Beilubangzi
01 · Historical Records
It was officially named Beilu bangzi in 1954. Drawing on the Shanxi volume of the Annals of Chinese Xiqu, Beilu bangzi branched off from Shanshan bangzi and had already formed an independent “upper-road tune” in northern Shanxi and inside and outside the Yanmen Pass by the mid-Qing, developing in parallel with zhonglu bangzi; in 1954 the opera world formally named it Beilu bangzi.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Beilu bangzi is the “upper-road tune” that split off from “Shanshan bangzi”, also called “northern-road tune” or “northern-road opera”. It is found in northern Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, north-western Hebei and parts of Shaanxi. The Yunzhou dao (Great Northern Road) of Beilu bangzi is one of its more influential schools, widely distributed and distinct from the other schools in singing, music, performance and repertory through its frontier character. Its singing is marked by the “ke-ke tune” (also hai-hai), high-pitched and vigorous with florid passages and angular rhythm; the civil section uses banhu and erxian and the martial section marks the beat with the bangzi, the main roles being xusheng, qingyi and hualian, with an emphasis on stance and bearing.
Zou Xueshan (Walking in the Snow)
A distinctive piece reflecting local history; its “walking in the snow” scene has been staged without break and is highly influential in the areas where the genre is found.
Xueshou Yin (The Bloody Handprint)
A frequently staged traditional piece of Beilu bangzi and one of the representative works of the inheritor Zhang Caiping.
Yutangchun
A traditional dan-role piece of Beilu bangzi and one of Zhang Caiping's representative works.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The repertory of the “Great Northern Road” includes both the fine pieces common to bangzi opera and distinctive pieces reflecting local history, such as Walking in the Snow, whose “walking in the snow” scene has been performed without break and is highly influential in the areas where it is found. The Yunzhou dao (Great Northern Road) of Beilu bangzi is greatly welcomed by the people of its areas of distribution and plays a leading role in the prosperity of local opera. Beilu bangzi is found in northern Shanxi, central and western Inner Mongolia and Zhangjiakou in Hebei and, according to region and lineage, divides into schools such as the Yunzhou dao of Datong (Great Northern Road) and the Daizhou dao (Small Northern Road, also called “erhou”) around Daixian, each with its own singing, repertory and performance.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Beilubangzi.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At the same time it has played a great part in the completion and development of ban-style singing and is of important value to the study of bangzi opera's history. As an important major genre of northern Shanxi and beyond the Great Wall, Beilu bangzi preserves the early forms of bangzi opera and a large repertory of historical subjects; in recent years the locality, relying on the Datong Beilu Bangzi and Shuahai Opera Conservation and Training Centre, has promoted transmission by reviving traditional plays, recording vocal music and training young actors. Zhang Caiping (as recorded in the official dossier of an associated inheritor): female, Han, born in October 1960 in Huairen county, Shanxi. A national first-grade actor. She inherited the “ke-ke tune”, the most distinctive part of Beilu bangzi singing, and broke through the traditional method that was “more hardness than beauty”; in performance she inherits vertically and borrows horizontally, excelling in water-sleeve and stage-step techniques, and has created more than a hundred artistic images. Her representative works include Bloody Handprint, Wang Baochuan, Qin Jia Fu, Selling the Young Master, Yutangchun and Green Leaf Love. For many years she has worked at training talent, personally teaching representative works and traditional singing, and several of her disciples have become leading performers. She is a representative inheritor of Beilu bangzi in the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Li Wanlin 02-0472
- Dixiaoan 02-0473
- Yang Zhongyi 03-0990
- Cheng Fengying 03-0991
- Zhang Caiping 04-1606
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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