Singers battle to reinvigorate ancient 'slow rap'

HAIKOU — With dynamic beats and catchy lyrics, singers battle each other onstage with performances that echo modern-day rap. Except this is something much older with very different roots.

Danzhou diaosheng, or Danzhou Rhyming Sounds, is a traditional song-and-dance genre that originated in the city of Danzhou, located northwest of Hainan province.

Nicknamed "slow rap" by the locals due to its slower rhythm, this national intangible cultural heritage dates back over 2,000 years to the ancient Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) and remains popular today.

"The music makes you happy because the melodies are cheerful. When you feel sulky, rapping the songs can lift your negative mood," says Tang Baoshan, a local inheritor of Danzhou diaosheng, explaining why it is still popular.

"Sometimes people sing the same songs for hours," he adds.

Locals hold competitions and stage performances, often with no participation limit, attracting anywhere from a dozen people to tens of thousands.

"The scenes are quite spectacular and everyone wants to win the rap battle," says Tang.

Tang, 75, started learning the folk songs as a child. He soon demonstrated a talent for it.

Later he found a job at a local quarry where he used to sing while working.

Encouraged by his colleagues, Tang began composing songs in 1976, of which at least 13 won local prizes. Three years later, he won the diaosheng competition and rose to fame.

However, as time passed, he saw fewer young people wanting to learn the art.

"I used to earn a living by singing," Tang recalls. "For the younger generation, however, the income was too low to attract them."

In 2006, Danzhou diaosheng was included in the first national intangible cultural heritage list.

To restore the art, Tang joined local experts to compile a book of songs they found by knocking on doors in local communities.

More than 1,000 songs were thus recorded.

The city of Danzhou has also incorporated the art form into the curriculum of primary schools, hosted art and cultural events, and promoted it at tourist attractions.

Social media has also helped popularize the ancient art. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tang composed a rap song calling on people to protect themselves, which went viral.

Thanks to these efforts, about 85 percent of Danzhou's residents are familiar with and love the art.

Each of the 16 townships is home to at least three troupes, with the city boasting more than 140 troupes of 20 or more members.

"Danzhou diaosheng has developed. And every village has a big team," Tang says, adding that on the occasion of festivals, worships or marriages, people stage large-scale performances with men and women standing on both sides and singing against each other.

Tang directs around 100 diaosheng operas each year, with more than 250 performances staged, attracting an audience of tens of millions.

He has also trained more than 100 rappers, actors and actresses, bringing the art to every village.

It is now a favored pastime for the local people.

Tang notes that in the future, he will compose not only in the local dialect but also in Mandarin and English to allow more people to appreciate it.

"Danzhou diaosheng has thousands of years of history and is an inseparable part of our Danzhou culture.

"It will never be erased because people pass it down from generation to generation," Tang says.

"We will make it better and keep passing it on," he adds.