Xiudou is a folk song in northern Shanxi, sung by Fan Xiudong.

source

In their exquisite purses, these clever folk women use their highest enthusiasm and association to turn a picture of a beautiful life into an embroidered picture. There are complex, simple and beautiful patterns that implicitly convey their affection.

Many women often sing in a low voice while making wallets carefully. Over time, the embroidered purse created by working women has become an important theme in China traditional folk songs, which has spread almost all over China.

Historical background

The folk song Embroidered Pocket has a long history. According to the textual research of Fu Xihua (1907- 1970), Xiudou was a popular ditty in the middle of Qing Dynasty.

Embroidered Pocket, published in the eighth year of Daoguang in Qing Dynasty (1828), is the earliest version of lyrics in written records. Embroidered purse is a wonderful flower, the language and historical symbol of the Chinese nation, and also the characteristics and essence of regional culture.

You can find a large number of "embroidered pocket" minor in the anthology of folk songs in various provinces of China. For example, the classic Shanxi folk song Embroidered Pocket sung by Zhu Fengbo and the Yunnan folk song Embroidered Pocket are quite different in geographical environment, local customs, the author's life experience, feelings and interests, and the artists' artistic treatment is also different.

As a result, many embroidered purses with different lyrics, different melodies, different speeds, different modes and tonality, different rhythms and different expressions have emerged, and a large number of embroidered purses have multiplied from a mother song into many similar sub-songs, forming various variants.

These many similar ditties have shaped different musical images and expressed different tastes. When singing, they showed strong local characteristics and local flavor.

type

Folk embroidery pocket can be roughly divided into three types:

The first category is unmarried girls, who secretly embroider purses behind their backs and give them to their favorite people, showing their yearning and pursuit for free marriage. Some of these lyrics are gentle and implicit; Some feelings are unrestrained, bold and enthusiastic; Some are naive and playful. Just like women with different personalities express their feelings.

The second reflects that a young man went to the west (referring to the Daqingshan area in western Inner Mongolia) to work, and his wife embroidered a purse for him to show his thoughts. In the old society, due to the exploitation or famine of the landlord class, farmers in Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region or North China provinces suffered greatly. They had to leave their wives and children to make a living outside, some came back alive, and some died in poverty outside.

The third category covers a wide range, some of which only reflect love stories but do not directly express feelings of missing.

In the touching songs, the feelings of the combination of the heart and hand of the folk clever woman are entrusted, which is long and touching. The ingenious combination of this unique folk craft and singing has formed a beautiful landscape, which shines with unique light on the stage.