Gaoqiang Opera
01 · Historical Records
Gaoqiang is the collective name for a group of operatic genres distinguished by several vocal styles, derived in the course of evolution from the Yiyang qiang of the Ming dynasty and the later Qingyang qiang. Yuexi gaoqiang is an ancient and rare operatic genre surviving only in Yuexi County, Anhui Province; it comes down from the Qingyang qiang of the Ming dynasty as that tune was inherited and changed, and it has a transmission history of more than three hundred years. At the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing, literati and merchants carried Qingyang qiang into Yuexi by way of the Qianshui and Changhe rivers; local literati gathered round drums to practise singing and formed troupes and societies, and Yuexi gaoqiang began to take shape; in the early Guangxu reign, professional gaoqiang performers from outside systematically taught the art of stage performance, promoting the further development of Yuexi gaoqiang. Since the late Qing, Yuexi gaoqiang has risen and fallen several times; on the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China it was already in danger. After the 1960s, precious historical materials were severely damaged, the structure of professional troupes became distorted, the activities of folk troupes shrank, Yuexi gaoqiang lacked successors, and it again faced the danger of extinction.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Over several centuries of evolution the branches of Yiyang qiang underwent great change, combining in varying degrees with local folk music, and so the gaoqiang of each locality came to have its own musical character. The artistic heritage of Yuexi gaoqiang is rich; its dramatic literature, its music, its performance art and its basic modes of activity all form systems of their own, in a style distinctive to itself. The musical system of Yuexi gaoqiang belongs in the main to the linked-set form of tune patterns: one voice sings and the many respond, accompanied by gongs and drums, with singing, chorus and percussion forming an integrated whole; its style is simple and archaic. Performers use the unique gudian marks to guide the vocal style and to hand down the art. Singing in Yuexi gaoqiang takes three forms — sitting and singing around the drum, stage performance, and performance at folkloric events — each with strict and mature procedural norms. It is comprehensively woven into the various folk lantern fairs of the district, becoming an organic part of local folk culture.
Jingchai Ji (The Thorn Hairpin)
Through the uncovering, collection and collation of folk manuscripts within Yuexi, more than one hundred and twenty kinds of plays and more than two hundred and fifty scenes have been accumulated; they fall into two categories, zhengxi and xiqu, of which zhengxi accounts for the overwhelming majority, including fine excerpts from the five great chuanqi plays of southern drama such as Jingchai Ji. They have a high cultural taste and literary value, and their greatest characteristic is that they inherit the art of gundiao and develop it into changgun. What is sung in the xiqi category is always words of good fortune, used mainly in folkloric activities, and it is an important component of Yuexi folk culture.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Yuexi gaoqiang survives only in Yuexi County, Anhui Province, coming down from the Qingyang qiang of the Ming dynasty as that tune was inherited and changed. At the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing, literati and merchants carried Qingyang qiang into Yuexi by way of the Qianshui and Changhe rivers; local literati gathered round drums to practise singing, formed troupes and societies, and comprehensively wove the art into the various folk lantern fairs of the district. Yuexi gaoqiang runs in parallel in three forms — sitting and singing around the drum, stage performance, and lantern-fair folk performance; troupes mostly attach themselves to ancestral halls and lantern-fair organisations, and among the mountain villages of the upper reaches of the Wan River in southwestern Anhui they have formed a set of activity norms of their own.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Gaoqiang Opera · Gaoqiang Opera · Gaoqiang Opera · Gaoqiang Opera · Gaoqiang Opera.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Through the uncovering, collection and collation of folk manuscripts within Yuexi, more than one hundred and twenty kinds of plays and more than two hundred and fifty scenes have been accumulated; they fall into two categories, zhengxi and xiqu, of which zhengxi accounts for the overwhelming majority, including fine excerpts from the five great chuanqi plays of southern drama such as Jingchai Ji. They have a high cultural taste and literary value, and their greatest characteristic is that they inherit the art of gundiao and develop it into changgun. What is sung in the xiqi category is always words of good fortune, used mainly in folkloric activities, and it is an important component of Yuexi folk culture. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the county government organised a professional gaoqiang troupe dedicated to the transmission and study of Yuexi gaoqiang. Jiang Xiaosong (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, Han, born in 1935, a native of Yuexi, Anhui Province. Jiang Xiaosong's performance is plain and unadorned, with a steady stage presence, regulated movements and dignified bearing; he portrays characters with vivid individuality, his vocal style is long in resonance and highly expressive, and he is dearly loved by audiences. Representative works include Jinshanghua · Return to the Palace and others. Representative inheritor of gaoqiang (Yuexi gaoqiang), inscribed in the second national-level batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage. Wang Qifu (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, Han, born in 1935, a native of Yuexi, Anhui Province. He has been engaged for many years in folk gaoqiang performance and transmission, and has made tirelessly efforts for the inheritance, development and transmission of gaoqiang. Representative works include Jinshanghua and others. Representative inheritor of gaoqiang (Yuexi gaoqiang), inscribed in the second national-level batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yan Bangzhen 02-0430
- Wang Jiahui 02-0431
- Wu Chenji 02-0432
- Chen Chunlin 02-0433
- Jiang Xiaosong 02-0434
- Wang Qifu 02-0435
- Chen Gang 02-0436
- Xiang Rong 02-0437
- Gong Jinyun 02-0438
- Li Shaoxian 02-0439
- Wu Chenjun 03-0971
- Deng Qizhi 05-2310
- Wu Qinguo
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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