In Hejian, various remnants of the Book of Songs culture can still be found. Some of the ruins of Shijing Village, Junzi Hall, Mao Gong Cemetery and Mao Gong Academy are still there, and some only have legends left, but they all carry rich historical information of Shijing culture.
Hejian people tell us that there are still people singing poems in ancient rhymes today.
Qiu Xiaoxin, 70 years old, is from Xingbieying Village, Hejian City. He can sing poems in ancient songs, including "Guan Ju" in the "Book of Songs". According to him, the ancient rhymes of "The Book of Songs" were passed down orally from generation to generation. His family is a family of sixteen generations of officials. His grandfather and father can sing the "Book of Songs" in ancient rhymes. He has been influenced by it since he was a child, and he can sing naturally. . Tang Yonghui, 72 years old, said that he learned his poetry from two old gentlemen who had gone to private schools. He was deeply attracted by the rhythmic tones, so he quietly learned from the two old gentlemen. Learned this unique way of chanting.
Qiu Xiaoxin’s singing has a very local flavor, and the tunes have the charm of Xihe drum. We have no way of finding out whether Mao Chang used such a tune to teach his disciples to sing. If so, we don’t know how it has been passed down to this day after dynasties changed, wars and disputes, and the rise and fall of culture. What are the similarities and differences between today's singing and the ancient singing? We have no way of knowing. What is certain is that the Book of Songs culture is the true root of Chinese traditional culture and is related to Hejian’s cultural origins, customs, humanistic environment and many other aspects. In this sense, Hejian songs and poems have extremely important cultural and historical value.
This is also supported by historical documents. Every poem in the Book of Songs was a popular song at the time, and Feng was a folk song sung among the people. When Mao Heng and Mao Chang set up a teaching hall, they sang in this rhyme, which is the source of Hejian songs. The "Book of the Former Han Dynasty" contains four records of Handan Hejian songs. Hejian once belonged to the Zhao region, which shows that this place once belonged to Zhao. There is a style of singing and poetry; "Jiajing Hejian Fu Zhi" lists the lineage entries of Han ancient songs, Tang ancient songs, Song ancient songs, Yuan ancient songs, etc., indicating that the style of singing and poetry has been spread from generation to generation; from the Yuan Dynasty to the Zheng Dynasty, Hejian Road Wang Sicheng, the general manager, asked the emperor to build Mao Gong Academy in front of Mao Gong's cemetery. The teachings should be more formal, and the style of poetry became more prosperous during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Another phenomenon can also be used as a proof of Hejian song poetry: because it is sung with an ancient folk instrument to accompany it, a small number of poems in the Book of Songs are called Sheng songs, Qiu Xiaoxin said Sometimes they sing with the accompaniment of sheng. In the countryside of Hejian, there were more than 70 Sheng troupes at most. Is there some mysterious connection between the Sheng class and poetry? According to research, some ancient music scores are likely to come from the music scores of Hejian Songs and Poems.
In addition, there have been poets in Hejian in all dynasties, such as Liu Changqing. Poets write collections of poems or lyrics, and these poems and lyrics can be set to music and sung. Historically, during Qingming Festival, Double Ninth Festival and other festivals, as well as folk temple fairs and official ceremonies, there was a habit of singing. Its tune and rhyme have greatly influenced the local folk arts or opera forms that are popular in Hejian today, such as Xihe drum. This is also likely to be derived from the mode of Hejian Song poetry.