The Influence of the Ideas of Confucianism with the Ideas of Taoism and Buddhism on Chinese Folk Vocals: On the Example of the Performance of Songs from the Shi Jing (Book of Songs)

ABSTRACT

The research purpose is to investigate the influence of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism on Chinese folklore vocals and their elements in modern music. The research methodology is based on descriptive, comparative, interpretative and statistical analysis (Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient). The analysis of the folk vocals of each thematic group among 110 folk songs of the Shi Jing supports the argument that Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism had the greatest influence on the vocals. During the analysis, it was determined that folk songs about love (0.942) and songs themed around nature (0.917) exhibit the most pronounced influence on their potential utilisation in the performance of popular compositions. The findings indicated that 75% of the folk vocal compositions with nature-related themes demonstrated discernible influences from Buddhism. The research findings have enabled the identification of exemplary renditions of the folkloric composition ‘Czo-yui’ from the ‘Book of Changes’, adeptly adapted to contemporary motifs, which were achieved at a notably high level within respondent groups #1 (7.2), #4 (7.4) and #5 (7.1). These commendable outcomes are attributed to the preservation of harmonious tonality, precise intonation and artistic expression during the performance process.

KEYWORDS:

• Aesthetic values
• folklore
• intonation motifs
• musical culture
• philosophical traditions
• the Shi Jing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Data availability statement

Data will be made available on request.

Ethics approval

The research was conducted ethically in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. The research was approved by the local ethics committees of Zhejiang Normal University.

Additional information

Funding

Exploration on the hybrid teaching of modern educational technology online and traditional education offline in colleges and universities, No. 220605618130352.

Notes on contributors

Yinying Cai

Yinying Cai is an associate professor at the Academy of Music, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China. Interests include Chinese culture, folk music and philosophy.