Su Opera
01 · Historical Records
In 1912 the spoken-and-sung nanci already had a simple costumed form of performance; in 1941 Zhu Guoliang founded the Guofeng New-style Su Opera Troupe in Shanghai, attempting to develop the spoken-and-sung nanci into the independent operatic vocal genre Su opera and to have Su opera performed in mixed bills together with kunqu. The great majority of the qiantan repertoire works derive from kunqu. The Romance of the Western Chamber, The Peony Pavilion, The Red Pear, Lanke Mountain, The Jade Hairpin, The Embroidered Tunic, The West Tower, Taking the Flower Champion and Yu Jia Le are its representative plays; in performance they are given mainly as excerpt plays, their plots and dialogue are basically the same as in kunqu, while the sung lines have been changed from the mixed long-and-short line into the plain and easily understood seven-syllable line.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Su opera was formed by the confluence of huagu tanhuang with nanci and kunqu, and is popular in the towns and villages of southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. Its predecessor, Su tan, was originally called the spoken-and-sung nanci and is popularly known as “da shantou” (“going up the hilltop”); it is a form of folk art in which the performers sit in a circle and sing a cappella. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Su opera grew up healthily. The music and vocal styles of Su opera have three main sources: first, kunqu tune patterns; second, nanci; third, tanhuang tunes. Because it is deeply influenced by kunqu, the musical style of Su opera is supple and clear, delicate and moving, while retaining the plain and flowing character of Su tan. Its accompaniment is led by the erhu, together with Jiangnan sizhu. Commonly used traditional tunes include several dozen items such as the Taiping tune, the Xiansuo tune, the Fei family tune, the Chai tune, the Mind-Snatching tune, the Silver Whirl and the Flowing Water mode; in addition there are tunes deriving from kunqu such as [A River Breeze], [Crimson Lips], [Locking the South Branch] and [Yudiao Pai Ge], together with folk ditties current in the Suzhou area such as [Spring Tune], [Splitting the Jade], [Great Nine Links] and [Little Nine Links]; there are also various ban forms such as manban, kuaiban and sanban. The role types of Su opera are basically the same as those of kunqu. They now include laowai, laosheng, fumo, guansheng, jinsheng, pheasant-tail sheng, qiongsheng, laodan, zhengdan, zuodan, sidan, wudan, liudan, jing, fu and chou. Actors often double in several lines: laosheng also plays laowai and fumo, fu also plays chou, and zhengdan also plays zuodan, sidan, wudan and liudan, and so on. The performance of Su opera also draws fully on the experience of kunqu; it is graceful and varied, fine and expressive. To suit the fact that Su opera actors are not skilled at dance, the plot is sometimes modified to an appropriate degree. The houtan repertoire works include material adapted and transplanted from kunqu and other genres and from folk art, as well as shidiao ditties and topical sketches sung solo by the chou role; Jiao Ge, Zhang San Borrows the Boots, Song Shou, Visiting Kin and Quarreling, Selling the Haystack, Begging for a Vegetarian Meal and Touring the Eighteen Views are all representative houtan plays. Suzhou tanhuang, the foundation and soul of Su opera, has a long history, deep traditions and rich resources; Su opera itself is closely connected with kunqu in literature, music, performance and many other respects, fully embodying the character of Suzhou culture.
Xi Xiang Ji (The Romance of the Western Chamber)
The great majority of the qiantan repertoire works derive from kunqu. The Romance of the Western Chamber, The Peony Pavilion, The Red Pear, Lanke Mountain, The Jade Hairpin, The Embroidered Tunic, The West Tower, Taking the Flower Champion and Yu Jia Le are its representative plays; in performance they are given mainly as excerpt plays, their plots and dialogue are basically the same as in kunqu, while the sung lines have been changed from the mixed long-and-short line into the plain and easily understood seven-syllable line.
Mudan Ting (The Peony Pavilion)
The great majority of the qiantan repertoire works derive from kunqu. The Romance of the Western Chamber, The Peony Pavilion, The Red Pear, Lanke Mountain, The Jade Hairpin, The Embroidered Tunic, The West Tower, Taking the Flower Champion and Yu Jia Le are its representative plays; in performance they are given mainly as excerpt plays, their plots and dialogue are basically the same as in kunqu, while the sung lines have been changed from the mixed long-and-short line into the plain and easily understood seven-syllable line.
Hongli Ji (The Red Pear)
The great majority of the qiantan repertoire works derive from kunqu. The Romance of the Western Chamber, The Peony Pavilion, The Red Pear, Lanke Mountain, The Jade Hairpin, The Embroidered Tunic, The West Tower, Taking the Flower Champion and Yu Jia Le are its representative plays; in performance they are given mainly as excerpt plays, their plots and dialogue are basically the same as in kunqu, while the sung lines have been changed from the mixed long-and-short line into the plain and easily understood seven-syllable line.
Lanke Shan (The Rotten Axe)
The great majority of the qiantan repertoire works derive from kunqu. The Romance of the Western Chamber, The Peony Pavilion, The Red Pear, Lanke Mountain, The Jade Hairpin, The Embroidered Tunic, The West Tower, Taking the Flower Champion and Yu Jia Le are its representative plays; in performance they are given mainly as excerpt plays, their plots and dialogue are basically the same as in kunqu, while the sung lines have been changed from the mixed long-and-short line into the plain and easily understood seven-syllable line.
Yuzan Ji (The Jade Hairpin)
The great majority of the qiantan repertoire works derive from kunqu. The Romance of the Western Chamber, The Peony Pavilion, The Red Pear, Lanke Mountain, The Jade Hairpin, The Embroidered Tunic, The West Tower, Taking the Flower Champion and Yu Jia Le are its representative plays; in performance they are given mainly as excerpt plays, their plots and dialogue are basically the same as in kunqu, while the sung lines have been changed from the mixed long-and-short line into the plain and easily understood seven-syllable line.
Xiuru Ji (The Embroidered Tunic)
The great majority of the qiantan repertoire works derive from kunqu. The Romance of the Western Chamber, The Peony Pavilion, The Red Pear, Lanke Mountain, The Jade Hairpin, The Embroidered Tunic, The West Tower, Taking the Flower Champion and Yu Jia Le are its representative plays; in performance they are given mainly as excerpt plays, their plots and dialogue are basically the same as in kunqu, while the sung lines have been changed from the mixed long-and-short line into the plain and easily understood seven-syllable line.
Xilou Ji (The West Tower)
The great majority of the qiantan repertoire works derive from kunqu. The Romance of the Western Chamber, The Peony Pavilion, The Red Pear, Lanke Mountain, The Jade Hairpin, The Embroidered Tunic, The West Tower, Taking the Flower Champion and Yu Jia Le are its representative plays; in performance they are given mainly as excerpt plays, their plots and dialogue are basically the same as in kunqu, while the sung lines have been changed from the mixed long-and-short line into the plain and easily understood seven-syllable line.
Zhan Hua Kui (Taking the Flower Champion)
The great majority of the qiantan repertoire works derive from kunqu. The Romance of the Western Chamber, The Peony Pavilion, The Red Pear, Lanke Mountain, The Jade Hairpin, The Embroidered Tunic, The West Tower, Taking the Flower Champion and Yu Jia Le are its representative plays; in performance they are given mainly as excerpt plays, their plots and dialogue are basically the same as in kunqu, while the sung lines have been changed from the mixed long-and-short line into the plain and easily understood seven-syllable line.
Yu Jia Le (The Fisherman's Delight)
The great majority of the qiantan repertoire works derive from kunqu. The Romance of the Western Chamber, The Peony Pavilion, The Red Pear, Lanke Mountain, The Jade Hairpin, The Embroidered Tunic, The West Tower, Taking the Flower Champion and Yu Jia Le are its representative plays; in performance they are given mainly as excerpt plays, their plots and dialogue are basically the same as in kunqu, while the sung lines have been changed from the mixed long-and-short line into the plain and easily understood seven-syllable line.
Jiao Ge (Teaching Songs)
The houtan repertoire works include material adapted and transplanted from kunqu and other genres and from folk art, as well as shidiao ditties and topical sketches sung solo by the chou role; Jiao Ge, Zhang San Borrows the Boots, Song Shou, Visiting Kin and Quarreling, Selling the Haystack, Begging for a Vegetarian Meal and Touring the Eighteen Views are all representative houtan plays.
Zhang San Jie Xue (Zhang San Borrows the Boots)
The houtan repertoire works include material adapted and transplanted from kunqu and other genres and from folk art, as well as shidiao ditties and topical sketches sung solo by the chou role; Jiao Ge, Zhang San Borrows the Boots, Song Shou, Visiting Kin and Quarreling, Selling the Haystack, Begging for a Vegetarian Meal and Touring the Eighteen Views are all representative houtan plays.
Song Shou
The houtan repertoire works include material adapted and transplanted from kunqu and other genres and from folk art, as well as shidiao ditties and topical sketches sung solo by the chou role; Jiao Ge, Zhang San Borrows the Boots, Song Shou, Visiting Kin and Quarreling, Selling the Haystack, Begging for a Vegetarian Meal and Touring the Eighteen Views are all representative houtan plays.
Tan Qin Xiang Ma (Visiting Kin and Quarreling)
The houtan repertoire works include material adapted and transplanted from kunqu and other genres and from folk art, as well as shidiao ditties and topical sketches sung solo by the chou role; Jiao Ge, Zhang San Borrows the Boots, Song Shou, Visiting Kin and Quarreling, Selling the Haystack, Begging for a Vegetarian Meal and Touring the Eighteen Views are all representative houtan plays.
Mai Caotun (Selling the Haystack)
The houtan repertoire works include material adapted and transplanted from kunqu and other genres and from folk art, as well as shidiao ditties and topical sketches sung solo by the chou role; Jiao Ge, Zhang San Borrows the Boots, Song Shou, Visiting Kin and Quarreling, Selling the Haystack, Begging for a Vegetarian Meal and Touring the Eighteen Views are all representative houtan plays.
Da Zhai Fan (Begging for a Vegetarian Meal)
The houtan repertoire works include material adapted and transplanted from kunqu and other genres and from folk art, as well as shidiao ditties and topical sketches sung solo by the chou role; Jiao Ge, Zhang San Borrows the Boots, Song Shou, Visiting Kin and Quarreling, Selling the Haystack, Begging for a Vegetarian Meal and Touring the Eighteen Views are all representative houtan plays.
Youguan Shibajing (Touring the Eighteen Views)
The houtan repertoire works include material adapted and transplanted from kunqu and other genres and from folk art, as well as shidiao ditties and topical sketches sung solo by the chou role; Jiao Ge, Zhang San Borrows the Boots, Song Shou, Visiting Kin and Quarreling, Selling the Haystack, Begging for a Vegetarian Meal and Touring the Eighteen Views are all representative houtan plays.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The traditional repertoire of Su opera is the same as that of the costumed Su tan, and is divided into two main categories, qiantan and houtan.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In recent years popular culture and modern art have struck Su opera hard: audiences have fallen off sharply and troupes find it hard to survive, so the rescue and protection of this important local genre is extremely urgent. Jiang Yufang (official archival record of the associated inheritor): In 1951 she joined the Shanghai Citizens' Minfeng Su Opera Troupe (the predecessor of the provincial Su-Kun opera troupe); she was one of the founders of the Su opera troupe and served as a leading performer throughout. She was skilled at absorbing the tunes of the various sister genres to enrich the vocal styles of Su opera, and became a founder of the xiaosheng art of Su opera. Her representative works include Drunken Return from Flower Champion Ji. Female, of Han ethnicity, born in 1922, died in 2008, native of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Representative inheritor of Su opera under the second national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage projects, and a first-class performer. Yin Siming (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Female, of Han ethnicity, born in 1921, native of Shanghai. In the 1950s she settled in Suzhou together with the troupe. She began in the dan line, later switched to xiaosheng, and in 1956 changed again to laosheng; she newly created many female laosheng vocal styles for Su opera, solving the problem of the comparatively weak laosheng tunes in Su opera, and composed music and devised vocal styles for many Su opera plays. Her representative works include Autumn Moon in the Han Palace, The Pearl Pagoda, The Chronicle of the White Rabbit and The Fifth Girl. Representative inheritor of Su opera under the second national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage projects.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Jiang Yufang 02-0576
- Yin Siming 02-0577
- Ding Jie 03-1045
- Yin Jiaqi 05-2365
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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