Yuefu-Songs of the Han Dynasty

Yuefu originally referred to the “music bureau” in the Han dynasty, a reference to the government organization originally in charge of collecting or writing the literati’s poems, folk ballads, which were set to music. Later, poems and folk ballads collected and complied by Yuefu were given this generic name. Folk ballads are ten essential part of the Yuefu songs of the Han dynasty.

The following folk ballad entitled Jiangnan (south of the Yangtze River) is one elaborate work of Yuefu songs of the Han dynasty.

Time to gather lotus in the Yangtze Valley,

As lotus leaves are fair and lusty.

Fish frolic amid-st the lotus leaves.

Fish frolic to the east of the lotus leaves,

Fish frolic to the west of the lotus leaves,

Fish frolic to the south of the lotus leaves,

Fish frolic to the north of the lotus leaves.

This folk ballad depicted the vivid scene of lotus-gathering in Jiangnan, where local people were in joyous mood while they were working. The tenor of this ballad was as follows: It was the right time to gather lotus in the huge lakes of Jiangnan. There teemed with lotus leaves in the lake, where small fishes were swimming freely… The simple, unadorned and vivid atmosphere permeates the whole folk beginning to end.

Most of the Yuefu songs of the Han dynasty are narrative poems, which truthfully uncovered the sentiment of people at that time. Some poems mirrored the poverty-stricken life of laboring people; some exposed the misery caused by was; some manifested the opposition to feudal marriage customs and the pursuit for true love; and some revealed the decadent life of aristocrats and the darkness of the society.

The best-known poem in Yuefu songs of Han dynasty is Peak-cocks Flying Southeast, which is also the first long narrative poem in Chinese history. It gives a vivid account of a tragedy of two lovers in a feudal family.

Southeast the lovelorn peacock flies. Alack,

At every five li she falters and looks back!

At thirteen years Lanzhi learned how to weave;

At fourteen years she could embroider, sew;

At fifteen music on her harp she made;

At sixteen knew the classic, prose and verse…

Liu Lanzhi, a smart, pretty and kind-hearted girl, got married to Jiao Zhongqing, her beloved man. They loved each other deeply, but Jiao’s mother was so cruel that she forced them to separate. As a result, both Jiao and Liu committed suicide for the sake of love, and turned into a pair of lovebirds. ” They cross their bills and sing to one another. Their soft endearments all night long till dawn.” Hence the lovebirds became the symbol of true love. The tragedy condemned the feudal ethics and evil clan rule, and expressed the wish and determination of the young who were in pursuit for the free marriage.

With rich flavors of life, Yuefu songs of the Han Dynasty are in the pursuit of faithful reflection of social reality and have accomplished artistic achievements, which have had a direct and far-reaching impact on the development of poetry in later generations.

 

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