Qinqiang Opera

01 · Historical Records

During the transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties, Qinqiang was carried by Shaanxi merchants into the Central Plains and into the East China, Central China and South China regions, and in the early Qing dynasty it became a genre of opera with major influence throughout the country. During the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty, Qinqiang was introduced into Xinjiang along the Silk Road together with military colonies and merchants; the earliest troupe to be founded was the City God Temple Qinqiang Troupe of Dihua City (present-day Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region).

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Thereafter, amateur self-entertainment troupes were established one after another in rural areas to entertain both themselves and others; itinerant performers traveled from village to town, selling songs and teaching their art; at the same time, professional troupes made up of famous performers brought Xinjiang Qinqiang onto the provincial stage. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in order to improve the cultural life of the masses, the government deliberately transferred professional troupes from Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, including the Corps Mengjin Qinqiang Troupe, the Qinqiang Troupe of the Fourth Division, the Qinqiang Troupe of the Tenth Division and the Qinqiang Troupe of the 13th Division of Hami; in addition, more than a hundred amateur troupes and self-entertainment troupes were organized by enterprises and institutions. The formation of Corps Qinqiang rests on the foundation of inland Qinqiang while broadly absorbing musical elements from the local folk tunes and melodies of Xinjiang. The lyrics of Corps Qinqiang are predominantly in seven-character and ten-character lines, occasionally interspersed with padded words. The music is fresh and lively without losing a rugged and solemn quality; it has rich tune patterns (silk-string patterns and suona patterns), melodies and beat heads, of which more than 190 have been excavated and organized. Performance centers on singing and recitation, and takes two forms: seated sessions (unaccompanied singing) and stage performance. During singing, the instrumentalists often join in with vocal refrains in a supporting role, helping out with padded phrases and sustained tones or repeating the final line of the melody. The main accompanying instruments are generally the banhu, erhu, flute, sanxian and bangzi; professional troupes add the yangqin, bamboo flute, pipa, suona, cello, bangu, gong and cymbals. The Corps now has a repertoire of more than 150 Qinqiang plays, such as "Golden Dragon and Mayfly", "A Raccoon Swapped for the Crown Prince" and "Wind, Rain and Red Willows"; apart from historical and traditional plays, they are mainly modern dramas.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Qinqiang is a vocal-style genre of Chinese opera that took shape around the transition between the Yuan and Ming dynasties from the morality-encouraging tunes (quanshan diao) circulating in the Guanzhong region, combined with local folk music and the Guanzhong dialect; it is popular mainly in northwestern China, including Shaanxi Province, Gansu Province, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Qinqiang is performed throughout the regions north and south of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang and in the regimental farm areas where Han, Hui and Xibe people have lived for generations across the fourteen divisions (and cities) of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Qinqiang Opera · Qinqiang Opera · Qinqiang Opera.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

In the modern small- and medium-scale Qinqiang plays staged in recent years, Uygur musical elements have also been absorbed and applied. Through its long transmission and development, Qinqiang has won the emotional identification of the people of Xinjiang; it is an important component of Xinjiang's military-colony (tuntian) culture and vivid testimony to the harmonious coexistence of multiple ethnic groups and their joint development of Xinjiang, and it has played an important role in enriching the cultural life of the masses and in safeguarding ethnic unity and stability in the border regions.

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

1. Qinqiang Opera (XPCC) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗