Study On Yueji Of Feudal China In Qinhuai

The Yueji (乐籍) system began to emerge in the 5th century (North Wei Dynasty)and developed through to the 18th century (Qing Dynasty). Under the system, tgemajority of the registered music households were originally the family members ofcriminals, political offenders' family members of clans as well as prisoners of war, whowere forced to be registered as music households by the government. Once they becameregistered music households, they were deprived of all the civil rights and were whollydedicated to the commitment as musicians and dancers. The registered music householdsbroadly participated in the main part of traditional Chinese music. The female musiciansof the registered music households were the important element of the Yueji system. Asthe specialized musicians in traditional Chinese society, their status was generally lowly,and some of them were similar to slaves. They lived by entertaining male by voice andcountenance.In the history, there was relationship complementing each other between the femalemusicians and city. The more the city was prosperous, the more the female musicianswas flourishing. This kind of relationship was obvious by the secular music net andsystem of Jiaofang(教坊). Jiaofang was the result of city development. It spread all overcities and counties since the Tang Dynasty and formed the secular music net and systemof Jiaofang having synchronic and diachronic continuity from country center to localsides. Jiaofang mainly managed the secular and tallied with the function of the femalemusicians of entertaining male by voice and countenance. Jiaofang was not only a kindof organization managing the secular music but also a place where female lived andperforming their function. Under the Jiaofang system, there emerged Geisha type ofYueji and it made female musicians flourish. Because the continuing existence of thesecular music net and system of Jiaofang and the broadly participating of femalemusicians in the music of Jiaofang system, the city music gave first place to the secularmusic.The secular music net and system of Jiaofang commanded all kinds of specializedmusical forms and there had continuity of using music on singing, dance, acrobatics anddrama. The female musicians were important components of the secular music net andsystem and under the Yueji system they music remember more than three thousand melodies. These three thousand melodies were distributed in all kinds of musical formsand the forms had continuity on key characteristics of music.Qinhuai Yueji refers to the female musicians of the registered music households inthe place of Qinhuai in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and they were typical femalemusicians under the Yueji system. Qinhuai is located in Nanjing, the capital of the MingDynasty, where politics and economy were highly developed in the Ming and QingDynastie, and Nanjing has profound historical background and is typical traditionalChinese metropolis. Especially the Jiaofang and South Jiaofang of the Ming Dynastywas located there so that the outstanding female musicians came together. They leadedmusical prevailing fashion and Kunqu and ditties were spread everywhere by them. Theyhad contributed in many music kinds of present.The Yueji system was disintegrated in Yongzheng(雍正) reign of the Qing Dynastyand the body of female musicians withered away, and the secular music net and systemwas disintegrated too. It is certain trend of history. But the music spreading has not breakoff and the music since born by female musicians were inherited by illegal geisha andamateurs, and some part of the music spread by man or on musical instruments.City is the place which follows time, where concentrates all kinds of historicalcultures and it must be a platform for traditional music. How to preserve and developtraditional music in the city is worth thinking deeply.