[Commentary] Accompanied by the crisp sound of bamboo boards, a song "The Lover" was slowly sung from the mouth of the 73-year-old veteran artist Fan Honglan. Song Rongqin listened carefully while recording it with his mobile phone.

Born in 1956, Song Rongqin is a native of Zhengding, Hebei. She has been fond of singing since she was a child. She ran a clothing store in Zhengding County more than ten years ago. At that time, she would listen to the raps and songs of old people nearby whenever she had time.

In 2006, an old man who could sing a lot of ballads suddenly died, which made Song Rongqin realize that these ballads cannot be "lost".

　　[Concurrent] Song Rongqin, Collector of Zhengding Ballads

　　After the (old man) passed away, I thought, if this ballad is not collected, if the old people leave (the ballad) will be lost.

So I thought about it for a long time that night, and then I decided to shut down my clothing store and concentrate on collecting songs.

　　[Explanation] Zhengding is an ancient cultural city. In history, all walks of life have their own ballads. The historical sites, stories, and folk customs recorded in the ballads contain not only Song Rongqin’s childhood memories, but also the culture of the ancient city.

　　[Concurrent] Song Rongqin, Collector of Zhengding Ballads

　　The Zhengding Ballad contains the historical context of Zhengding, the local customs, and the production and life of the people, so I collected this in order to preserve the historical context of Zhengding.

　　[Commentary] Song Rongqin told reporters that collecting ballads is a hard work. Not only does it not make money, but it also pays to post money in it. Sometimes it is necessary to invite the elderly who sing rumors to have a meal, and sometimes she will give it to the elderly who are really poor They have some money.

Song Rongqin said she was not afraid of hard work, and sometimes the misunderstanding of some people made her feel uncomfortable.

　　[Commentary] Song Rongqin, Collector of Zhengding Ballads　

　　Once I went to Zhancun for an interview. There was an aunt in her 80s who read songs to me. At this time, her daughter-in-law brought her grandson over, and she told her mother-in-law, you know who she is. Read it to her, if she is a liar, go home quickly and take the old man back.

　　[Explanation] Despite many difficulties, Song Rongqin persisted.

For more than ten years, in order to collect and sort out the ballads, Song Rongqin walked through the streets and alleys, went to the market to visit the villages, and traveled to more than 100 villages in Zhengding County. Understand the idea of ​​Zhengding Ballad.

So she sorted out more than 2,000 ballads she collected. In May of this year, the book "Zhengding Ballads" edited by Song Rongqin was published and distributed. These original ballads reproduced the urban and rural residents of Zhengding since the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. Life style, people seem to hear the echo of history.

　　[Concurrent] Song Rongqin, Collector of Zhengding Ballads

　　The plan in the future is that I will continue to collect ballads, and the ballads I have collected have only words and no scores, (plan) to find a professional to write it out because there are recording materials.

Another is that I want to find some fans who like to sing folk songs, teach them to sing, and sing Zhengding songs live, not just let it lie on the books.

　　Ai Guangde reports from Shijiazhuang, Hebei.

Editor in charge: [Liu Xian]