Qinqiang Opera
01 · Historical Records
Around the transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties, Qinqiang was brought by merchants from Shaanxi into the Central Plains and into eastern, central and southern China, and in the early Qing dynasty it became an operatic genre of major national influence. From the 1980s onward, Qinqiang, like the other operatic genres, has been subject to enormous impact from modern culture: professional performing troupes find it hard to survive, outstanding performing talent is scarce, and traditional performance techniques are in danger of being lost, so effective protective measures are urgently needed.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan. Qinqiang music is divided into two kinds, huanyin (joyful tone) and kuyin (bitter tone); the former mainly expresses happy and joyful emotion, the latter mainly expresses grief, anger and desolation. In Qinqiang singing there are such ban-form variants as manban, erliuban, daiban, qiban, jianban and gunban. The accompanying band is divided into the wuchang (martial section) and the wenchang (civil section); the civil section is led by the banhu, supported by the flute, sanxian, yueqin, suona and so on, while the martial section basically uses percussion instruments, including finger clappers, dry drums, roaring drums, war drums, hook gongs, small gongs and water cymbals. The role types of Qinqiang are traditionally divided into four sheng, six dan, two jing and one chou, each with its own complete vocal style and performance procedure. The sheng and jing roles of Qinqiang sing in a style that is high and stirring, impassioned and mournful, heroic and unrestrained; the dan roles sing in a style that is gentle and delicate, supple and flowing, refined and elegant. Qinqiang performers also lay great store on posture work and special techniques; in long stage practice they have formed distinctive performance patterns such as tangma (riding the horse), lajiazi (pulling the frame), danchai (carrying firewood), fire-spitting, sash-and-staff work and tumbling falls. In addition, the facial makeup of Qinqiang is distinctive in its own way. Qinqiang is a spiritual treasure possessed in common by the people of the loess plateau of north-west China, and a typical representative form of the Sanqin culture, enjoying a broad popular base.
Chunqiu Bi (The Spring and Autumn Brush)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Heshi Bi (The Heshi Jade)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Yuhu Zhui (The Jade Tiger Pendant)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Zixia Gong (The Purple Cloud Palace)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Linguchuang (The Qilin Bone Bed)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Changbanpo (The Changban Slope)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Mai Huashan (Selling Mount Hua)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Lintong Shan (Mount Lintong)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Zhan Shan Tong (Beheading Shan Tong)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Qu Luoyang (Taking Luoyang)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Sanniang Jiaozi (The Third Lady Teaches Her Son)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Gui Zhong Yuan (Affinity in the Cabinet)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Fan Yan'an (The Revolt at Yan'an)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Po Hongzhou (Breaking Hongzhou)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
San Shang Dian (The Third Audience in the Hall)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
Xian Xichuan (Presenting Xichuan)
More than three thousand traditional Qinqiang plays have been discovered to date, most of them drawn from historical stories and from myths and folk legends of all kinds. Among them are such representative plays as The Spring and Autumn Brush, The Heshi Bi, The Jade Tiger Pendant, The Purple Cloud Palace, The Qilin Bone Bed, The Changban Slope, Selling Mount Hua, Mount Lintong, Beheading Shan Tong, Taking Luoyang, The Third Lady Teaches Her Son, Affinity in the Cabinet, The Revolt at Yan'an, Breaking Hongzhou, The Third Audience in the Hall and Presenting Xichuan.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Qinqiang is an operatic vocal genre formed by combining the exhorting-to-goodness tunes that circulated in the Guanzhong area around the Yuan-Ming period with local folk music and the Guanzhong dialect; it is current mainly in the north-western regions of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and Xinjiang. In historical times it also spread to the Central Plains and to the coastal areas, and it has influenced and given rise to dozens of local genres.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Qinqiang Opera · Qinqiang Opera · Qinqiang Opera.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Ma Youxian (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Female, of Han ethnicity, born in April 1944, native of Heyang County, Shaanxi Province. A national first-class performer, and an expert enjoying the special government allowance of the State Council. Her voice is clear and resonant, and her singing attends to scientific vocal production, full of expressive flavour. While inheriting the singing style of famous Qinqiang artists such as Li Zhengmin and others of the older generation, she drew on the strengths of many schools and dared to explore, forming a singing style described as “the wind moving over the water surface, forming ripples of its own accord”. The main plays she has performed include Xie Yao Huan, The Injustice to Dou E and Jade Hall Spring. In 1994 the television documentary A Selection of Ma Youxian's Art was produced. Representative inheritor of Qinqiang under the third national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage projects. In 2018 she was awarded the title of National Advanced Individual in the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. For many years she has been devoted to the inheritance and development of the art of Qinqiang and has actively trained new talent. Yuan Zonghan (official archival record of the associated inheritor): A national first-class performer. In long artistic practice he was good at inheriting vertically and drawing laterally on others; his performance is free and easy and steady, his singing highly individual and full of flavour, and he gradually formed his own artistic style. His representative plays include Fifteen Strings of Cash, Fish Belly Mountain, The Orphan of Zhao and Beating the Town Magistrate's Drum. He went to Beijing many times to take part in national operatic performance showcases. Male, of Han ethnicity, born in January 1940, died in November 2015, native of Xianyang, Shaanxi Province. Representative inheritor of Qinqiang under the third national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage projects. In 1993 he was named one of the ten best Qinqiang actors of Shaanxi Province. To pass on the art of Qinqiang he trained disciples such as Ding Liangsheng, Tan Jianxun and Liu Suizhe.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Ma Youxian 03-0978
- Yuanzonghan 03-0979
- Li Aiqin 03-0980
- Xiao Yuling 03-0981
- Kang Shaoyi 03-0982
- Lvmingfa 03-0983
- Yu Qiaoyun 03-0984
- Ma Lanyu 05-2312
- Wei Zancheng 05-2313
- Dou Fengqin 05-2314
- Li Dongqiao
- Su Fengli
- Li Mei
- Huiminli
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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