Dapingdiao
01 · Historical Records
Dapingdiao was originally called “Pingdiao”, also “Big Oil Bangzi” and “Big Bangzi Opera”, and is now generally known as “Dapingdiao”; it covers the border towns and countryside of the five provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan and Anhui and has a history of more than five hundred years. Dapingdiao had many troupes in its early period, and since the Ming and Qing nineteen have been relatively well known. Drawing on the Shandong volume of the Annals of Chinese Xiqu, it takes the name “pingdiao” because its vocal register is lower than that of Shandong bangzi (the “high tune”); it flourished in the Hebei–Shandong–Henan–Anhui borderland from the Ming and Qing, Dongming being an important area of activity for the Hedong pingdiao line, with troupes and artists transmitting the art over generations.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Over several centuries the genre has produced many celebrated artists renowned among the people. Its vocal music belongs to the banqiang system, with rich ban styles and qupai; the singing is both vivid and plain, and amid high, unrestrained and vigorous excitement it keeps a gentle, harmonious and expansive beauty. Its performance conventions are varied, true within exaggeration and perfect within boldness, showing fineness within roughness and softness within hardness, with a most distinctive personality. In performance its artists have absorbed folk martial-arts routines and wield real swords and spears on stage, a style all its own. Its repertory is mostly adapted from such classic novels as the Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cases of Judge Bao and the Yang Family Generals, and some is drawn from folk legend and history. After the founding of New China a number of modern plays were created and well received. It marks the beat with the bangzi and is led by the “big oil bangzi” together with large nao and cymbals, its tone deep and resonant, its singing drawing widely on folk tunes within the banqiang framework; its martial plays often absorb martial-arts routines and use real weapons, giving the genre a rough and bold character.
Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms
A classic novel from which much of the Dapingdiao repertory is adapted, alongside folk legend and historical story.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
A classic novel from which much of the Dapingdiao repertory is adapted.
Cases of Judge Bao
A classic novel from which much of the Dapingdiao repertory is adapted.
The Yang Family Generals
A classic saga from which much of the Dapingdiao repertory is adapted.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
In modern times Dapingdiao has gradually formed three branches—eastern-road pingdiao, western-road pingdiao and Hedong pingdiao—and the Dapingdiao popular in Dongming, Heze and elsewhere in Shandong belongs to the Hedong pingdiao.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Dapingdiao · Dapingdiao · Dapingdiao · Dapingdiao · Dapingdiao · Dapingdiao.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Its repertory, mostly drawn from chapter novels and folk legend, preserves a wealth of folk performing forms and is valuable for the study of local opera and folklore; the Dongming County Local Opera Intangible Heritage Conservation and Transmission Centre sustains the genre through troupe performance and teaching. Wu Congyin (as recorded in the official dossier of an associated inheritor): male, Han, born in January 1967 in Dongming county, Shandong. A national second-grade actor. In 1978 he entered the Dongming county Dapingdiao troupe and later took the veteran artist Guo Shenggao as his master, specialising in the xusheng role while performing and training at once. His range is wide and he sings in his natural voice, his singing high and resonant, vigorous and natural, full of flavour and local character; his acting is bold and precise, showing softness within hardness. After seeing his work Sisters as Empresses the celebrated lyricist Qiao Yu inscribed for him the words “round as jade, bright as pearls”. The Zhuge Liang he created combines spirit, dash, boldness and grandeur, his singing free, expansive, bright and flowing. He has repeatedly been invited to record programmes such as Shandong Television's Good Plays in Succession and Henan Television's Liyuan Chun. He is a representative inheritor of Dapingdiao in the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects, has won provincial first and second prizes many times since entering the profession, and in 2005 took part in the First Heze Young and Middle-aged Opera Actors Competition and “Ten Famous Performers” selection, winning the title of one of Heze's first “ten famous opera performers”.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhang Xiangbin 02-0489
- Wei Shouxian 02-0490
- Du Xuezhou 02-0491
- Cao Xiuzhi 02-0492
- He Xiliang 03-1000
- Li Deping 04-1612
- Wu Congyin 05-2323
- Zhoukuisheng
- Han Xuerong
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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