Collecting folk songs from Xinjiang

Although Wang spent his life collecting and composing northwestern folk songs including ones from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, he never set foot there until 1949, ten years after he composed his first Xinjiang-inspired song, The Girl from DaBan City. He was in Lanzhou at that time, and he 'dug out' the tune from a Uygur driver, plying him with several bottles of wine and a few packs of cigarettes. After the lyrics were translated from Uygur into Chinese, the first great Xinjiang folk song was born.

During the ten years before he entered Xinjiang, Wang 'dug out' a number of songs from the region in similar ways plying the tunes from drivers and peddlers who worked in the neighboring Qinghai and Gansu provinces. Wine and cigarettes proved to be useful tools for his digging.

The methods Wang used to collect the songs was plain, but his understanding of the music was precise and his translation of the lyrics was wonderful.

Although folksongs can be light, Wang was extremely serious about his work. Even in his prison years, he never gave up and produced his song collections after he was released.

Where are the girls from?

Among Xinjiang folk songs more than half are love songs. Almost every one of Wang's works features a beautiful girl. They are the magic behind the songs. But where are they from?

The original lyrics provide glimpses of a number of anonymous beauties. Wang combined all of their features, creating a vision of charming, lovely girls who convey the essence of the beauty and kindness Wang saw in Chinese culture.

The famous song Girl of DaBan City has an interesting story of its own. A line in the song says come to me with your dowry and sister, confusing many people who thought it must be a custom unique to DaBan. In truth, the lyric was a mistake. Sister was supposed to be bridesmaid. But by the time the mistake was discovered, the song had become too well known for Wang to correct, and the mistake has added a quirky flavor to the tune, making it even more popular.

Source: china.org.cn

Editor: Feng Hui