Hebei Bangzi
01 · Historical Records
Hebei bangzi is the most representative local vocal genre of Hebei province; it was once called “Beijing bangzi”, “Zhili bangzi”, “Wei bangzi” and “Qinqiang”, and was formally named Hebei bangzi in 1952. In the mid-Qing, the Qinqiang and Shanxi bangzi that flowed into Beijing combined with the dialects and folk music of the Hebei region, and Hebei bangzi took shape in the Daoguang reign, being popular mainly in Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin and parts of Shandong and the north-east. After the 1930s it began to decline. Drawing on the Hebei volume of the Annals of Chinese Xiqu, after its formation Hebei bangzi saw reform currents such as the Zhili new school (also called “new bangzi”); in the first half of the twentieth century Tianjin and Beijing were its two centres and celebrated artists emerged in numbers, and after it was formally named in 1952 troupes in the two cities long exchanged singing styles and repertories, producing distinctive performing styles.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Hebei bangzi's vocal music belongs to the banqiang system, with manban, erliu, liushui, jianban and other ban types as well as various opening and closing tunes; the bangzi marks the beat in performance, accompanied by banhu, flute, bangzi and sheng. Its tone combines high excitement with a plaintive sweetness and excels at expressing stirring, tragic emotion. Its traditional repertory runs to more than five hundred pieces, among which Baolian Deng, Qin Xianglian, Jinshui Qiao, Du Shiniang, Hudie Bei, Dou E Yuan, Jiao Zi, Duan Qiao, San Shang Qiao, Xi Rong Gui, Da Jinzhi, Xun Guanniang, Nan Bei He and Su Wu Mu Yang are especially influential. Its role types are complete, with the xusheng, qingyi, huadan and hualian roles foremost; recitation uses the speech of the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei area; and the banhu leads the accompaniment, with bangzi marking the beat and lively drums and gongs.
Baolian Deng (The Magic Lotus Lantern)
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays; a myth in which Chenxiang, son of the goddess Sanshengmu, splits a mountain to rescue his mother.
Qin Xianglian
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays; Chen Shimei abandons his wife, and Judge Bao executes him.
Jinshui Qiao (The Golden Water Bridge)
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays, turning on the case of Qin Ying at the Jinshui Bridge.
Du Shiniang
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays, in which the courtesan Du Shiniang angrily sinks her jewel box.
Hudie Bei (The Butterfly Cup)
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays, telling of Tian Yuchuan and Hu Fenglian; a signature work of the inheritor Liu Yuling.
Dou E Yuan (The Injustice to Dou E)
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays, adapted from Guan Hanqing's tragedy; one of Liu Yuling's signature works.
Jiao Zi (Teaching the Son)
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays, a well-known domestic scene of a mother instructing her son.
Duan Qiao (The Broken Bridge)
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays, an excerpt from The White Snake.
San Shang Qiao (Three Times to the Bridge)
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays, long popular on the stage.
Xi Rong Gui (A Joyous Return in Honour)
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays, a comedy of a scholar's triumphant return.
Da Jinzhi (Beating the Princess)
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays, on Guo Ai and Princess Shengping.
Xun Guanniang
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays, telling of the girl Xun Guanniang who breaks through enemy lines to seek aid.
Nan Bei He (The North–South Match)
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays, long popular on the stage.
Su Wu Mu Yang (Su Wu Tends Sheep)
One of Hebei bangzi's more than five hundred traditional plays, on Su Wu's exile among the Xiongnu.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Hebei bangzi fully embodies the regional culture of Hebei and has produced a group of famous actors much loved by audiences, and the Hebei bangzi performances of Beijing and Tianjin each have their own style. The Beijing line stresses disciplined singing and recitation and civil plays, the Tianjin line excels in martial plays and huadan plays, and localities across Hebei preserve a strong rustic flavour; the Beijing Hebei Bangzi Troupe is the principal performing body of the Beijing line. The inheritor Liu Yuling is a leading actor of the Beijing Hebei Bangzi Troupe, her representative works including Hudie Bei, Gui Zhong Yuan and Dou E Yuan.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Hebei Bangzi · Hebei Bangzi.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, under the pressures of a market economy, the genre struggles to survive and stands on the brink of extinction, and rescue and protection are urgently needed. With more than five hundred traditional pieces it is an important object for studying the evolution of the bangzi system and the regional culture of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei area; facing market pressure, the two cities sustain the genre through revived productions, school programmes and the training of young actors. Liu Yuling (as recorded in the official dossier of an associated inheritor): female, Han, born in January 1947 in Beijing. A national first-grade actor and an expert receiving a special government allowance from the State Council, she later became a leading actor of the Beijing Hebei Bangzi Troupe. Her voice is round and sweet, wide in range and free from high to low, combining hardness and softness with clear light and shade; her appearance is dignified and handsome, her bearing graceful and unrestrained, and her characterisation vivid and expressive. She is a representative inheritor of Hebei bangzi in the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects. Her representative works include Hudie Bei, Gui Zhong Yuan and Dou E Yuan. She won the First China Drama Plum Blossom Award in 1984 and the twentieth China Drama Plum Blossom Award “second plum” in 2003, was named a 1994 outstanding expert of the Ministry of Culture in 1995, and has trained disciples including Gao Demin, Wang Hongling, Bai Xiaoling, Liu Zhixin, Jiang Linyan and Liu Yi (of Sichuan opera).
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Qi Huatan 02-0475
- Zhang Huiyun 02-0476
- Pei Yanling 02-0477
- Tian Chunniao 03-0996
- Liu Yuling 04-1608
- Liu Junying 04-1609
- Xu Heying 04-1610
- Yan Jianguo 05-2319
- Chen Chun
- Liu Fengling
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。