Ballad, Amoy/Xiamen

Ballard of Amoy

Ballard of Amoy

Image Courtesy of: Xiamen Overseas Chinese Museum

This document dates from perhaps 1900 but claims to be an oral history version of a ballad from the time of the aftermath of the British attack on Amoy during the First Opium War.

Translation

Title: The Fort is Glowing Red (Collected by Li Xi)

The Ballad:

The fort is glowing red,

Attacking the city, chaos and fleeing, the foreigners revolt.

They make Gulangyu their headquarters,

The foreigners climb up the mountain,

Inside the city, they take whatever they please.

Historical Notes:

Note 1: This song was orally transmitted over seventy years ago by Mrs. Guo and recorded by Guo Laitang of Jiujia.

Note 2: When the British occupied Amoy (Xiamen), their soldiers were few and timid. The army stationed its Xiamen office on Gulangyu. Fearing a counterattack from the Qing military and civilians, they burned down the civilian houses on Gulangyu. Therefore, during the Qing dynasty, residents either abandoned their land or did not pay land tax.

Contextual Analysis

• "The Fort is Glowing Red" (墩子紅吱吱): "Red" (Hokkien: Ang) likely refers to the fire from the burning houses mentioned in the notes, or possibly the "Red Coats" of the British soldiers. "Zhi Zhi" (Hokkien: Ki Ki) is an intensifier for the color red.

• "Foreigners" (番仔): A local colloquial term for Westerners (specifically the British in this context).

• Historical Event: This document refers to the aftermath of the Battle of Amoy (1841) during the First Opium War. The British captured Amoy and subsequently stationed troops on the island of Gulangyu to control the harbor, leading to the destruction of local property as described in the note.

• Li Xi (李禧): The collector mentioned at the top, Li Xi, was a renowned historian and scholar of Xiamen local history in the early 20th century, known for preserving local folklore.