CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- According to Chongqing Evening News, with the sometimes melodious and sometimes powerful sound of the trumpet, 79-year-old Wu Xiulan and her students began their training for another performance of Chuanjiang Haozi (chants of the trackers) in the square of Yinzhuyuan Community in Kangmei Sub-district, Liangjiang New Area.

Born and raised on a boat, this only female leading singer of Chuanjiang Haozi can sing dozens of Chuanjiang Haozi at the drop of a hat, and was named the representative inheritor of the municipal intangible cultural heritage project Chuanjiang Haozi. Nowadays, she is so happy when she sings Chuanjiang Haozi in a performance. But she also has regrets, the reason being that she has not yet found her inheritor.

Born and raised on a boat

In 1942, Wu Xiulan was born on a grain ship on the Jialing River, where both her parents worked and lived. Because she was the third in line, people called her “Wu San Jie” (Third Sister).

Growing up on a boat, Wu Xiulan’s memories of her teenage years are all related to boats: she could do everything from collecting and dropping off ship canes, watching the waterways, cooking and washing clothes.

At that time, she could hear the boatmen shouting the Chuanjiang Haozi every day, so she shouted it along with them, and as she did so, she became a master of it. Later on, her father gave her an additional task - to be the female leader of Chuanjiang Haozi.

Chuanjiang Haozi is a traditional folk singing form led by a leader and sung by the boatmen when they are battling with the dangerous conditions of the river, in order to unify their movements and rhythm.

If you consider a ship to be a car, the leading singer of Chuanjiang Haozi is like the throttle of the car, controlling the speed of the whole crew, especially when they are tracking the ship. Prior to this, the leader of Chuanjiang Haozi was usually a male, but Wu Xiulan was known as a female leader because of her good voice.

Falling in love thanks to Chuanjiang Haozi

In 1957, Wu Xiulan met her husband Zhang Zhigao because of Chuanjiang Haozi. At that time, Zhang Zhigao was also a leading singer and had long heard of Wu Xiulan, a female leading singer of Chuanjiang Haozi.

One day, Zhang Zhigao’s boat happened to meet Wu Xiulan’s boat on the river and the two boats docked together. Seeing Wu Xiulan, Zhang Zhigao shouted from afar, “Miss Wu, do you like to read books (Fictions)?” Wu Xiulan answered, “I do.” She then came to Zhang Zhigao’s boat to read a book, and the two met in this way.

The two married and lived on board for another 20 years or so, and had four children, all of whom also worked in jobs related to the boating industry.

In the 1970s, motorized boats gradually replaced wooden boats on the Yangtze River, and the boatmen’s labor became much less intense; then later, the boat tracker and Chuanjiang Haozi gradually faded from view.

Born and raised on a boat, Wu Xiulan also went ashore and was given a row of bungalows by her unit near the Fengqituo Wharf (now Dazhulin Sub-district in Liangjiang New Area) where she sat in a pergola in front of her house with the rushing Jialing River under her eyes.

She and her partner, Zhang Zhigao, have a dog and spend their free time listening to the whistles of the passing ships, and then “hey-ho-hey-ho” to the banks of the Jialing River in front of their door.

Being the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage project Chuanjiang Haozi

In 2002, Chen Xudong, a retired teacher from Chang’an Middle School, was invited to be the historical and cultural advisor of Dazhulin Sub-district and met Zhang Zhigao and Wu Xiulan by chance.

Hearing that they had lived on the boat, Chen Xudong asked, “Can you sing Chuanjiang Haozi?” Wu Xiulan sang several types of Chuanjiang Haozi off the top of her head, which shocked Chen Xudong and made him praise her repeatedly.

Later, Chen Xudong introduced the two to Tao Peng - a performer who was a boatman and brought Chuanjiang Haozi to the Chinese stage. Soon after, Tao Peng brought Wu Xiulan into the studio of CCTV’s Western Channel’s “Big River Boat Song”.

On June 14, 2003, CCTV’s “Charm 12” Program introduced Wu Xiulan, the only female leader of Chuanjiang Haozi, to the national audience. Since then, Wu Xiulan and Zhang Zhigao have appeared frequently on television in Sichuan and Chongqing.

In 2006, Chuanjiang Haozi was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list; in 2008, Wu Xiulan was invited to participate in the “Chinese Cultural Story” cultural showcase at the Beijing Olympic Games and performed for nearly a month, allowing Chinese and foreign guests to experience the charm of the Sichuan and Chongqing folk music art.

In 2009, Wu Xiulan was awarded as a representative inheritor of the municipal intangible cultural heritage project Chuanjiang Haozi. Since then, she has been taking on apprentices to teach Chuanjiang Haozi. (Translated by Wang Huixin, Fathom Language Limited)