Yangzhou Clear-songs

Also called Guangling or Weiyang clear-songs and popularly "little singing," it traces back to a Yuan-dynasty ballad form, took shape in mid-Ming Yangzhou from local tunes, and reached its height under the Kangxi and Qianlong reigns. It is performed in the Yangzhou dialect.

Yangzhou clear-songs are chiefly performed seated, the singers accompanying themselves on pipa, sanxian and erhu. With a rich repertoire of tunes and a graceful, limpid style, performers wear no stage makeup, conveying feeling through voice alone.

Yangzhou clear-songs entered the first national ICH list in 2006. They profoundly shaped local opera such as Yangju and are an important survival for the study of Jianghuai popular song.