Ritual, Legend, and Metaphor: Narratives of the Willow in Yuan Zaju

Narratives of willow trees in Yuan zaju 雜劇, or variety play, largely come in three types, namely, the ritual performance of shooting willows; the deliverance of willow spirits by Lü Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals of Daoism; and the use of the word willow to refer to women. The willow shooting ritual depicted in Yuan zaju was highly reminiscent of the willow shooting ritual popular throughout the Song (960–1279), Liao (916–1125), Jin (1115–1234), and Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties, with its conceptual origins traceable to the ancient shamanic belief in the willow as a sacred tree prevalent among the Khitans and Jurchens who lived in what is now northeastern China. The legend of Lü Dongbin delivering a willow spirit to immortality is a recurring motif in Han Chinese folklore and Daoist hagiography, which also finds expression in the iconic image of Guanyin Pusa or Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara holding a willow branch with which they cure diseases for people and bring fulfillment to their wishes. The frequent use of “willow leaf-shaped eyebrows” (liumei 柳眉) and “willow-like waist” (liuyao 柳腰) in Yuan zaju as metaphorical references to women can be seen as a continuation of the great literary tradition of Shijing 詩經 (The Book of Songs) and also as a dramatic enactment of the fertility cult of the willow and women in Chinese folk religion. Evidence abounds that the narratives about the willow in Yuan zaju were not a new creation but an artistic manifestation of centuries-old folk belief and literary tradition.

THE MISCELLANY OF SONGS FROM THE OLD BELIEVERS-STRANNIKI (WANDERERS) LIBRARY IN A NUMBER OF POMORIAN OBIKHODS

The object of consideration in the article is a hook notation miscellany from the library of Siberian Old Believers- stranniki (wanderers), a copy of which is kept in the collections of the Institute of History of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (II SB RAS 4/01g). The purpose of the study is to determine the degree of correspondence of this miscellany to the typical Obikhod by methods of paleography and codicology and to identify signs of transformation of its structure. The analysis is carried out at the level of handwriting, internal design and editorship of the hymnographic text, repertoire of chants and principles of their unification into large sections. The study has stated that the collection is a possessory convolute of six independent manuscripts, compiled not earlier than the first half of the XX century. Its structure is based on the book of songs Obikhod of the Pomorian Old Believers editorship, the transformation of which was carried out by expanding the repertoire by introducing chants traditionally belonging to another singing book - Oktoikh. It is concluded that the compiler of the convolute formed it purposefully, striving to create a book of songs of universal content.

STACE CONSTANTINOU (b. 1971)From the Book of Songs (2014)

This chapter looks at Stace Constantinou’s From the Book of Songs (2014). This is a work of haunting originality and quirky memorability by a composer whose imagination and flair are backed up by technological expertise. Each of the five movements has a distinct character, and delightful surprises abound. Undeniably, patience, stamina, and dedication are needed, but a gifted artist will find it a fascinating and rewarding task. The tape does not run continuously, so a technician needs to be on hand to stop and start each song. The soprano has some gloriously lyrical phrases and catchy refrains, as well as Sprechstimme and onomatopoeic effects. The tape part consists of piano-like figures in microtones and purely electroacoustic sounds. Standard notation is used and timings are given in seconds. In the last movement, the taped accompaniment is given an eight-line stave.

Three Origins of Poetry

The article substantiates the existence of three types of poetic creativity: technimatic (gaming), social-confessional and sophian. The personal-subjective aspirations of poet and playing with the language are the sources of technimatic poetry. The social-confessional line in the world poetry originates from the Chinese “Shijin” (“The Book of Songs”). The source of this type of poetry is a deeply personal reaction on the events taking place in the world, and the need to inform other people about personal experiences, contemplations and thoughts. Particular attention in the article is paid to the sophian line in world poetry. Its source is the eidetic super-personal reality. The poet creatively “connects” himself with this reality and introduces the reader to it through artistically revealed word. The feeling of the super-personal status of the created verses is one of the important attributes of sophian poetry. Homer, Dante, Avicenna, Rumi, V. von Eschenbach, Li Bo, Goethe, Tagore, Rilke, D. Andreev and Iqbal can be attributed to it. In Russian poetry of the 19th – 20th centuries Pushkin and Lermontov, Tyutchev and V. Solovyov, Blok and Gumilyov adjoin the sofian poetic line; Leopardi and Hesse –in the eastern and western poetic tradition. Sophian poetry performs important functions in culture. It is able to return to the words their original living meanings, familiarizing themselves with the essence of things and with the super-empirical reality of Cosmos. It also opens up new evolutionary horizons for language and national literature. The position of the sofian poet is twofold, which gives his work intense dynamism, and his life a tragic character. He simultaneously lives in two worlds: earthly and super-mundane, sensual-bodily and eidetic-semantic. From the eidetic layers of world existence, he is forced to convey knowledge to other people in the words, images and metaphors available to them. At the same time the inspirations and insights of the sofian poet are always preceded by intense professional work, the humility of one’s pride and vain passions.