The Origin of Chinese Folk Songs
中国民歌的起源
Like any other ancient nations,the primitive Chinese sang folk songs at hunting,sacrificial rites,wooing,wedding,and pasturing. “The working people sing at their work；the hungry people sing at their meals. ”（the “Book at Poems”）Most folk songs listed in the guo feng (ballads) section in the “Book of Poems”are of this kind. Such ballads were mostly in the form of four syllables a line. The wide use of the form promoted the development of ballads. Take for instance,the first ballad listed in the “Book of Poems”，“ Looking at Waterfowl”. It was a love song sung by a young man wooing a young woman. Its content was fresh and charming and its tonal pattern made it highly singable.
像任何其他古老的民族一样，原始的中国人在狩猎，祭祀，求爱，婚礼，放牧时唱山歌。“工人在工作时唱歌;饥饿的人在吃饭时唱歌。”（“诗歌集”）大多数民歌在国风（民谣）类似的诗歌集里出现。这样的民谣大多有四个音节。广泛的形式促进民谣的发展。比如，第一个民谣在“诗歌集”中出现，“鸳鸯戏水”。这是一个年轻男子对年轻女子求爱唱的歌曲。其内容清新迷人及其平仄很容易唱。
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