Going back to their roots: Chaoshan folk music
Two Guangzhou-based folk bands are breathing new life into the dying traditions of Guangdong’s Minnan-speaking people. Words and pictures by Thomas Bird
It is said the Minnan-speaking people – sometimes referred to as Teochew or Chiuchow – who live along Guangdong’s eastern seaboard are deeply traditional, have many babies, are good at business and are exceedingly superstitious. I have read that their architecture and operatic and religious traditions are well preserved and, like the curious eight-tone dialect they speak, ancient. In December, a new high-speed rail line opened up the region to travellers.
Beyond the industrial Pearl River Delta, the Shenzhen-to-Xiamen train whistles over fish ponds, trails the coastline, cuts through mountains and, as it nears Shantou, passes row upon row of Qing-dynasty housing. As I step off this state-of-the-art bullet train at Chaoshan station and head for the bus station, I’m wondering what kind of Chaoshan (a contraction of the names of the prefecture-level cities Chaozhou and Shantou describes the whole region) will confront me. After all, I’ve travelled enough to know that China has a habit of dishing up the gorgeous and grotesque in equal measure.
Shantou greets the visitor with smoggy skies, anarchic traffic and charmless, austere architecture. The disgruntled northern driver of a “black” taxi paints a grave picture of a city that was one of the original special economic zones, along with Shenzhen and Zhuhai.
“To be honest, this is a rubbish city,” he says. “I’ve been here 10 years and it hasn’t progressed. Corruption is endemic. Anyone with money leaves.”
The decrepit harbour does little to invoke hope. Its rusty ferries look barely seaworthy. When the gates of one open, pedestrians, motorbikes and cars wrestle their way onto the vessel with little sense of order.
In striking contrast to the messy industrial metropolis of Shantou, Nanao Island, just 30 minutes across the water, is blissfully serene. A temple embedded in the verdant hillside is the first thing visitors see as they step off the ferry.
“Welcome to Nanao,” says Li Yihan, lead singer of folk band Toy Captain, greeting me at the harbour.