Banned by local government, the music that traditionally accompanies northeastern funerals could itself be on the brink of death.
This story was originally published on Sixth Tone and has been republished with permission as part of our collaboration with Sixth Tone X, a platform featuring stories from respected Chinese media outlets.
SHANDONG, East China — The unmistakable wail of the suona pierces the dusk in the village as Wang Ruiyong plays a traditional tune on the double-reed instrument. The elderly funeral attendees approve, recognizing the melody. Yet for nearly five years now, Wang and other suona masters have been recording their repertoire in the fear that the songs could soon be forgotten as their tradition increasingly comes under threat.
The suona is a traditional Chinese wind instrument similar to the oboe that is customarily played alongside gongs, drums, and the sheng mouth organ at weddings and funerals in rural northeastern China. In Shandong province, where the suona is sometimes known by the onomatopoeic name “wulawa,” the instrument is an integral part of traditional culture. But in Shandong’s Pingyi County, where Wang hails from, suona performances have been banned from funerals since October 2016 as part of local government reforms aiming to curb lavish, showy ceremonies.
Elaborate and sometimes outrageous funeral services featuring everything from strippers to the burning of ghost money drew the attention of international media and local authorities in 2015, but now, even the suona has been caught in the crossfire. In November 2016, 21 professors from prominent institutions like Peking University signed a public appeal for the protection of village funeral traditions, saying that the government reforms ought to allow folk customs in keeping with cultural revival and only forbid extravagant vices such as stripping.
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