The Development of Chinese Music during the Song and Yuan Dynasties

The urban economic boom in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) led to the emergence of"goulan,""washe"and other entertainment places that catered to the cultural lives of the people.In the "goulan" or"washe," cries of hawkers,singing of"piaochang" or "changzhuan" styles could be heard, and performances on the guzici,

zhugongdiao and zaju could be seen as well These were entirely new music forms, marking a brand-new milestone for popular folk music. The period, therefore, was described by some as onethat saw "music's shift from court to civil society,and from aristocrats to ordinary civilians, and the representative form of music from dances to opera."

The Song Dynasty witnessed the springing up of numerous excellent quzis" that inherited the strengths of those in the Sui Dynasty, and a large group of writers of"ci" and"qu" (poetry and music).Well-known writers these two art forms included Liu Yong, Zhou Bangyan, Jiang Kui and Zhang Yan, and the most precious representative works included 17 songs like Yangzhou Man, Xinghua Tianying and Gexi Meijin.

Ancient qin music gradually became music for scholars since the Han and Tang dynasties, and qins were musical instruments almost exclusive to scholars.Also, different genres took shape based on different performance art, with Guo Chuwang from the Zhejiang genre as the most outstanding representative.

Chinese opera became mature in the Song Dynasty,which was marked by the presence of Southern Opera in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). From the late Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) to the Southern Song Dynasty, a form of opera--the Southern Opera,or "xiwen"-developed in Wenzhou in the southern areas. Different from zajuin the Song Dynasty, it was all about performing stories with diverse structures and accompanied by music dominated by"xiaoqus" and ballads that were popular in the southern areas. The music later developed as the"qupaiti" style opera and further into the"jiqu" form consisting of many "yueju" with different qupais." Southern Opera came in various singing forms like solo, choral singing and chorus at that time.

In the early Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the styles of both the southern and northern opera music were initially established:The northern opera music dominated by the heptatonic scale was deep and magnificent, while the southern opera music dominated by the pentatonic scale was tender and elegant.Then,"Zaju" of the Yuan Dynasty, a new form of opera sung with northern opera appeared, complete with a play, integrating singing, voice-over narration and dances and combining verses and prose. The creation of such classic works as The Injustice of Dou E by Guan Hanqing and The Romance of the Western Chamber by Wang Shifu marked the peak of the zayu in the Yuan Dynasty,and also reflected the fact that Chinese music had surpassed common expressions of feelings and focused more on revealing human nature and manifesting the inner world of various kinds of people.