festivities. Among Shenhu’s amateur societies, Longquan Nanyinshe is the most enthusiastic group, actively involved in performance and transmission of nanyin. They have recruited resident teachers locally, and their daily practice is important in sustaining the nanyin tradition.
There is basically no formal interaction among these four societies in Shenhu.
However, in the world of nanyin in which musicians know each other well, it is common that in open recitals, individual musicians would play for any society upon request. In the case of Yubinshe, they do not have enough instrumentalists to form a conventional ensemble, let alone a street parade (caijie) which is usually organised for a larger
celebration and requires a full ensemble with percussion instruments. When invited by other societies to perform on special occasions, they recruit individual musicians from other societies to play with them. These musicians are more than willing to join, so it is not surprising to see a Longquan musician playing in the Sizhu ensemble, or a Tianshan instrumentalist joining Yubinshe in a celebration recital organised by another group.
Nanyin activities of Hujian Yubin Nanyin Society
In Shenhu Hujian Yubin Nanyin Society, the tradition of regular gatherings is well maintained: the musicians convene weekly upstairs in the Society building (Fig. 5.2). Due to the lack of a resident teacher, no adult nanyin teaching is offered and the general standard of practice has plunged. The woman director, He Xiubi 何秀碧, who focuses on nanyin education for children, contributes greatly to the continuation of the tradition. The guozhiqu tradition, which I originally intended to explore in Yubinshe, has been extinct since the 1950s, and there is no sign of of it being revived in Shenhu.
Fig.5.2 Weekly gathering at Yubinshe (field photo 2009)
Nanyin playing in Shenhu is a practice developed over a wide historical span and featuring in almost all kinds of local folk activities and government functions. Table 5.1 represents the nanyin activities of Yubinshe in the first half of 2010:
Date Event Venue 30 December
2009 Ritual:
Invocation for blessings Fulin Temple, Chenlin Village, Longhuzhen 龙湖镇陈林村福林寺
14 January 2010 Funeral: Wake Member’s residence 4 February 2010 Exchange visit:
Tiong Ho Sia Musical Association, Philippines
Performance hall, Hujiang Yubin Nanyin Society
14 February 2010 Spring festival Baoquan’an Temple, Shenhu 深沪宝泉庵 24 March 2010 Nanyin live show on TV:
17 April 2010 Funeral: Wake Member’s residence 14 May 2010 Elementary school nanyin
competition Shenhu Zhongxin Xiaoxue 深沪中心小学
27 May 2010 Temple fair (miaohui) Shenhu Zhenhaigong Temple 深沪镇海宫 30 May 2010 Funeral: Wake Member’s residence
12 June 2010 Deity Dadaogong’s
birthday Baoquan’an Temple, Shenhu 深沪宝泉庵
14 June 2010 Student nanyin final
contest Jinjiang Grand Theatre 晋江大剧院
24 June 2010 Deity Guandi’s birthday Shenhu Zhongyi Temple 深沪忠义庙 5 July 2010 Funeral: Wake Member’s residence
Table 5.1 Activities of Hujiang Yubin Nanyin Society, Shenhu (December 2009–July 2010)
As a cultural symbol, nanyin performances have been included in the secular activities of Yubinshe for government-initiated and communal events. For example, Yubinshe collaborates with wenhua zhan 文化站 [the village level culture post] to organise ‘Nanyin Evening’ entertainment programmes at the town Cultural Centre. To promote nanyin tradition, Yubinshe gains public exposure through a weekly nanyin programme on Jinjiang Television.
Remnants of tradition
As the region’s oldest nanyin society, Yubinshe is renowned for its long history, a single archaic instrument it possesses, and some manuscripts passed down by their previous masters. The old pipa lute Lieshi 裂石, said to have been possessed by Yubinshe for over 200 years, is said to be one of the oldest nanyin instruments in Minnan and