Jinju (Shanxi Opera)

01 · Historical Records

In the early Qing period Puzhou bangzi flowed into Jinzhong, where it combined with the Qitai Yangge and the Jinzhong folk tunes; through the participation of Shanxi merchants and local literati, Jinju took shape. The nearly one hundred years from the late Qing to the early Republic of China were Jinju's period of development. Troupes were many and talent emerged in great numbers, and especially after the appearance of the first generation of female actresses represented by Ding Guoxian, Jinju's art was raised to a new stage.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Jinju is one of the four bangzi genres of Shanxi Province. Because it arose in central Shanxi it is also called middle-road bangzi, and other provinces call it Shanxi bangzi. It circulates mainly in central and northern Shanxi and in parts of Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Hebei. In later periods it changed several times and spread through Jinzhong and northern Shanxi to parts of Inner Mongolia, Hebei and northern Shaanxi. Jinju has a rich traditional repertoire, with more than two hundred plays performed regularly, including The Wei River, Beating the Golden Branch, Mount Lintong, The Cosmos Sash, The Kingdom of Shatuo, Battle at Wancheng, White Water Shoal, Golden Water Bridge, The Flame Colts, The Brahma King's Palace and Twin Locks Mountain. In the course of its development Jinju preserved the impassioned and stirring artistic character of Puzhou bangzi while at the same time forming a mellow, delicate lyrical style. Jinju's vocal styles are rich, including luantan (free-rhythm singing), qiang'er and quzi. Its ban styles (metre) are many and varied and its expressive power is strong: the luantan alone is divided into seven metrical types, namely pingban, jiaban, erxing, liushui, jieban, daoban and gunbai. The traditional Jinju orchestra consists of nine musicians and is divided into a civil section and a martial section. The civil section's accompanying instruments are the huhu, the erxian, the sanxian and the sixian, the 'four major items'; the martial section uses the drum and clappers, nao cymbals, small gong, horse gong, bangzi clapper and so on. The principal role types of Jinju are the xusheng (bearded male), the zhengdan (main woman) and the dahualian (great painted face) of the 'three great families', and the xiaosheng (young male), the xiaodan (young woman) and the xiaohualian (small painted face) of the 'three minor families'. Its performance is bold and unrestrained and rich in passion; it not only inherits the virtuoso techniques of bangzi opera performance but has also advanced further in such skills as lingzi gong (pheasant-feather technique) and maochi gong (hat-wing technique).

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Jinju circulates mainly in central and northern Shanxi and in parts of Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Hebei. Because it arose in central Shanxi it is also called middle-road bangzi, and other provinces call it Shanxi bangzi. The late Qing and early Republic of China was its period of development, with many troupes and a constant flow of talent; after the first generation of female actresses, represented by Ding Guoxian, appeared, Jinju's art was lifted to a new stage. Afterwards Jinju followed the Shanxi merchants' trade routes north to Guihua and Baotou in Inner Mongolia, and circulated in parallel with northern-road bangzi and Puzhou bangzi in northern Shanxi and beyond the Great Wall.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Jinju (Shanxi Opera) · Jinju (Shanxi Opera) · Jinju (Shanxi Opera) · Jinju (Shanxi Opera) · Jinju (Shanxi Opera).

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

As a representative genre of Shanxi Province, Jinju occupies an important place in the study of Shanxi local drama, music, folklore and history. At present, because of the influence of the commodity economy and the impact of modern ways of life, the number of plays performed has fallen rapidly, urban audiences have been lost in large numbers, and rural audiences consist mainly of the elderly. Jinju's future gives cause for concern. Niu Guiying (recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): After she had become famous, Niu Guiying received instruction from the noted Beijing opera master Li Zijian and gradually formed the 'Niu school' performance art with its distinctive singing style; the character of her performance is that her singing line is roundabout and combines firmness with gentleness. Representative works include The Three Palm Strikes and Beating the Golden Branch. Female, Han nationality, born in 1925, died in 2013, from Yuci, Shanxi. A representative inheritor of Jinju in the second batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage, and a first-class performer. Guo Caiping (recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): Female, Han nationality, born in 1944, from Wenshui, Shanxi. Over more than half a century of performing, Guo Caiping broadly absorbed the traditional performance art and classic repertoire of her predecessors and fused them with her own personal treatment. Her artistry is deep and unfussy, neither cold nor overdone, and she is especially skilled at shaping characters through techniques such as lingzi gong (pheasant-feather technique). Representative works include Phoenix Substitute Pavilion, The Twin Robes, The Trial of the Imperial Case and Beating the Golden Branch. A representative inheritor of Jinju in the second batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage, a first-class performer, and winner of the sixth China Drama Plum Blossom Award.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

• Niuguiying 02-0463
• Guo Caiping 02-0464
• Wang Aiai 02-0465
• Wu Zhong 02-0466
• Tian Guilan 03-0985
• Cheng Yuying 03-0986
• Ma Yulou 03-0987
• Wu Tong 03-0988
• Niuxuezhen 03-0989
• Jiping 04-1598
• Gao Cuiying 04-1599
• Li Yuexian 04-1600
• Yan Huizhen 04-1601
• Xie Tao 04-1602
• Luan Debao 05-2315
• Jia Bingzheng 05-2316
• Wang Wanmei 05-2317
• He Xiaoju 05-2318
• Liguilian
• Song Zhuanzhuan
• Dong Liping
• Miao Jie
• Feng Jizhong
• Jirongsheng
• Jin Shiyao
• Li Ping

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Jinju (Shanxi Opera) (Shanxi) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Niuguiying · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Guo Caiping · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗