Jia Deyi

01 · Lineage & Regional School

As a child he learned the "three major instruments" of errentai—dizi (bamboo flute), sihu (four-stringed fiddle), and yangqin (dulcimer)—from his father, and later studied errentai singing under Lü Ercunxi, a famous veteran artist of the region. Within the regional tradition and school record of Errentai in Hequ, Shanxi: Taking Hohhot as the dividing line, the style schools of Errentai fall into a western route and an eastern route. Errentai is a folk small opera popular in the central and western regions of Inner Mongolia and in northern Shanxi, northern Shaanxi and Zhangjiakou in Hebei, and its original melodies are local folk songs. Hequ lies on the eastern bank of the Yellow River in north-west Shanxi, faces Shaanxi's Fugu and Inner Mongolia's Jungar across the river, and is an important starting point of "walking the west pass"; the local Errentai takes as its backbone vocal styles developed from northern Shanxi folk songs such as [Zou Xi Kou] (Walking the West Pass), [Wu Ge Fang Yang] (Fifth Brother Herding Sheep) and [Zhen Zhu Dao Juan Lian] (Pearls Rolling Up the Blind), while also taking in folk songs from northern Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and the Jianghuai region, forming the school centred on Hequ.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han ethnicity, born in September 1943, a native of Hequ County, Shanxi Province. After graduating from the Wuzhai Normal School (now the Wuzhai Branch of Xinzhou Normal University), he became a music teacher and later transferred to a cultural institution, where he worked in mass cultural affairs. From the 1990s onward he began collecting and organizing the many folk mountain songs and short tunes scattered among the people, and assisted in the filming of more than forty documentary works on folk customs; to date he has published more than ten monographs. After retirement he has often lectured drama enthusiasts on folk song, errentai, and playwriting, and has also formed a folk band and organized performances. Within the documented technical tradition of Errentai in Hequ, Shanxi: Errentai is a folk small opera popular in the central and western regions of Inner Mongolia and in northern Shanxi, northern Shaanxi and Zhangjiakou in Hebei. Its original melodies are local folk songs: vocal styles developed from Han folk songs of the central and western regions of Inner Mongolia such as [Da Ying Tao] (Cherry-Striking), [Ya Gao Mian] (Pressing Cake Flour) and [Da Hou Tao] (Back-Harness); vocal styles developed from northern Shanxi folk songs such as [Zou Xi Kou] (Walking the West Pass), [Wu Ge Fang Yang] (Fifth Brother Herding Sheep) and [Zhen Zhu Dao Juan Lian] (Pearls Rolling Up the Blind); vocal styles developed from northern Shaanxi folk songs such as [Song Da Ge] (Seeing Off the Elder Brother), [Shi Li Dun] (Ten-Li Mound) and [Xiu He Bao] (Embroidering the Purse); vocal styles developed from Mongolian folk songs such as [Ala Ben Hua] and [Wang Ai Zhao]; the northern Hebei folk song [Shi Dui Hua] (Ten Flower Pairs); and Jianghuai folk songs such as Jasmine Flower and Beauty Yu. The paizi qu (banner tunes) also draw on many Jinju (Shanxi opera) tune patterns, folk wind-and-percussion music and religious music. Western-route Errentai was originally called Menggu qu and was mainly popular in the city of Hohhot, the city of Baotou, Bayannur League, Yeke Zhao League, the Yulin area and the Xinzhou area; eastern-route Errentai was first called "bengbeng" or simply Errentai and was mainly popular in Ulanqab League, the Yanbei area and the Zhangjiakou area. Traditional Errentai repertoire deals mainly with labour and production, exposes the darkness of the old society and sings of marriage and love; some plays tell mythological and historical stories. Western-route Errentai has plays such as Money-Striking, Cherry-Striking, Back-Harness, Climbing the Mountain Top and Ala Ben Hua, while eastern-route Errentai has Return from South of the Pass, Leading the Donkey, Picking Sichuan Pepper, Selling Malt Sugar and Lanzhou City. The performing forms of Errentai fall into three large categories: yingma xi, daibian xi and duichang. Yingma xi stresses singing, recitation and acting and demands a good voice from the performer; daibian xi stresses dance performance; duichang is sung alternately by two performers. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Money-Striking": Western-route Errentai has plays such as Money-Striking, Cherry-Striking, Back-Harness, Climbing the Mountain Top and Ala Ben Hua, while eastern-route Errentai has Return from South of the Pass, Leading the Donkey, Picking Sichuan Pepper, Selling Malt Sugar and Lanzhou City. "Cherry-Striking": Western-route Errentai has plays such as Money-Striking, Cherry-Striking, Back-Harness, Climbing the Mountain Top and Ala Ben Hua, while eastern-route Errentai has Return from South of the Pass, Leading the Donkey, Picking Sichuan Pepper, Selling Malt Sugar and Lanzhou City. "Back-Harness": Western-route Errentai has plays such as Money-Striking, Cherry-Striking, Back-Harness, Climbing the Mountain Top and Ala Ben Hua, while eastern-route Errentai has Return from South of the Pass, Leading the Donkey, Picking Sichuan Pepper, Selling Malt Sugar and Lanzhou City. "Climbing the Mountain Top": Western-route Errentai has plays such as Money-Striking, Cherry-Striking, Back-Harness, Climbing the Mountain Top and Ala Ben Hua, while eastern-route Errentai has Return from South of the Pass, Leading the Donkey, Picking Sichuan Pepper, Selling Malt Sugar and Lanzhou City.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Errentai, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He has a thorough command of errentai's musical characteristics, melodic forms, and tunes, and after entering professional work turned to playwriting and musical composition; his works Mi Guo Yuan (The Honey Fruit's Bond) and Er Fen Shui Di (Two Fen of Irrigated Land) won awards at regional theatrical festivals.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Jia Deyi · National Representative Bearer Archive