Jinju (Shanxi Opera)

Ⅳ-18Traditional OperaTaiyuan, ShanxiBatch 2 (2008)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

In the early years of the Qing, Puzhou bangzi (the Puzhou clapper opera) flowed into central Shanxi and was joined there to the Qitai yangge and the folk tunes of central Shanxi; through the efforts of Shanxi merchants and the local literati it grew into Jinju.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Jinju is one of the four bangzi (clapper) genres of Shanxi Province; since it originated in central Shanxi it is also known as the “central-route bangzi” (zhonglu bangzi), and provinces outside Shanxi call it “Shanxi bangzi”. It circulates chiefly in central and northern Shanxi and in parts of Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Hebei. It underwent several changes afterwards, and then spread to central Shanxi, northern Shanxi and parts of Inner Mongolia, Hebei and northern Shaanxi. The traditional repertoire of Jinju is rich, with more than two hundred plays staged regularly, such as The Wei River (Weishui he), Beating the Golden Branch (Da jin zhi), Mount Lintong (Lintong shan), The Belt of Heaven and Earth (Qiankun dai), The Kingdom of Shatuo (Shatuo guo), The Battle of Wancheng (Zhan wancheng), White Water Shoal (Baishui tan), The Golden Water Bridge (Jinshui qiao), The Fire Colt (Huoyan ju), The Palace of the Brahma King (Fanwang gong) and Twin-Locked Mountain (Shuangsuo shan). As it developed, Jinju kept the stirring, high-spirited artistic features of Puzhou bangzi while at the same time developing a supple and finely wrought lyrical style. It has a rich variety of vocal styles, among them luantan (free-rhythm singing), qiang’er and quzi; its metrical patterns are varied and its expressiveness is strong, for the luantan alone is divided into seven metrical types: Pingban (level plate), Jiaban (double plate), Erxing (second mode), Liushui (flowing water), Jieban (interlude plate), Gunbai (rolling speech) and Daoban (conducting plate). Beneath the influence of modern lifestyles and the impact of the commodity economy, the number of Jinju plays performed has dropped sharply; urban audiences have drained away in large numbers, while among rural audiences the elderly are the main body.

The Wei River

Jinju possesses a rich traditional repertoire, and upwards of two hundred plays are put on stage regularly: The Wei River (Weishui he), Beating the Golden Branch (Da jin zhi), Mount Lintong (Lintong shan), The Belt of Heaven and Earth (Qiankun dai), The Kingdom of Shatuo (Shatuo guo), The Battle of Wancheng (Zhan wancheng), White Water Shoal (Baishui tan), The Golden Water Bridge (Jinshui qiao), The Fire Colt (Huoyan ju), The Palace of the Brahma King (Fanwang gong), Twin-Locked Mountain (Shuangsuo shan) and others.

Beating the Golden Branch

Mount Lintong

The Belt of Heaven and Earth

The Kingdom of Shatuo

The Battle of Wancheng

White Water Shoal

The Golden Water Bridge

The Fire Colt

The Palace of the Brahma King

Twin-Locked Mountain

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The Zhangjiakou branch of Jinju is likewise called “kou bangzi” (mouth bangzi): it absorbs the local dialect and takes over artistic features from Beijing opera, Pingju, Hebei bangzi and others, which makes its singing full of resonance, and it has likewise given rise to a group of repertoire works of its own.

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

In this situation the prospects for Jinju are worrying, and protection is urgently needed. Gao Cuiying (per the official records of associated inheritors): female, of Han ethnicity, born in March 1943, native of Fenyang County, Shanxi Province. At the age of 10 she was admitted to the Taiyuan Municipal Drama School, where her first teachers were veteran performers such as Wang Luchun, Li Fangru, Yu Shaolou, Niu Guiying and Liu Shunnian. She specialised in the daomadan (female warrior) role, and later received instruction and guidance in a great many plays from Ban Shichao, the well-known Peking opera daomadan performer of Ningxia, from Guan Sushuang, the well-known Peking opera performing artist of Yunnan, and from celebrated performers such as Shang Xiaoyun. Her stage appearance is handsome and her voice is slender and clear; she can both dance and sing well. Not only is her basic training solid, but she is skilled at absorbing and borrowing the strengths of the various schools for her own use, and she goes on constantly with reform and innovation so that her art tends towards greater perfection. She has performed more than two hundred plays in all, among which the representative works Fengtai Pass (Fengtai guan), Presenting the Sword (Zeng jian), Mustering the Generals at the Three Passes (San guan dian shuai) and The King of Qi Bends His Bow (Qi wang la ma) have remained popular over the years. Representative inheritor of the fourth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item Jinju. Her performing activity has covered the whole province, and dozens of the actors she has trained have mostly become celebrated performers. Li Yuexian (per the official records of associated inheritors): female, of Han ethnicity, born in December 1940, native of Wenshui County, Shanxi Province. At the age of 13 she entered the Taiyuan Xinxin Opera Troupe and became a pupil of the famous Jinju master Ma Zhaolin (stage name Gen Genhong), specialising in the xusheng (mature male) role and studying the art of the Ma school. She afterwards sought instruction from the renowned Zhang Meiqin, and through the rehearsal of The Reed-Blossom River (Luhua he) acquired a number of techniques, laying a solid foundation for her art. On the basis of inheriting the art of the Ma school of Jinju she also made breakthroughs, above all her “baliaozi”, the high drawn-out cry she lets loose at moments of intense passion, which is said to be unsurpassed. Her stage performance rests on solid training and her bearing is gallant; she can also make ingenious use of hat wings, whiskers, shaozi (a long silk streamer carried on flags and spears) and the riding whip to portray a character in depth, and in particular the set sequence of “yankou gong” (whisker technique) is her own invention. Her representative plays include Watching the Battle Array (Guan zhen), Killing at the Post Station (Sha yi), The Token of Life and Death (Sheng si pai), Wen Long Returns to Song (Wen long gui Song), Mustering the Generals at the Three Passes (San guan dian shuai), The King of Qi Bends His Bow (Qi wang la ma), The Order of the Crouching Tiger (Wo hu ling) and Love and Regret in the Deep Palace (Shen gong qing hen). Representative inheritor of the fourth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item Jinju. She attaches great importance to training new talent, and has handed all of her classic plays over to her many disciples.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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