Guiju Opera

01 · Historical Records

Guiju opera has a comparatively long history, beginning about the middle of the Ming dynasty. In the late Ming and early Qing the kunqiang style spread to Guangxi, and later gaoqiang and Yiyang tune were introduced in turn; several vocal styles fused with one another to form Guiju opera. With the rise of the 'three small plays' in the late Qing dynasty, the dan roles of Guiju opera were further subdivided into zhengdan, guimendan and beixindan and the like.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Guiju opera has a rich repertoire, traditionally said to number 'eight hundred plays, great and small, whole and mixed'; Da Jin Zhi (Beating the Golden Branch), Kao Huo Xia Shan (Stoking the Fire off the Mountain), Duan Qiao Hui (Meeting at the Broken Bridge), Qiang San (Snatching the Umbrella), Mu Guiying, Nao Yan Fu (Raising a Ruckus in the Yan Mansion), He Feng Jun (The Joined Phoenix Skirts), Li Kui Duo Yu (Li Kui Snatches the Fish), Si Shui Na Gang (Gang Yan Taken at the Si River), Pai Feng Yan Gun (Pai Feng Wields a Staff), Liu Qing Ti (Liu Qing Brought to Trial) and Dao Jia (Stealing the Armour) are among its representative plays. Guiju opera draws on the vocal styles and performing art of such genres as Qiju opera, Peking opera and kunqu; singing, acting, speaking and dance are all valued equally, and it is renowned for the delicacy of its singing and the vividness of its acting. Its vocal music belongs to the banqiang (metrical) system and is centred on tanqiang, while also singing gaoqiang, kunqiang, chuiqiang and miscellaneous tunes and ditties. Tanqiang is divided into two main lines, the southern line and the northern line; the northern line is high-pitched and vigorous, the southern line roundabout and low, and its modal variants 'yinpi' and 'beigong' each form a system of their own. The accompanying band is divided into a string section and a percussion section: the former uses the erxian, yueqin, sanxian, huqin, qudi, bangdi, suona and jina, while the latter uses the cuigu, zhangu, datanggu, xiaotanggu, ban, daluo, daba, xiaoluo, xiaoba, yunluo, xingzi and pengling. The sheng roles are again divided into sheng, mo, wai, xiao and wu, the dan roles into dan, zhan, tie and fu, the jing roles into jing, fujing and mojing, and the chou roles into only chou and xiaochou. There are also a number of walk-on minor characters collectively called 'za'. Guiju opera has no specialised yaodan role; the yaodan characters are usually played, along with the comic effect, by actors of the fujing, chou and fu roles. Guiju opera lays stress on acting; martial plays are often sung in a civil manner, its performance is plain and delicate and moving, and it concentrates on creating characters by artistic means rich in the flavour of everyday life. Rooted among the common people, Guiju opera has fused the distinctive local customs and human character of Guangxi, and has gradually formed a style that is delicate and graceful, lively and nimble, combining the forceful with the gentle, rich in local colour and close to the plain, simple beauty of real life.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Guiju opera is the principal local operatic genre of Guangxi, circulating in Guilin city, Liuzhou city, Hezhou city and Hechi city of Guangxi as well as in parts of the Mandarin-speaking areas of Wuzhou city, and reaching the southern part of Hunan Province and the north-western corner of Guangdong Province. Guiju opera is sung in the Guilin dialect, its tones are beautiful and rise and fall with expressive moderation. The role types of Guiju opera are divided into the four great categories of sheng, dan, jing and chou.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

For a variety of reasons Guiju opera has now fallen into an endangered condition: the tradition is draining away, the succession of performers is broken, plays and techniques are being lost, amateur performances are in deep difficulty, and the original artistic character of Guiju opera is gradually fading in the process. Measures are needed to discover, rescue and protect Guiju opera in good time, so that this ancient genre on the verge of extinction may regain its vitality. Qin Caixia (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Female, Han, born in 1933, a native of Guilin, Guangxi Province. Representative inheritor of Guiju opera under the second national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage projects, and a first-class performer. Zhou Xiaolankui (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han, born in 1933, a native of Guilin, Guangxi Province. His representative works include Nao Long Gong, Tang Zhixian Shen Gao Ming and Xue Si Yu Zhuo. Representative inheritor of Guiju opera under the second national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage projects, and a first-class performer.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

• Qin Caixia 02-0530
• Zhou Xiaolankui 02-0531
• Luo Guixia 04-1636
• Zhang Shuping 05-2348

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Guiju Opera (Guangxi) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Qin Caixia · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Zhou Xiaolankui · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗