Yanbeishuahaier

01 · Historical Records

Troupe activity for Shua Haier is already attested in the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns of the Qing dynasty, so its formation must date from at least that early period.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Shua Haier is also called the hehe qiang (coughing-style singing). It is a Chinese opera genre named after one of its tune patterns, circulating mainly in Datong and its surrounding areas in northern Shanxi Province. The vocal system of Shua Haier belongs to the tune-pattern (qupai) system and is called the pingquzi (level tune); it has three structural types: the 'main body', the 'main-inserted body' and the 'variant body'. Taking the principal tune as its skeleton, it inserts such tunes as xibo zi, kubo zi, dao san ban, ban bo zi, duo bo zi, meihua bo zi and chuan'er to form a complete set of vocal styles; at the same time it ingeniously absorbs the jieban and gunbai singing methods of bangzi opera, fusing the banqiang system of music with the qupai system into a single body, so that the transitions between them are free and leave no trace. Traditional accompaniment in Shua Haier is divided into the civil and the military ensembles. The civil ensemble is led by the banhu bowed fiddle and the flute, its melodic lines cheerful and lively, supple and clear-throated, while the military ensemble uses the large gong, small gong, drum and cymbals. Music and vocal style are closely integrated, producing a markedly harmonious effect. The most striking feature of Shua Haier is that its singing is produced with the rear throat, the sound squeezed out from the back of the throat, coughing first and singing afterwards, so that a distinctive timbre creates a rich and powerful sonic effect. Shua Haier has its own traditional repertoire, of which more than forty are representative, including Baimaguan (White Horse Pass), Qirenxian (Seven Worthies), Sanxiaopai (The Three Filial Piety Tablets), Dafotang (Beating the Buddha Hall), Duilianzhu (Paired Pearl Strings), Song Jingniang (Escorting the Lady to the Capital), Jinmuyu (The Golden Wooden Fish), Shizidong (Lion Cave), Huayuanhui (The Garden Meeting), Erlongshan (Two Dragons Mountain) and Ganjiao (Hastening the Journey). The role types of Shua Haier are divided into hong, hei, sheng, dan and chou, and the performance absorbs a great many folk dance movements, coming closer to everyday life and pervaded throughout by a local rustic flavour. Its distinctive method of vocal production, its lively and fiery percussion music, its rich repertoire drawn from widely varied subjects, and its highly individual genre style have drawn growing attention from scholars, who call it a 'living fossil' in the history of Chinese opera.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Yanbei Shua Haier circulates mainly in Datong City and the neighbouring counties of northern Shanxi Province, including Huairen, Ying County, Shanyin and Hunyuan. It is also called the hehe qiang; because its singing is produced in the rear throat, coughing before singing, it develops a distinctive timbre and is therefore known as a 'living fossil' of the history of Chinese opera. Local troupes rely mainly on temple-fair stages and on stages mounted for rural weddings and funerals, and it circulates in the same region alongside beilu bangzi (northern bangzi opera); the two have long interleaved one another in troupe organisation and in performance schedules.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Protecting this ancient genre is of significant importance for research into the origins, development, spread and survival of Chinese opera. Because of difficulties of funding and personnel, and above all because of its conflict with modern lifestyles, Yanbei Shua Haier now faces a crisis of survival and must be rescued and protected as soon as possible. Xue Ruihong (official inheritor file of the associated inheritor): Female, Han nationality, born in 1966, from Huairen, Shanxi. Xue Ruihong entered the Shua Haier class of the Datong Municipal Art School in 1979 and joined the Datong Municipal Shua Haier Troupe in 1982, specialising in xiao dan and hua dan and also playing qingyi. She studied under her father Xue Guozhi and is skilled in the Shua Haier techniques of wabu gong (digging-step work), the horsewhip technique, the fan technique and dengding (balancing a lamp on the head). Her representative works include Shizidong (Lion Cave), Sending the Younger Sister Home, Jinmuyu (The Golden Wooden Fish) and Presenting the Seal at the Yang Family Residence. Representative inheritor of Yanbei Shua Haier, second-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage item; national second-class performer. Wang Binxiang (official inheritor file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han nationality, born in 1962, from Ying County, Shanxi. Wang Binxiang entered the Shua Haier class of the Datong Municipal Art School in 1979 and joined the Datong Municipal Shua Haier Troupe from 1982, specialising in xu sheng and lao sheng. He studied under Gao Xian (stage name 'Sanwa Dan') and Sun You, and is skilled in the techniques of maochi (pigtail wigs), shaozi (palm-leaf fans) and rankou (beard manipulation). He inherited the housang (rear-throat) pronunciation, the most characteristic feature of Shua Haier singing, forming his own distinctive vocal style and musical effect. His principal works include Shizidong (Lion Cave), Dafotang (Beating the Buddha Hall), Sanxiaopai (The Three Filial Piety Tablets) and Jinmuyu (The Golden Wooden Fish). Representative inheritor of Yanbei Shua Haier, second-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage item; head of the Datong Municipal Shua Haier Troupe and first-class performer.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

• Xue Ruihong 02-0536
• Wang Binxiang 02-0537

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Yanbeishuahaier (Datong, Shanxi) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Xue Ruihong · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Wang Binxiang · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗