The Revival of Poetry Declamation in Contemporary China: The Case of Fenchunguan Poetry Group (Guangzhou)

Abstract

The paper presents a description of the contemporary practice of poetry declamation in one of the literary communities of Guangzhou, among the poets who associate themselves with the tradition of the informal Fenchunguan group. The members of the group are authors and performers of classical poetry. They take an active part in the movement for the revival of traditional declamatory practices which were widely popular until the first decades of the 20th century. Their example allows us to trace some features of the declamation (oral presentation) used to promote poetry in classical formats (written texts) and thereby expand our knowledge of the written-oral dichotomy functioning within the Chinese tradition. The paper details the genealogy of the Southern School of text presentation, related to Fenchunguan, and analyzes how authors and performers appeal to the traditional practice of verbalizing poetry to construct and maintain a distinct “southern” (Cantonese) identity. This practice is utilized to create a distinct subspace within the system of national and local literature: quite a significant contribution is made by the original performing techniques of the Southern School (truncation of duration at the beginning of beats; repetition of rhyming words at the ends of phrases that coincide with the end of a poetic line, with a transition to a different pitch; merging adjacent lines into one phonetic-melodic unit) and the deliberate use of a local lect (Cantonese). In the process of (re)discovering the declamatory phenomenon, it becomes loaded with new aesthetic, social, practical and personal meanings. Those who participate in its functioning, thus, contribute to the great comeback of the classical type poetry and the spontaneous nature of declamatory practice.