Yuefu in the Southern Dynasties was recorded in Yuefu poems compiled by Guo Maoqian in the Song Dynasty. There are nearly 500 folk songs, almost all of which are folk songs. Among them, "Xizhou Song" is a Yuefu folk song created by an unknown person in the Southern Dynasties, and it is contained in "Yu Tai Xin Yong". It is the longest lyric poem among Yuefu folk songs in the Southern Dynasties and is called the highest achievement of Yuefu folk songs in the Southern Dynasties. Poems collected by Yuefu in the Southern Dynasties are fresh and lively, which not only reproduces the beauty of natural scenery in the South, but also shows the romantic feelings of women in the Southern Dynasties.
Yuefu folk songs in the Southern Dynasties are collectively called "Five Tones" and "Drama" in Yuefu poems compiled by Guo Maoqian, and the chapters are also the most complete. The song "Wusheng" originated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, centering on Jianye (now Nanjing), the capital of the Southern Dynasties. Xiqu originated in the west of Jianye, that is, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the vast area west of Hanshui River, with Jing (Jiangling, Hubei), Ying (Yichang, Hubei), Fan (Xiangfan, Hubei) and Deng (Dengxian, Henan) as the center.
Relevant knowledge of Yuefu in Southern Dynasties
The artistic style of Yuefu folk songs in the Southern Dynasties is very different from the simple Yuefu folk songs in the Han Dynasty and the vigorous Yuefu folk songs in the Northern Dynasties, and it is naturally famous for its freshness, roundness and true colors. The sentence "Generously voicing unvoiced sounds and clearly digging out nature" in "Midnight Song" was originally a compliment to the tune of "Midnight Song", but it might as well be extended to an image summary of the artistic characteristics of Yuefu folk songs in the Southern Dynasties. The formation of this feature is closely related to the economic life, social customs, literary fashion and even geographical conditions at that time.
During the Southern Dynasties, many literati liked to write Yuefu songs, among which Xie Lingyun, Bao Zhao, Shen Yue, Wang Rong, Jiang Yan, Wu Jun, Jiang Zong and others had a large number of works, and the emperors included Liang Wudi, Jian Wendi, Yuan Di and Chen Houzhu. Among them, Bao Zhao stood out with outstanding achievements.
Most of the works of other writers deliberately imitate ancient times or folk songs, and few are vivid and gorgeous. As for those suburban temple songs and Sheyan songs, it is not enough to talk about them. In a word, the achievements of Yuefu created by literati in the Southern Dynasties cannot be compared with folk songs.