Songs help sailors maintain the rhythm of their work

Chang Fuyao, 79, recalls the olden times when more than 10,000 cargo vessels lined up for kilometers along the length of the Grand Canal in Beijing and the chanteys of the boatmen could be heard for days at a stretch.

The artificial waterway, linking the national capital to Hangzhou city in East China's Zhejiang province, played a significant freight-service role back then. Modes of goods transportation may have undergone a more urban makeover now, but the canal chanteys continue to be part of the septuagenarian's life.

In the early 20th century, several sections of the water corridor became shallow or dried up and fell into disuse. As a result, the chanteys－rhythmic songs sung by the sailors to keep them alert and motivated at work－began sinking into oblivion.

In the 1980s, Chang, who then worked at Tongzhou District Cultural Center in Beijing, received tasks to compile the ballads. He started visiting old-timers to record their singing, and that is when he discovered Zhao Qingfu, a veteran sailor with exceptional chantey skills.

In 2006, Tongzhou's canal chanteys were listed as a city-level intangible cultural heritage and Zhao, then 75, became its inheritor. "The one who sings chanteys plays a leading role in a boat," says 65-year-old Zhao Yiqiang, the son of Zhao Qingfu and the sole heir of this heritage after his father's death in 2018.

"The rhythmic songs helped the sailors row in sync, and maintain both speed and direction. In other words, the person leading the chantey chorus influenced and unified the pace of work," Zhao Yiqiang explains.

"The lead chantey singer knew how the boat functioned, was very familiar with the waterway and even had knowledge of local customs of the places the vessel passed by," he adds.

In the olden days, the cargo boats transported large quantities of tea, porcelain items and silk from south to north China, and helped ferry medicines, fur and artifacts from north to south.

There was at least one chantey for every boat function. For example, there was a song for reminding sailors to weigh anchor and yet two others for embarking and disembarking cargo. Chang has organized these chanteys into 10 groups and compiled a total of 22.

Chanteys were customary along the entire length of the Grand Canal in the past. Efforts have also been made to save them in Wucheng county, Shandong province.

Wucheng's canal chanteys were listed as provincial-level intangible cultural heritage after Chen Zhongkui, who worked with the local cultural authority, visited sailor Liang Yonghe in 2006. Chen spent more than a year interviewing Liang, then 85, about his family and fellow sailors. Chen recorded Liang's singing and turned it into scores.

"When I was about 10, I lived with my grandmother in a village near the canal. Listening to the chanteys was my favorite pastime," says Chen, 82, now the sole inheritor of Wucheng's canal chanteys.

Wucheng's chanteys have a slow to moderate tempo, depending on the canal course. "Water from four rivers runs into the Wucheng section of the Grand Canal, leading to a surge. To buffer the water speed, the canal course has a zigzag pattern. The chanteys have a slow tempo when boats carefully navigate these twists and turns," Chen explains.

Modern vessels no longer need human strength to steer a course, rendering canal chanteys practically useless, but Chen and Zhao Yiqiang are determined to keep the songs alive. "In fact, chanteys are more than just songs sung by sailors; they embody the development of the Grand Canal culture in Wucheng. We should not forget that," says Chen.

Zhao Yiqiang believes the spirits of sailors who have died are guardians of the chanteys. "When they towed a boat on the banks, each one needed to use his full strength. They remembered that the towline must always be tightened. If a boat was stranded, others rushed to help. The songs were also about solidarity and facing hardships together," he says.

Both Chen and Zhao Yiqiang have upgraded canal chanteys into stage performances, and taught the songs and the stories behind them in local middle schools, but they admit more needs to be done. "It is perhaps difficult to feel the songs unless you have a sailor's blood. Hence, there is a lack of sincerity in learning the chanteys correctly," Zhao Yiqiang says.

"We hope young people today understand the challenge that went behind manning big cargo vessels and how the chanteys helped the tough to get going when the going got tough," he adds.

Zhao Ruixue contributed to this story.