Caicha Opera
01 · Historical Records
Ji'an caicha opera is a traditional local genre transmitted mainly in Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province. Also known as the 'flower-drum troupe' (or 'flower-drum lantern') or the 'three-leg troupe', it originated in the early Ming dynasty and took shape in the late Qing dynasty. Ji'an was formerly called 'Luling'. It lies in central Jiangxi Province, on the middle reaches of the Gan River and in the central section of the Luoxiao Mountains, and has been a land of outstanding people since antiquity: from the Tang and Song dynasties through the Ming and Qing, 3,007 metropolitan graduates (jinshi) were produced here, and historical figures such as Ouyang Xiu, Yang Wanli, Wen Tianxiang and Xie Jin were all born here.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Ji'an caicha opera came about through the merging of Ji'an's flower-drum lantern and three-leg troupe, while at the same time drawing on and absorbing the repertoire, tunes and performance of Hunan opera, Peking opera and the Xinyu flower-drum troupe. Its vocal styles and tunes are mainly the flower-drum caicha tune and the Chuan tune. Plays are as a rule named after their tunes, one play to one tune; there are more than 110 tunes and more than 50 tune patterns. Its tunes are rich and may be roughly divided into the half-troupe class, the three-leg-troupe class, the southern-and-northern-ci class and the xiaodiao class. Ji'an caicha opera fuses the Ji'an dialect with caicha opera music, and its singing combines the true and the false voice registers: some are rough and plain, some fresh and lively, some plaintive and moving. It preserves the vocal styles, tunes and metrical modes of Ji'an in Jiangxi, and develops innovatively through continual borrowing and fusion. Its performance is described as 'seven tight, eight broad, nine relaxed'. Representative ones include the dwarf step, in which the performer squats on both knees, sets the front foot down with the heel left off the ground, and swings the hips and shoulders; the crutch step, in which the performer hunches the back, bends the legs, droops the left hand and twists the mouth, walking with a lurch and looking comically awkward; the skirt skill, in which the hips are lifted back rhythmically, carrying the skirt at the waist up with them; the fan skill, in which clown and dan roles swing folding fans through a great variety of patterns; and feats of skill such as the two-finger zen and shadowboxing with a candle balanced on top of the head. Ji'an caicha opera has a large and varied repertoire, made up mainly of single-actor plays, three-leg-troupe plays, half-troupe plays, and traditional plays transplanted and adapted, numbering more than 300.
Bird Catching
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, more than 100 excellent plays were sorted out, such as Bird Catching, Mending a Back Apron, Distant Mountains and The Village Judge.
Mending a Back Apron
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, more than 100 excellent plays were sorted out, such as Bird Catching, Mending a Back Apron, Distant Mountains and The Village Judge.
Distant Mountains
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, more than 100 excellent plays were sorted out, such as Bird Catching, Mending a Back Apron, Distant Mountains and The Village Judge.
The Village Judge
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, more than 100 excellent plays were sorted out, such as Bird Catching, Mending a Back Apron, Distant Mountains and The Village Judge.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Ji'an caicha opera is transmitted mainly in the counties of Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province. Ji'an was formerly called 'Luling' and lies in central Jiangxi Province, on the middle reaches of the Gan River and in the central section of the Luoxiao Mountains. It came about through the merging of Ji'an's flower-drum lantern and three-leg troupe, and it draws on and absorbs the repertoire, tunes and performance of Hunan opera, Peking opera and the Xinyu flower-drum troupe. It has now reached a scale of more than 250 folk caicha troupes and 11 professional caicha theatre troupes at municipal and county level, and it gives more than 1,800 performances of opera into the countryside every year, which makes it the most important form of theatrical activity in the rural areas of central Jiangxi.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Caicha Opera · Caicha Opera · Caicha Opera · Caicha Opera · Caicha Opera · Caicha Opera.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, more than 100 excellent plays were sorted out, such as Bird Catching, Mending a Back Apron, Distant Mountains and The Village Judge. The repertoire of Ji'an caicha opera is close to life and close to the people; it mainly reflects rural labour and production, the pleasures and concerns of everyday life, and the love between young men and women. Since its formation it has remained popular in performance and has been handed down to the present day, and its documented lines of transmission have already reached six generations. At present the item comprises more than 250 folk caicha troupes and 11 professional caicha theatre troupes at municipal and county level, giving more than 1,800 performances into the countryside every year to an audience of close to 600,000. Ji'an caicha opera is a crystallisation of the wisdom of Ji'an's folk performers, developed and fused innovatively over several hundred years. It has a broad mass following and a strong local flavour, and embodies Chinese virtues such as benevolence and love, putting the people first, keeping faith and esteeming righteousness. It has fairly high historical, cultural and artistic value, and plays a positive role in enriching the spiritual life of the masses, realising local cultural identity and promoting social harmony.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Chen Shengqiang 02-0595
- Li Jiagao 03-1057
- Chen Binmao 04-1647
- Wan Anan 04-1648
- Wu Yancheng 04-1649
- Peng Jinhua 05-2376
- Wu Lan
- Chu Fengrong
- Fei Lijun
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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