Tanci
Tanci | |
---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin | Táncí |
Wade–Giles | T'an2-tz'u2 |
IPA | [tʰǎntsʰɹ̩̌] |
Tanci is a narrative form of song in China that alternates between verse and prose.[1] The literal name "plucking rhymes" refers to the singing of verse portions to a pipa.[2] A tanci is usually seven words long. On some occasions the length is ten words.[1] Some scholars refer to tanci as "plucking rhymes," "southern singing narrative," "story-sining," "strum lyrics". The local forms of Tanci encompasses Suzhou Tanci, Yangzhou Tanci, Siming Nanci, Shaoxing Pinghudiao, etc.
Tanci consists of both spoken storytelling and sung ballads. Another distinct narrative style is
History
Historically tanci was a popular art form with women in the lower
Women's tanci often are about their philosophy of literary creation, the sentiments of the author, and descriptions of seasons.[2] Lingzhen Wang, author of Personal Matters: Women's Autobiographical Practice in Twentieth-century China, wrote that "some scholars have even suggested that Chinese women consciously seized upon tanci to express their gendered experiences and to create a female literary tradition different from the male-dominated genres of novels and stories."[4]
During the Qing dynasty it was not only used for entertainment but also for political and social propaganda. The Gengzi Guobian Tanci, a tanci by Li Baojia (Li Boyuan) written about the Boxer Rebellion, is an example of a political tanci.[4]
References
- Guo, Li, (2022). "Narrative and Genre: Locating Tanci in Chinese Literature and World Literature< In A Companion to World Literature, K. Seigneurie (Ed.). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118635193.ctwl0179
- Hu, Siao-chen. "Qu Xinru." In: Smith, Bonnie G. (editor) The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History: 4 Volume Set. ISBN 0195148908, 9780195148909.
- Wang, Lingzhen. Personal Matters: Women's Autobiographical Practice in Twentieth-century China. ISBN 080475005X, 9780804750059.
- Webster-Chang, Stephanie J. "Composing, Revising, and Performing Suzhou Ballads: A Study of Political Control and Artistic Freedom in Tanci, 1949--1964." (ISBN 1109055803, 9781109055801.
- Zhang, Yu, Interfamily Tanci Writing in Nineteenth-Century China: Bonds and Boundaries. Lexington Books, 2017. ISBN 9781498557863.