Zuoquan County lies in the west side of the main range of Taihang Mountain, bordering eastern Shanxi Province. Known as "Liaozhou" or "Liaoxian County" in ancient times, the county was renamed "Zuoquan County" in commemoration of the famous anti-Japanese general Zuo Quan, who died a heroic death there. Throughout the ages, a wide array of folk music genres were created by and spread among the people, including mountain songs, ditties, boatman's chants, suites, flower operas, and wind and percussion instrument music etc. Among them, Bloom Tune is the most representative genre.
What's called "Bloom Tune" is a type of mountain song popular in Taihang Mountain area, and Zuoquan Bloom Tune stands out for its unique lyric pattern, which often begins with "xx bloom" in the first line and the second line bringing out the theme. Local people call mountain songs of this style "Bloom Tunes".
Here, things that bloom are not limited to plants. A host of other things can bloom, too, such as scissors, whisk brooms, door bolts and small stools and even stones. In a word, everything figurative can bloom, and there's a certain link between the blooming thing and the line bringing out the theme.
What distinguishes "Bloom Tune" from other folk music styles is its mildness, elegance and regular rhythm. In addition, the tune is artistically arranged in terms of the content, with creative words, and phrases and lines in local dialect inserted for balance or euphony, such as "ah-ge-ya-ya-dai", "qin-ge-dan'er", "qin-ya-geqin-yame-daiya-gedai" etc. These fantastic features are combined to bring out strong local flavor.