Senior citizen of Dangkou Ancient Town sings childhood rhymes at the music concert. [Photo/WeChat account: news-wuxixinwen]
A nostalgic music concert recently took place at Dangkou Ancient Town in Ehu town, Wuxi, Jiangsu province, where local childhood rhymes from memories were reimagined.
During the performance, the "Rhythm-Seeking Project" team carried out live creative adaptations and recordings.
The Rhythm-Seeking Project is a public music initiative started by musician Xiao He. It aims to collect and revive old childhood rhymes that have almost disappeared in different regions. Since 2018, they have traveled through urban and rural areas, visiting elders, gathering sounds, and rearranging music to breathe new life into these nearly forgotten rhymes.
This summer, the project reached Dangkou Ancient Town. The childhood rhymes here are deeply embedded in the old streets and alleys, closely linked to local dialects. "Searching for rhymes in a water town like Dangkou involves preserving fading sound memories and strengthening the delicate emotional ties between people and the land," said the project leader.
Over a duration of 10 days, the project team split into three groups to visit elders in Ehu, gathering and documenting numerous cherished childhood rhymes. These were then creatively rearranged and showcased during the concert.
Currently, Wuxi is working towards becoming a "Music City", while Dangkou Ancient Town is exploring ways to develop into a "Music Town". A representative from Dangkou mentioned that the town plans to invite 12 folk bands to perform, starting with Xiao He's band. By collaborating with these musicians, they aim to document and preserve local childhood rhymes and other folk music, enabling people to enjoy the musical and poetic richness of Chinese culture and to safeguard the town's musical heritage.
