Journal of Green Learning Journal of Green Learning, e-ISSN 2807-890X Vol. 2, No. 1, 2022, pp. 78-85. DOI: 10.53889/jgl.v2i1.91 -------------------------------------------------------- Contemporary Dai folk song in Xishuang Banna by Yuguang: June Spring Warm Look Forward to Lovers Shengchuan Ruiji 1 1 Faculty of Music, Bangkokthonburi University, Bangkok, Thailand Article Info ABSTRACT Article history: Received February 27, 2022 Revised March 24, 2022 Accepted April 2, 2022 The objective of this paper was to study the “June spring warm look forward to lovers,” which was composed by Yuguang in Ga Sa Village, Xishuang Banna, Yunnan Province, China. Field study in 2021, using an anthropological approach to explicate characteristics of Yuguang's contemporary compositions, based on Dai culture and Zhangha cultural symbol. The results of the study were as follows: “Zhangha, a cultural symbol, constitutes the materialized carrier of people's concept of the harmonious special culture of people under the unique context and religious spirit of the Dai people. The structure was similar to the rondo form or ABACADAEFA. The composer has created and stands out as follows: The traditional melody of “Zhang-ha”, which makes its apperance in the accompaniment timbre, breaks through the single technique, thus generating this modern Dai song. There are two interesting musical characteristics: 1) It vividly depicts the lively and jubilant scene of guests arriving to celebrate the new year in the Dai New Year, with a beautiful, vivid melody and passionate lyrics. That describes the happy and sweet mood of lovers when they get together. 2) The song’s musical structure is a typical multi-periodvariation structure. At the same time, the rhythm of the whole song is distinct, and the melody range changes freely. Keywords: Contemporary Dai Song characteristic Zhangha This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license. Corresponding Author: Shengchuan Ruiji Faculty of Music Bangkokthonburi University Bangkok Thailand Email: 6260110023mu@gmail.com 1. INTRODUCTION Dai culture in Xishuang Banna: The emissary of Dai culture inheritance in Xishuang Banna, Yunnan Province, China. “Zhangha” has become a materialized way of the existence of the harmonious special culture of people and land in Xishuang Banna under the unique context and religious spirit of the Dai people. It was not only a unique form of rap music spread among the Dai people in Xishuangbanna, Zhang Ha also refers to the folk singers who are active in the counties of Xishuangbanna Prefecture. They have become the disseminators and creators of local music culture with their wisdom and soul. As an emissary of the inheritance of the Dai culture in Xishuangbanna, whenever Zhangha artists perform in Dai villages, they always get high praise and recognition from the public and become an important emotional memory of the process of water and soil culture (Juhong, 2004). The Dai nationality in Xishuang Banna had a branch of the Dai nationality, accounting for 1/3 of the population of the whole prefecture. It borders Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand. Based on the specific ecological tradition of Dai nationality belonging to national identity and religious influence, since the 1940s, the “Zhang ha” artists in Xishuangbanna began to use the Dai language when they created and sang Dai songs. According to the characteristics of phonology, this language has six tones. Due to different tones, within the same pronunciation, it expresses different cultural signifiers and signifiers. As a traditional system of writing with rich ideographic connotations, Dai Jiwen records a large number of Buddhist scriptures, Dai poetry, legends, and so on, which also provides rich nutrients for the creation of Zhangha. Therefore, from a large number of traditional Zhangha repertoire, the traditional Zhangha used by the libretto is almost entirely recorded in the Dai Le language, which constitutes the artistic support of “Zhang-ha” accumulation (Ruiji, 2013; Wenhan, 2018). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ 79 Figure 1 Map of Xishuangbanna Village, Yunnan Province, China (Shouhua, 2021) Yuguang (玉光; born in 1956-)is a Chinese educator. Zhang Ha, a famous female in contemporary Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous prefecture, is almost a household name in Xishuangbanna and is well-liked by Dai people. Because of her artistic achievements and social influence, she was awarded the title of "Mi Saibang", the highest level of Zhangha (章哈), by the “Zhangha Association of Banna Prefecture”. At the same time, she was awarded the title of "the highest musician" by the people's government of Yunnan Province and the title of national intangible heritage inheritor. She has been engaged in art for more than 40 years, which makes her life deeply rooted in the traditional soil of Dai national music. She has a strong national style and the rhythmic characteristics of symbols. It was the dual combination of emotional experience and innovative consciousness. (Yu Guang, personal communication, June-November, 2020). Figure 2 Ms.Yuguang performing Zhangha art (Shot by Shengchuan Ruiji, June 2020) Creation: June spring warm, look forward to lovers” (六月春暖盼情人), a new work based on the traditional method of Zhang-ha and modern means of communication. On the occasion of the Dai New Year in 2013, the music album “June Spring Warm Look Forward to Lovers” was compiled and composed by a 80 national intangible heritage inheritor. Yuguang was released in Xishuangbanna. Since its CD-ROM with the same name and its main song, it has become a model of popular Dai songs in Dai villages. The success of Zhang-Ha's music was precise because Zhang Ha, as a unique local music phenomenon in Xishuangbanna, has a deep social influence and affinity with the Dai people, which is because of his natural emotional resonance with the people. Thus, through the integration of modern scientific, technological, and fashion elements, the ancient music forms can achieve a greater aesthetic effect. Only in this way can “June spring warm look forward to lovers” obtain the promotion and dissemination of Dai music in a more open cultural space, which not only enriches the spiritual world of the Dai people but also enriches the stock of Dai national cultural treasure. In this sense, the success of this case provides a good answer to the above proposition on how to deal with the problems of traditional music inheritance and modern aesthetic needs. Musical characteristics of a solo song or musical style: A vocal soloist is accompanied by traditional Chinese musical instruments. Modern Chinese lyrics are added to the melody of traditional Dai music, but the traditional singing method of Dai songs is still used, and the song melody flows with the pronunciation of the lyrics. Therefore, the author intends to create “June spring warm look forward to lovers, which is the folklore of the Dai people, in Ga Sa Village, Xishuang Banna, Yunnan Province, China. In order to inherit, preserve “Zhang ha” and spread the Dai music, it needs to be accepted further. 2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE To study the “June spring warm look forward to lovers”, which composed by Yuguang in Ga Sa Village, Xishuang Banna, Yunnan Province, China. 3. METHOD The researchers used the field study method for qualitative research, surveys, and studies in musicology. Researchers went for participatory implantation, and transmission, interviewing the national intangible cultural heritage of Yuguang in Xishuangbanna autonomous prefecture. The study’s scope 1. Field study: Dai culture inheritance at Ga Sa Village (嘎洒), Xishuang Banna, Yunnan Province, China. 2. To explain the inheritance of the song of Yuguang, which is the contemporary Dai Song of “June Spring Warm Look Forward to Lovers” only. 3. Field research from 2020-2021. This contemporary Dai Song was recorded and analyzed. The researcher went for participatory embedded and broadcast, interviewed the national intangible cultural heritage with village scholars, chatted with Yuguang between 2020 and 2021, and requested permission to record images, sounds, and animations for local performances. Then review, paraphrase, interpret, and analyze this contemporary Dai Song in Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture. As a person in society, by piercing the description and reflection of the song “June Spring Warm Look Forward to Lovers” in terms of structure, A distinctive feature that relates to “Zhang ha”, the foundation of traditional local music. 4. RESULT Background and inspiration: From the author's field study, he found happiness and heard many Dai people's folk songs many times. In particular, listening to the vocals and lectures from teacher Yu Guang and the importance of Zhang Ha as a unique “local” music phenomenon in Ga Sa Village, Xishuangbanna. It made me want to describe the village scene and the warmth I found. The flirtation between young people in a variety of ways is thus portrayed as the song “June spring warm look forward to lovers”. The musical characteristics: The composition: The traditional melody of “Zhang-Ha” with electronic music, which makes it “band like” in the accompaniment timbre, breaking through the single technique of “bar” as accompaniment in the traditional paradigm, thus generating this modern Dai song. “June Spring Warm Look Forward to Lovers” this modern or contemporary Dai Song. There are two interesting musical characteristics: First of all, with a beautiful, vivid melody and passionate lyrics, it vividly shows the lively and jubilant scene of guests coming to Xishuangbanna to celebrate the new year in the Dai new year. It describes the happy and sweet mood of lovers when they get together. Secondly, the musical structure of the song is a typical multi-period variation structure. At the same time, the rhythm of the whole song is distinct, and the melody range changes freely within eight degrees. The structure of the music is as follows (Table 1): introduction, first to fifth paragraphs, interlude, and epilogue. Structure Multi segmental musical structure 81 Table 1 Music structure Through the above structural analysis, it can be clearly seen that "June Spring Warm Looking for Lover" is composed of five sections, which breaks through the lack of literary play in the lyrics due to the mono-form of traditional “Zhang ha”, thus satisfying the psychological needs of modern listeners for consistency of time and space information. At the same time, through observation, we also find that this song has a feature in terms of musical form: the lead, interlude, and epilogue are all composed of material A, and even the lead and interlude are completely reproduced. Only in the epilogue, the author makes some changes to make it “A.” This arrangement, on the one hand, makes the tonal mode revolve around this musical thought and forms an organic circulation pattern between the melodies. On the other hand, this arrangement is similar to the variation of the opera "compression and extension" way, enriching the form of the framework. The material that appeares again and again in the work, even if the traditional music veins throughout, strengthened the mode of the consistency of style, making the music materials in contract uniform rolling facilitate memory and transmission, such as: The first paragraph to paragraph 5, using the B, C, D, E, F materials, appear to be different materials, but in fact, the material is all about the three main notes (Passages 2), interspersed with # re and # la, it supports the channel mode characteristics of the works. Example 1 is the first section of the music. The primary and secondary positions of these notes can be clearly seen during the first section of the formal song. Throughout the work, not only does # do appear the most times, but also the note is placed on # do at the end of the piece (Passages 4), thus highlighting the melodic nature of # c pentatonic mode. Passages 2 Passages 3 In the arrangement of the melody, the tone is mostly placed in tone, and the melody of each sentence processing is mostly used to alternate upward or present a vaulted mode (Passages 4). In such an arrangement, the lyrics cooperate with rhyme and rhythm of dynamic, producing quite an effect on the rise and brightening the music’s positive atmosphere. For example, two phrases in the prelude are also well reflected: the first one twists upward and stops at # sol, while the second one arches and starts with # la and ends at # do. Passages 4 Of course, this type of aesthetic shaping cannot do without the use of rhythm. In the continuous development of the basic structure of the eighth note, including the use of appoggiatura, dotted notes, and rest signs (Passages 5), the rhythm of the melody will always maintain an undulating rhythm, constantly meet the Passages prim ers First passage Interlu de second passage Interlu de third passage Interlu de fourth passage fifth passage Conclusio n Content A B A C A D A E F A´ Section 1-10 11-42 43-52 53-85 86-95 96-133 134- 143 144-168 168-206 207-211 Tonality # C palace pentatonic mode 82 psychological expectations, and make the unique charm of Dai music as soft as water manifested in the extension of time. Passages 5 Throughout the design of the libretto, "looking forward to lovers in spring in June,” it had a combination of long and short sentences, which has obvious traces of learning from the Han metrical, as the traditional singing of Zhang Ha was pronounced in the Dai language. The Dai language was composed of six tones from the perspective of tone beauty, so the rhythm of the love song was closely combined with the language in the range because of the unique rhyme beauty of the Dai language lyrics. This song can express the beauty of cadence under the singing of the cultural holder, Zhang Ha. In addition, the life-oriented descriptive "looking forward to a lover in June spring" generally uses personification and lining words in the lyrics, which makes the characters depicted in the song vivid. It was close to the feelings of the Dai people, so it could be widely spread. Song 1 follows the traditional rule of Zhang-Ha and determines the rhythm of the song according to the pronunciation of the words; that is, it determines the direction of the singing according to the tone of the language. Throughout the song, the last word pronunciation should be complete, so that its music form presents the unique characteristics of Dai music, especially in the voice of decorative sound. It pays attention to the combination of correct character and round tune and line tune according to a character. In accompaniment, the band imitates the timbre of the Dai elephant foot drum with a low voice synthesizer, breaking through the traditional rules of movement in rhythm processing, thus bringing aesthetic imagination to the audience, Finally, it needs to be commented on by academia and the public. Paragraph 1: The lyrics go like this: 英俊潇洒的帅哥们 A handsome lover 妹有缘和你们相聚一堂 Sister is destined to meet you 妹心里牵挂着情郎 Sister in the heart about the lover 心系儿时两小无猜的伴侣 I miss my childhood friend 妹还想着敬仰的情人 Sister still thinking of the lover 当我坐在床边的时候，你知道我有多想你吗 妹妹一直在床边想念着你，我英俊的情郎 我想念我的爱人在这个六月的春天 Do you know how I miss you when I sit by the bed? My sister has been thinking of you by the bed, my handsome lover I miss my lover in this June spring (Translator: Dao Zhengming,Kang Langzhuang. Recorder: Shengchuan Ruiji) As a variation form of compression, paragraph 2 does not have the melodic structure of a large section, which is basically the end of the song. That is to say, the end of each line is generally no more than two beats. This melody, characteristic of no longer supporting tone, is exactly the expression of chanting nature in traditional Dai songs. At the same time, the length of the phrase is interchangeable without considering whether it is symmetrical or not, which highlights the jumping nature of rhythm. In the description of this verse, the literary image adopts the personification technique, endowing people with the emotional support of the windflower, turtledove, and fish, and expressing in vivid and vivid depiction the mood of the Dai girls looking forward to the early return of their lover to the village to spend the New Year with them, thus completing the shaping of the artistic image in the urgent and tight music. This leads the audience into the mood of the passage. Paragraph 2: The lyrics are as follows: 春天,美丽的春天! Spring, beautiful spring! 五月终于过去了，迎来了六月的春天! At last May passed, ushering in the spring of June！ 白头翁在树林里啼叫! The Pulsatilla is crowing in the woods！ 村子里的人们都很快乐 The people in the village are happy and cheerful 小斑鸠成双成对 Little turtledoves in pairs 鱼在河里游泳产卵 Fish are swimming in the river to lay eggs 83 傣历新年我们要准备一个庆祝仪式 Dai calendar New Year we want to prepare a celebration ceremony (Translator: Dao Zhengming,Kang Langzhuang. Recorder: Shengchuan Ruiji) In Paragraph 3, the song vividly depicts the lively and jubilant scene of all the guests coming to the festival in the Dai New Year, especially the depiction of the sweet mood of lovers when they are together. With the musical language of singing and dancing, it enhances the wonderful scenery of one side of the land and water. Paragraph 3: The lyrics are as follows: 嗨，嗨，来吧，亲爱的，回来 Hello, Hello, come on, honey, come back 只要哥哥喜欢妹妹 As long as brother likes sister 请给你妹妹戴上一条项链 Please put a necklace on your sister 请给我妹妹梳头 Please comb my sister's hair 我想要我的头发上有花 I want flowers in my hair 哥哥和妹妹我 Brother with a sister Me 过一个快乐的春节 To spend a happy Spring Festival 我们俩手挽着手 The two of us linked arms 情侣一起庆祝 Pair up for a celebration 到会的人真多 There are so many people at the meeting 来自各个村庄的兄弟姐妹聚集在这里 Brothers and sisters from all villages gather here 四面八方的客人也来了 Guests from all sides also come here 西双版纳的傣族新年非常隆重 The Dai new year in Xishuang Banna is very grand 哥哥和妹妹庆祝新年 Brother and sister celebrate the New Year 庆祝新年是人们的传统 It is a tradition for people to celebrate the New Year 妹妹，我想跟着我弟弟 Sister, I want to follow my brother 到处都是跳舞的人 There were dancing dancers everywhere 傣族人擅长唱歌和跳舞 Dai people are good at singing and dancing 官员和村长 Officials and village elders 和我们一起过节吧 And join us for the holidays 在这幸福欢乐的节日里 In the festival of happiness and joy 所有的客人都来了，真是太好了! It's so nice of all the guests to come! (Translator: Dao Zhengming,Kang Langzhuang. Recorder: Shengchuan Ruiji) 5. DISCUSSION As a unique musical vocabulary, Zhang Ha has its own unique local characteristics and stable aesthetic psychology among the Dai people. As a representative of Zhang Ha: Jade Light teachers created this song, Dai, on the basis of the traditional music, conducted on the relationship between language and melody, adopted the form of a dance song recorded in her album, letting more people by viewing Dai song get a preliminary understanding of Dai life art, and so did the initial enthusiasm of Song sung Dai, increasing the social impact of music transmission. The spreading meaning:“June spring warm look forward to lovers” employs music as a vehicle and literary description as a means. In the process of its dissemination, it not only inherits the blood culture created by Dai ancestors but also constitutes the living dissemination of Dai's common cultural memory. Especially in the current era of globalization, Dai music provides a paradigm in the artistic exploration of how to make national music continuously integrate, continue, and maintain the distinctive characteristics of national music (Juhong, 2004; Ruiji, 2013). Through means of adaptation to the social environment, Dai songs aim to let more Dai people deepen their national identity through the interaction of various means of communication in the new social environment, so as to achieve the purpose of inheriting and promoting Dai culture (Ruij, 2013). The highlight of characteristics in one culture is a significant sign that one culture is different from another, and it is also an effective way for a nation to obtain cultural identity and enhance cohesion. The highlight of the characteristics in folk songs is the "way of expression" and way of life of a specific social group. Xiaoyun (2002) the culture of the Huayao Dai and its prospects in the upper reaches of the Red River. Reportedly, Tai people, formally of Dai nationality in China, number 1.1 million. One of the greatest concentrated regions of Dai people in China is the reaches of the Red River, called the Yuan Jiang River.Traditionally, the Dai people of the upper Red River were called Huayao Dai, or "Flower Waist" Dai, 84 because of the long and colorful waistband that is an ethnic symbol of the women. Therefore, it is consistent with the description of Yuguang's work that aims to compose and sing the song of love in the spring to pervade the land to reflect or communicate with outsiders. On the dynamics of society, it was found that Oranratmanee (2021) presented an article titled “The Dynamic of the Dai Cultural Landscape in Dehong in the Sociopolitical Context of China.” It was found that Dai culture still influences the way of life in society under dualistic patterns of Dai and Chinese cultural landscape that are not observable in other Dai cultural territories, and the peasant ways of life of the villagers, whilst Chinese characteristics have influenced more in terms of houses and the ways of life inside. Their hybrid Chinese/Dai built forms are comparable. Similar to the social dynamics occurring in the Dai culture in Xishuangbanna. Shengchuan Ruiji (2013) explains that their hybrid Chinese and Dai. Dai culture takes root in a new society, accepting economic prosperity through tourism and the song of happiness. Warmth through the vocals with Yuguang is one of the cores of the show and is transmitted to children and young people. Therefore, the song is widely accepted by the Dai people, which justifies its purpose. As a kind of academic expression, we say that "oral tradition" is the spiritual creation of a specific social collective. Folk songs have written the history of each nation. It is a tradition that has a long history and is more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people than the literary tradition. It is precisely this collective creativity that creates the effective inheritance of national culture in ethnic groups. It is an effective way to protect cultural ecology and preserve cultural diversity. Therefore, as a national non-material inheritor, the teacher’s Guang (2020) song is not only a contemporary Dai song with popular elements but also a new folk song of Xishuang Banna and a tourism product to promote Dai culture during the recording of a love song in order to make the music performance not only comply with the aesthetic needs of the urban audience but also not lose the traditional charm. On the basis of music score, the teacher. Guang (2020), carefully designed his own creative style: he tried to emphasize the emotional changes of different musical expressions in singing and strove to do a good job in the tonal processing of language rhymes in the performance of lyrics. In order to realize the organic combination of popularization of music sound and expression of national charm, a unique form of folk music is adapted to a cultural image with universalaesthetic significance (Rujii, 2013). As a famous tourist attraction, Xishuangbanna attracts tens of thousands of tourists every year. In this context, the Dai people's unique songs and dances not only provide a showcase of their own cultural creation but also enhance the pride and identity of the Dai people in spreading their own culture. Regarding the various national cultures created today, folk music, how to actively adapt to the development of society and stick to its own characteristics, requires time to prove, but the teacher as a state-level chapter jade the light passing on, in the practice of singing art to spread in the album, for our thesis may provide an effective text paradigm. Toward the end, this paper wants to reflect on love. The joy of music is based on Zhangha, which is the symbol of society. Teacher Yuguang has created a new song and music to communicate and reflect the peace and tranquility of nature with good culture. The people of Dai village live through the integration of Chinese culture, which has permeated ethnic societies not just through political force. Not only from teacher Yuguang, but also from voluntary social integration and cultural assimilation over time, precious music has resulted. There is still a new generation of young people who create their own unique art but are still waiting for the time of maturity and growth. 6. CONCLUSION Dai culture in Xishuangbanna village in Yunnan Province, China. As a cultural symbol, “Zhangha” constitutes the materialized carrier of people's concepts.The structure is similar to the rondo form or ABACADAEFA. From the song, the musical characteristics that the composer has created and stand out are as follows: The traditional melody of “Zhang-Ha” with the composer, which makes it in the accompaniment timbre, breaks through the single technique accompaniment in the traditional paradigm, thus generating this modern Dai song. There are two interesting musical characteristics: First, with a beautiful, vivid melody and passionate lyrics, it vividly shows the lively and jubilant scene of guests coming to celebrate the new year in the Dai New Year. It describes the happy and sweet mood of lovers when they get together. 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