Minnan Meihua Sannong

In the Minnan district of Quanzhou city, southern Fujian Province, two pieces of instrumental music preserve the title Meihua Sannong 梅花三弄 (‘Plum blossoms, three variations’). ¹ One is played by an ensemble in the village of Fengwei;the other by an ensemble in the village of Houlong (Zhang 2002: 174–175). ² Minnan people collectively call this type of music beiguan 北管 (‘Northern wind [instruments]’). Although the name Meihua Sannong is identical with that of an old solo piece in the qin 琴 zither repertoire, the melodies are entirely different. The Minnan melody, however, is basically the same as the suite Meihua Sannong in Li Fangyuan’s 李芳園 1895 notated pipa collection, Nanbeipai Shisantao Daqu Pipa Xinpu 南北派十三套大曲琵琶新譜, and also the well-known Jiangnan suite, Sanliu 三六. ³ All reflect traditional Han Chinese instrumental practice.