“Dou”, composed by the renowned composer and conductor Tan Dun, is adapted from Jiahe Wedding Song “Emeidou”. Jiahe Wedding Songs, which combine poems, songs and dances, are the most representative traditional marriage custom music of the Han people. With high aesthetic and research value, they are an important carrier for the study of anthropology, folklore and sociology. 

 

More than 1,300 Jiahe Wedding Songs have been handed down. In 2006, Jiahe Wedding Songs were selected into the first batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage protection list. In 2021, they were included in the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

 

 

 

According to the categories of songs, Jiahe Wedding Songs can be divided into playing songs, long songs, crying songs, dancing songs, etc., among which playing songs occupy the leading position. 

 

With short and concise melodies as well as flexible structure, playing songs account for about 70 percent of Jiahe Wedding Songs. The song “Emeidou” is particularly impressive. It shows women’s hatred and struggle against feudal marriage with humorous lyrics.

 

 

 

Later, the local people rewrote the lyrics which is more positive with a familiar melody, reflecting the inheritance and development of culture and the progress of social ideology.

 

With its lively and playful melody as well as popularity, “Emeidou” has attracted the attention of contemporary composers and been adapted into multiple versions of piano works. The more famous ones are “Dou” created by Tan Dun and “Emeidou” created by Liu Dunnan. The former was played by pianist Lang Lang at Carnegie Hall in New York of the USA in 2003 and received a warm response from western audiences.

 

 

 

In 1978, Tan Dun, who was born in Changsha of Hunan Province, studied at the Central Conservatory of Music. During this period, he created the piano suite “Memory of Eight Watercolor Paintings: Home” which expresses Tan Dun’s nostalgia for his childhood life. 

 

“Dou” is the second piece. Tan Dun incorporated the folk songs and operas of his hometown into his piano works, but he didn’t change the melody of “Emeidou” too much. This type of piano works adapted from folk songs has increased the foreign audience’s understanding of Chinese folk music.

 

 

 

Now, “Dou” has become a piece of the piano grading test at home and abroad. 20 years ago, Lang Lang introduced the songs adapted from Chenzhou Jiahe folk songs to the world. 20 years later, he served as the international public welfare image ambassador of Chenzhou cultural tourism to promote the city’s cultural tourism to the world again.