Liuzi Opera
01 · Historical Records
Liuzi was at the height of its fashion in the mid-Qing period, and was once grouped together with the kun, Yiyang and bangzi styles as “southern Kun, northern Yiyang, eastern Liuzi, western bangzi”. Liuzi opera absorbs a variety of ancient vocal styles that have flourished since the Ming and Qing dynasties and preserves more than six hundred tune patterns, which gives it an irreplaceable importance for the study of northern Chinese drama and of Yuan-dynasty sanqu.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Liuzi opera is also called xianzi opera, and further known as beidiao zi and kangwozi; it is popular over a wide area covering Shandong, Henan, northern Jiangsu, southern Hebei and northern Anhui. It evolved out of the folk tunes and xiaoling popular in the Central Plains since the Yuan and Ming dynasties; because its principal narrative-singing melody, “Liuzi”, is plain and easily understood and widely influential, the genre came to be called Liuzi opera. Liuzi opera consists mainly of suqu and Liuzi, the suqu part carrying the greater weight; more than a hundred tune patterns survive, and its melodies are generally divided into yue diao, ping diao, xia diao, erba diao, kun diao and zhuan diao. The suqu is accompanied by the sanxian, transverse flute and sheng; in performance the “guaxu” device may be used, inserting long passages of seven-syllable or ten-syllable lines into the short and long verses to suit the needs of the action. Its musical style is mellow and pleasing, able to convey intricate and delicate states of mind. Liuzi belongs to the ban-form variable type, sung in plain seven-syllable lines and accompanied by the sanxian and sheng, which shows a strong local character. In the course of its development Liuzi opera also absorbed the vocal styles, performance and repertory of such genres as gaoqiang, Qingyang qiang, luantan, Kun opera, luoluo qiang and pihuang; the sanxian is the leading instrument, with the sheng and flute in support. It has aptly been likened to “nine vocal styles and eighteen melodies”, a phrase that conveys the richness and variety of its vocal colouring. More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others. Its role types are divided with considerable refinement: the sheng roles include the unpainted wen sheng, jiazisheng, xiusheng, wusheng and white-bearded laosheng; the dan roles include qingyi, hongyi, guimen dan and laodan; the jing roles include the red-faced jing and the black face; and the chou roles include wenchou and wuchou. Its performance is marked by a bold and uninhibited style and is warmly welcomed by local audiences.
Sun An Reveals His Origins
More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others.
Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate
More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others.
Chronicle of the White Rabbit
More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others.
Chronicle of the Golden Lock
More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others.
Playing Music and Boarding the Boat
More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others.
Embracing the Dressing Box
More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others.
Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring
More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others.
The Attack on Dengzhou
More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others.
Whipping the Reed Catkins
More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others.
Sawing the Big Water Jar
More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Liuzi opera is popular over a wide area covering Shandong, Henan, northern Jiangsu, southern Hebei and northern Anhui. At the height of its fashion in the mid-Qing, Liuzi was grouped with the kun, Yiyang and bangzi styles as “southern Kun, northern Yiyang, eastern Liuzi, western bangzi”, of which “eastern Liuzi” denotes Liuzi opera based in Shandong. Today only the Shandong Province Liuzi Opera Troupe, which styles itself “the number one troupe under heaven”, still upholds the banner of eastern Liuzi, and the lineage handed down by old artists around Heze and Yuncheng in Shandong is the root from which it draws its life.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Liuzi Opera.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
For a variety of reasons, only the Shandong Province Liuzi Opera Troupe, which styles itself “the number one troupe under heaven”, still upholds the banner of “eastern Liuzi”, so the protection of this ancient genre can no longer wait. Li Yanzhen (per the official dossier of an associated inheritor): female, Han, born in 1942, a native of Yuncheng, Shandong. Her voice is slender, soft and restrained, sweet and pleasing to the ear; her diction is clear and her acting lifelike. Her representative works include Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Sun An Reveals His Origins and The Lute of Lingering Regret. A representative inheritor of Liuzi opera in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects, and a first-class actor. Huang Zunxian (per the official dossier of an associated inheritor): male, Han, born in 1932, a native of Yuncheng, Shandong. His performance combines civil and martial arts, and his singing is high-pitched and uninhibited. His representative works include Sun An Reveals His Origins, Three Returns by Boat and Wang Zhaojun. A representative inheritor of Liuzi opera in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects, and a first-class actor.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Li Yanzhen 02-0538
- Huang Zunxian 02-0539
- Li Songyun 03-1023
- Kong Xiangqi 03-1024
- Feng Baoquan 03-1025
- Chihaowen 04-1637
- Yang Xiangyu 04-1638
- Chen Yuan
- Yang Chunwei
- Chang Yinliang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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