For Whom People Perform

Haicheng City of Liaoning Province is situated in an important hub location in cultural communication between the east of Shanhaiguan and the Central Plains. Its folk culture consists of various genetic components. This peculiar folk culture resulted from such historical reasons as the ambiguous rule under the government of Central Plains, the occasional domination by the minority regimes and the phenomenon of refugees who headed for the Northeast.In 1980s, the folk funeral custom of Haicheng revived rapidly after the storm of the "Cultural Revolution". The pipe-and-percussion music attaching to it got life from the social environment and became more vigorous on this vast land. In the course of 30 years’development, the funeral tended to be simplified and the pipe-and-percussion music also experienced tremendous changes with the times.The changes of the funeral process didn’t deviate from the basic principles, but the music style’s transformation partly made it difficult to be accepted by the elderly traditional-minded people. Since the ancient times, the funeral music has had such functions as advocating filial piety, enlightening persons, singing souls, entertaining the public, gathering people, etc. The traditional funeral music of Haicheng, however, abided by the "sadness" for its rule of the main style. But today’s circumstances have changed:the band formation transformed completely, the traditional repertoire suffered a great loss, and various performance styles make the public dazzling. The funeral music function still remains as always, but the focus has shifted.Each ethnomusicologist would feel sorry for the successive losses of the tradition. The massive "integration" work, the well-intentioned "non-material cultural heritage protection" and the "traditional music" course in conservatories of music all show the scholars’love for tradition and also embody the social maintenance for traditional culture. But our actions need to grasp the essentials:tradition is just like an interlocking chain, and a change in any one link will lead to other link or even overall variation.This dissertation, based on history, seeks the formation roots of Haicheng folk tradition, focused on the funeral music function, researches its deep transforming causes, and revolved round the combining principles of ceremony and music, explores the cultural essence of traditional techniques. Facts have proved that artists’tending to forget the traditional music treasured by scholars is not their abandoning the old for the new. The reality that complex music theory and intricate traditional techniques are being ignored by artists is not the consequence of "generation degradation". The music style’s transformation from sadness to "appropriate emotional expression" is not the moral deterioration or contrary to the human relations. Everything is the creation of the times.