Xinchangdiaoqiang

01 · Historical Records

It is regarded as the sole surviving relic of Yuyao qiang, one of the “Four Great Vocal Styles” of Ming-dynasty Nanxi. The repertoire of Xinchang diaoqiang is rich: it includes plays derived from mulian opera, Nanxi, Yuan-dynasty zaju and Ming- and Qing-dynasty chuanqi, as well as historical story plays and modern plays newly written in recent times. With warfare incessant in the late Qing and early Republican period, and new operatic forms rising one after another, Xinchang diaoqiang fell into decline.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Xinchang diaoqiang is one of the ancient vocal styles of Chinese opera; it is also called diaoqiang, Shaoxing gaodiao or Xinchang gaoqiang. Centred on Xinchang, it is spread in Shaoxing, Xiaoshan, Shangyu, Yuyao, Shengzhou County and Ninghai in eastern Zhejiang. In the early Qing, Xinchang diaoqiang entered its period of full prosperity and spread outward with Hangzhou as its centre. In the artistic archives of diaoqiang there are as many as 159 manuscript copies of old plays predating the late Qing, among which Yuan-dynasty zaju plays such as “Bei Xixiang”, “Han Gong Qiu” and “Zhuang Xiang Ji” are possessed by diaoqiang alone, and are extremely precious. The Xinchang Diaoqiang Theatre is the only artistic troupe in the country able to perform “Bei Xixiang”, and its performance of “Han Gong Qiu” also preserves the original appearance of the Yuan qu. Mulian opera in diaoqiang occupies an important position in China's mulian opera system; of the 167 diaoqiang mulian items, as many as 72 are not found in any other operatic form. In diaoqiang singing there are devices such as dry singing, chorus backing and dieban; at the end of each sung line a chorus commonly takes up one or several characters, or the last few characters of the line are repeated a beat late to a different melody; the chorus is purely by voice, and the melody of successive lines tends to slide downward. Diaoqiang uses no wind or string accompaniment, relying only on percussion to support the performance; later, influenced by Kunqu and Lutan, a flute and a banhu were used to accompany a small number of excerpt plays (zhezixi). The accompanying band of diaoqiang is extremely simple, consisting of only six people, who play the drum, the clappers, the small gong and the like. The role types of diaoqiang are known as “three hua, four bai, five dan hall”: the three hua are dahualian, erhualian and xiaohualian; the four bai are laosheng, zhengsheng, fumo and xiaosheng; the five dan hall are laodan, zhengdan, tiedan, xiaodan and wudan. Its performance is noted for its exquisite refinement, and it has specialty skills such as raising a chair on the palm, holding a candle and kicking off the boots with the back turned. Xinchang lies in the mountainous area of eastern Zhejiang, where the environment was relatively sealed, and diaoqiang was therefore able to preserve itself in this one corner of the country. Diaoqiang deeply influenced the surrounding operatic forms: Ninghai pingdiao is a branch of it, and local forms such as Yue opera, Taizhou Lutan, Rui'an gaoqiang and Shao opera all drew nourishment to some degree from its repertoire, vocal styles and performance.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Xinchang diaoqiang is centred on Xinchang in Zhejiang and is spread in Shaoxing, Shangyu, Shengzhou County and Ninghai in eastern Zhejiang. Xinchang lies in the mountainous area of eastern Zhejiang, where the environment was relatively sealed, and diaoqiang was therefore able to preserve itself in this one corner of the country. Ninghai pingdiao is a branch of it, and local forms such as Yue opera, Taizhou Lutan, Rui'an gaoqiang and Shao opera all drew nourishment to some degree from its repertoire, vocal styles and performance.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

In the sanqu form of diaoqiang called the “fengqiang lianzhui style” one can still find the echoes of the Tang-dynasty “tiaoge” and the Song-dynasty “zhuan ta”, which is of extremely great significance for the study of ancient Chinese opera and music. At present diaoqiang is affected by social change and is in an endangered state; the troupe is short of funds, performers are failing to be replaced, the succession line is badly broken, and only by adopting effective measures in time can the continued survival of this form be guaranteed. Zhang Huaqin (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Female, of Han nationality, born in 1942, native of Xinchang, Zhejiang. On the basis of the traditional conventions she inherited, her performance organically fused the artistic styles of three old Xinchang diaoqiang artists, Zhao, Lou and Yang, forming a performance character of her own. Representative works include “Si Fan”. Representative inheritor of Xinchang diaoqiang in the second national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage projects; a national third-class actor. Cai Dejin (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): He is versatile, accomplished in both singing and martial work, and has well inherited the artistic tradition of diaoqiang; at the same time he can break beyond the limits of role type and shape character images with a marked artistic individuality. Representative works include “Sengni Hui” and “Duanqiao”. Male, of Han nationality, born in 1943, died in 2008, native of Xinchang, Zhejiang. Representative inheritor of Xinchang diaoqiang in the second national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage projects; a national third-class actor.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

• Zhang Huaqin 02-0440
• Cai Dejin 02-0441
• Lvyueming 05-2311
• Wang Ying

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Xinchangdiaoqiang (Xinchang, Zhejiang) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Zhang Huaqin · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Cai Dejin · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗