Chastushka texts and couplets of Chinese Russian ethnic minority in North Manchuria of China

The paper reviews the full texts of chastushka and dance couplets as the only folklore song-poetic genre that preserves the traditional forms of performance within ethnic minority group of Chinese Russians from the Three Rivers region (PRC) including examples of bilingual chastushka couplets, as well as texts in Chinese. The authors discover a new vision of chastushka texts, and the research is performed in an interdisciplinary way. The principles of publishing Russian Chinese chastushka texts and couplets in Chinese in two languages with translation, transcription, and melody notation have been worked out for a comprehensive understanding of their specificity. The research is based on fieldwork data materials collected by the authors during expeditions to the PRC from 2007-2018 and to Australia in 2016. The analysis of the texts in Russian and a melody structure shows that Chinese words are used to create additional laughter effect. The authors came to the conclusion that chastushka texts and dance couplets are part of a particular genre within the folklore of the Chinese Russian ethnic minority. This ethnic group has its unique hybrid identity, specific household structure, with elements of Russian and Chinese culture naturally coexisting. Furthermore, the paper provides preliminary remarks on the fact that chastushka texts become more melodic when passing to the Chinese language. Currently, there are all necessary conditions for the tradition of chastushka texts in Chinese to exist and develop: the number of elderly Russian-speaking people is decreasing while the younger Chinese Russians not speaking Russian actively participate in the cultural life of their region and are trying to preserve their native traditions.

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