Hanju Opera

01 · Historical Records

Han opera was formerly called chudiao or handiao and is also known as chuqiang or chuqu; it first took shape during the Kangxi and Qianlong reigns of the Qing dynasty, moved towards further maturity in the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns, and to the present has a history of more than three hundred years. In the history of the development of Chinese xiqu, Han opera made a special contribution to the formation of Beijing opera, and has also influenced, to varying degrees, local operatic genres such as Sichuan opera, Dian opera, Gui opera, Xiang opera, Yue opera and Gan opera; it is important historical material for studying the banqiang system of xiqu and the evolution of the musical structure of xiqu, and a resource for artistic innovation.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

It is popular in Hubei Province and reaches parts of Hunan, Henan, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Guangdong, Anhui, Jiangxi, Guizhou and Shanxi provinces. The vocal styles of Han opera are centred on xipi and erhuang; it was the first to bring about the merging of pihuang, enriching and perfecting the expressive functions of banqiang music. It has more than four hundred tune patterns, in three categories: suona, flute and silk-string. Accompanying instruments include huqin, erhu, yueqin, sanxian, flute, pipa, suona, gong and cymbals, and it also inserts the chuanda (Sichuan-style striking) of the horse gong, forming a character of its own. The role types of Han opera are relatively complete, divided into ten in all: mo, jing, sheng, dan, chou, wai, xiao, tie, fu and za. Each role type has its own performance procedure, and this has had a considerable influence on the enrichment and development of role types in sibling genres. In its development Han opera produced in succession many outstanding artists such as Mi Yingxian, Yu Sansheng, Yu Hongyuan, Dong Yaojie, Li Caiyun, Li Chunsen, Wu Tianbao and Chen Bohua; especially the Wu (Tianbao) school and the Chen (Bohua) school of performance art formed after Liberation represent the high point of Han opera's development and have a wide influence across the country.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Han opera is popular in Hubei Province, reaching parts of Hunan, Henan, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Guangdong, Anhui, Jiangxi, Guizhou and Shanxi provinces. Within Hubei it is centred on Wuhan and has several different lines of transmission, namely the Xianghe, Jinghe, Fuhe and Hanhe lines; the schools differ slightly in their vocal styles, speech delivery and repertoire preferences, and among them the Wu school and the Chen school of performance art of the Wuhan line have the greatest influence.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Han opera has a rich repertoire, said to number eight hundred plays; more than six hundred and fifty survive today and about three hundred more are fairly popular. They draw mainly on historical romances and legendary stories, and the representative repertoire includes Shuang Jin Zhong, Liang Lang Shan, Sheng Si Ban, Da Hua Gu, Shen Tao Da, He Yin Pai, Zhan Li Hu, Yuzhou Feng, Nao Jin Jie, Ku Zu Miao and others. Since the 1960s Han opera troupes have sharply decreased in number all over the province; to this day only two professional Han opera troupes remain within Hubei Province, many plays and traditional techniques are being lost as the old artists pass away, and urgent rescue and protection is needed. Chen Bohua (as recorded in the official dossier of the associated inheritor): female, Han, born in 1919, a native of Wuhan, Hubei. For many years Chen Bohua has remained active on the stage. Building on the inherited traditional art of Han opera and drawing widely on the strengths of many schools, she created the Chen school vocal style, which is ornate and delicately indirect, fine and rounded; in performance she excels in expressing the thoughts and temperament of characters through the glance, the fingering and the body movement, vivid and lifelike. Representative works include Yuzhou Feng, Er Du Mei and others. Representative inheritor of Han opera in the second national-level batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage projects; president of the Wuhan Han Opera Theatre of Hubei Province and a first-class actor. Hu Heyan (as recorded in the official dossier of the associated inheritor): female, Han, born in November 1947, a native of Wuhan city, Hubei Province. A national first-class actor. In 1958 she entered the Han opera section of the Wuhan opera school, specialising in the qingyi role, and joined the Wuhan Han opera troupe after graduation. She has inherited the ornate and delicately indirect character of the Chen school vocal style, paying attention to a voice that conceals beauty within breadth and holds strength within softness, forming a singing style that is airy and pure, refined and elegant. The Chen school classics she has starred in, such as Zhuang Yuan Mei, Yuzhou Feng and Qin Xianglian, have been highly praised; the modern Han operas she has starred in, such as The Red Detachment of Women and Jiang Jie, show innovative development; the newly composed historical drama she starred in, Chuang Wang Qi, was filmed as an opera art film, and the costume drama Hu Tan, in which she starred, was filmed as a television series. Representative inheritor of Han opera in the third national-level batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage projects. In 1980 she took Chen Bohua as her master and became a first-generation transmitter of Chen school Han opera art. In 1991 she won the eighth China Drama Plum Blossom Award. She has been engaged for many years in transmitting Han opera art and has trained a number of Han opera qingyi actors.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

• Chen Bohua 02-0522
• Hu Heyan 03-1016
• Cheng Caiping 03-1017
• Cheng Liangmei 04-1633
• Yao Changsheng 05-2341

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Hanju Opera (Wuhan, Hubei) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Chen Bohua · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Hu Heyan · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗