The Origin and Spread of "Singing News" in Eastern Zhejiang Province
Wang Hai1, Wu Yuanfeng2
1.School of Journalism and Communication, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou 510420, China
2.School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
The development of “Singing News” is inseparable from ancient Chinese news activities, as well as the development of such folk culture forms as folk songs in Eastern Zhejiang. This article sorts out the origin and development context of the “Singing News” in Eastern Zhejiang Province. Based on the analysis of the origin and development of the art of “Singing News” in Eastern Zhejiang, this paper discusses the comparative advantages and protection measures of the spread of the folk art of “Singing News”, so as to provide a reference for the in-depth study of ancient ballads, the art of “Singing News” and social customs in Eastern Zhejiang. From the perspective of folk art and cultural communication, this paper creatively chooses Zhejiang’s folk art form of “Singing News” as the research object, and takes the contents of “Singing News” in the local chronicles, related works and literary works of Eastern Zhejiang as the historical materials to research on the source and spread of “Singing News” in Eastern Zhejiang. Combining the regional cultural advantages, historical origins and tradition of news communication in Eastern Zhejiang, this paper compares the communication scope and content of folk songs and “Painting News” in the context of the form of folk culture with the same origin, so as to provide a unique perspective for the study of “Singing News” and contribute to the study of the national intangible cultural heritage.Regarding the origin of “Singing News”, this study believes that the tradition of people in Eastern Zhejiang chanting laid the foundation for the origin of “Singing News” rap art. Affected by Zhejiang’s open geographical location and developed material base, the people are known for their newspaper reading atmosphere and truth-seeking and pragmatic style, which have created a good development environment for the broad themes and dissemination of “Singing News”. First, ballads, an original ecological form of news activities in ancient China, breed the environment and soil for the formation and development of the art of “Singing News” rap. Second, the thriving grassroots folk art culture in eastern Zhejiang has laid the material conditions and media environment for the “Singing News” rap art, making “Singing News” a representative of rap literature. Third, Tipao (Peking Gazette) , an original ecological form of news activities in ancient China, provides opportunities and conditions for the formation and development of the art of “Singing News” rap. In terms of the form of the expression of “Singing News”, this article lists a wide range of themes for “Singing News”. The content is mostly ancient and modern stories and sensational news to show social reality. The expressions are multi-modal, and the adopted tunes appear diverse. Through the theme of “Singing News”, we can see the historical development and customs of Eastern Zhejiang in different periods and provide materials for local history researches. By comparing the content and form of communication between “Singing News”, folk song and “Painting News”, we can find that “Singing News” has deep cultural heritage and oral communication characteristics, but “Singing News” has limitations in the scope of theme and gradually lost its function of news transmission. As the original folk art form, “Singing News” has gradually evolved into “Ningbo Yongju opera”, “Xiao Re Hun” and other new forms of artistic expressions. Under the creative and dynamic protection measures of the relevant state departments, experts of the folk art of “Singing News” have actively explored the modern aesthetic innovation in the aspects of screenwriting, composition and performance. Combined with the contemporary social reality, innovative contents reflecting the life of the times constantly emerge, enriching the connotation of the national intangible cultural heritage.
王海, 吴媛枫. 浙东地区“唱新闻”的由来与流传考略[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2021, 51(4): 175-186.
Wang Hai, Wu Yuanfeng. The Origin and Spread of "Singing News" in Eastern Zhejiang Province. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2021, 51(4): 175-186.