Daoqing Opera

01 · Historical Records

Daoqing opera is a folk small theatre form popular in the Yellow River basin of China. It originated in the "jingyun" (scripture chanting) sung by Daoist priests in the Tang dynasty, and in the Song dynasty developed into the narrative-singing art known as daoqing guzici, in which sung passages alternate with spoken narration. In the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty, the narrative-singing Daoqing current in northern Shanxi was transferred to the operatic stage and became a theatrical genre deeply loved by local audiences. After the 1980s, competition among the various art forms and entertainment media intensified and Daoqing opera was badly hit; amateur folk performances became ever rarer, professional troupes found survival difficult, and the genre urgently needed to be rescued and protected. Linxian Daoqing is a local operatic genre that evolved out of narrative-singing Daoqing. By the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty at the latest it had evolved into an operatic genre, and a state-run Daoqing troupe was founded in 1960. The traditional repertoire of Linxian Daoqing includes the "Han school Daoqing" plays, whose content mainly reflects Daoist subjects, and the "folk small operas" that circulated widely in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Because Linxian Daoqing evolved from folk narrative singing into an operatic genre, the manner and the course of its evolution are of important value for understanding the formation and development of Chinese theatre and the transformation of Chinese theatre music.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Around the time when northern Shanxi Daoqing was mounted on the operatic stage, Linxian Daoqing, current in western Shanxi, also went onto the stage; Hongtong Daoqing, current in southern Shanxi, was likewise brought to the stage twice, in the Xianfeng reign and in the Xuantong reign, but it did not survive. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Daoqing operas such as Hedong Daoqing, current in southern Shanxi, Zhoukou Daoqing of Zhoukou in Henan, and Languan opera of Shandong in turn developed into stage plays. The early repertoire of Daoqing mostly depicts the life of Daoists and propagates Daoist doctrine, among them Scripture Hall Meeting, Lin Ying in Two Acts and Tall Manor. The middle-period repertoire consists mostly of Daoist tales of the cultivation of virtue and exhortation to goodness, the representative plays being Wang Xiang Sleeping on the Ice, Guo Ju Burying His Son and Xiao Tao Grinding Ink. The repertoire of the middle and later periods tells stories reflecting folk life, the representative plays being Old and Young Exchanging Wives, Beating the Kitchen God, Balancing the Lamp and Beating the Knife. Daoqing opera in every locality has its own set of vocal tune patterns: northern Shanxi Daoqing has 【Shuahaier】, 【Xijiang Yue】, 【Langtaosha】 and others, while Linxian Daoqing has 【Qizi Diao】, 【Shizi Diao】, 【Zhongnan Diao】, 【Luotousha】, 【Yizhi Mei】, 【Taipingnian】, 【Yanzifei】 and others. In the civil section of Daoqing opera the accompanying instruments are the flute, four-string fiddle, large banhu and small banhu; in the martial section, apart from the yugu and jianban, the other instruments are the same as those used in bangzi opera. The roles fall into five lines: red (bearded male roles), black (painted-face roles), young male roles, female roles and clown roles. Performance puts the emphasis on the civil side rather than the martial, and its strength lies in singing. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, professional Daoqing troupes were established at Yingxian and Linxian in Shanxi, further perfecting and enhancing the singing art of Daoqing. Linxian lies on the middle reaches of the Yellow River, on the western side of the Luliang Mountains on the loess plateau of western Shanxi; across the river it faces Jia County and Wubao County of Shaanxi Province. Daoism flourished in Linxian in historical times, and many Daoist cultural relics and ancient buildings are preserved there to this day, giving rise to the saying that the county has "thirteen temples of contemplation and nine grand temple courtyards". Narrative-singing Daoqing was already active in the Song and Yuan dynasties. Down to the present day, Linxian Daoqing has remained a folk art form loved by the people of western Shanxi. After a professional troupe was founded, a batch of modern plays was created, imported and staged. The traditional vocal style of Linxian Daoqing is built on tune patterns and falls into two large classes: pingdiao, the vocal styles that took shape out of Daoist hymns, and xiaodiao, the vocal styles formed by combining local folk songs with Daoist songs. The pingdiao styles use the tune patterns employed in early narrative-singing Daoqing, chiefly 【Shuahaier】 (also called 【Zhongnan Diao】) and 【Langtaosha】; the xiaodiao styles are mainly Ming-Qing popular tunes and local ditties, chiefly 【Taiping Diao】, 【Wugeng Diao】, 【Xiaofangniu】 and others. Since modern times it has drawn on the structural mode of the banqiang vocal system, so that its vocal styles have moved towards the banqiang model. The accompanying instruments of Linxian Daoqing in the narrative-singing stage were the "eight immortals of the civil side" and the "eight immortals of the martial side", that is, the "four great instruments of the civil section" (guanzi, four-string fiddle, bamboo flute and sheng) together with the "four great instruments of the martial section" (yugu, jianban, small chai and wooden fish).

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

It circulates mainly in Linxian County of north-western Shanxi and along the Yellow River at the foot of the Luliang Mountains.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Daoqing Opera · Daoqing Opera · Daoqing Opera · Daoqing Opera · Daoqing Opera · Daoqing Opera · Daoqing Opera · Daoqing Opera.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Zhang Ruifeng (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, of Han ethnicity, born in 1964, native of Linxian, Shanxi. Zhang Ruifeng entered the Linxian Daoqing troupe in 1983 and has been with it ever since; he is now Party secretary and deputy head of the troupe. From 1990 to the present he has worked independently or in collaboration on the performance and composition of Linxian Daoqing and other artistic work. He is skilled in instrumental performance of Linxian Daoqing music (huhu) and in music design. He has inherited the distinctive techniques for performing the highly characteristic grace notes and the distinctive musical treatment of the xu-qiang empty vocal style in vocal-style design, and has formed a unique performing style and vocal effect. Representative works in which he took part in the accompaniment and music design include Vegetable Garden Matchmaking; he also took part in composing the Linxian Daoqing play Qikou Old Town and designed its vocal styles. He is a representative inheritor of Daoqing opera (Linxian Daoqing opera) in the second batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage projects, and a national third-grade instrumental performer. Ren Linlin (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Female, of Han ethnicity, born in 1969, native of Linxian, Shanxi. From September 2000 to July 2003 she studied drama at the Shanxi Vocational College of Drama, and in 2003 was appointed assistant to the head of the Linxian Daoqing troupe. She is skilled in bazi weapon-work, sword and spear work, stage gait and performance. She has inherited the characteristic singing method of the xu-qiang empty vocal style in Daoqing vocal styles, formed a unique vocal style and performance technique, and is also particularly accomplished in martial performance. She is a representative inheritor of Daoqing opera (Linxian Daoqing opera) in the second batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage projects, and a national third-grade performer. She also works as a director of Daoqing opera, and has taken part in writing and directing, for which she has won awards. Her award-winning works as a performer include Blocking the Horse and Qiuchuan Waist Drum, and her award-winning works as director include The Nanny.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

• Zhang Ruifeng 02-0605
• Ren Linlin 02-0606
• Zhu Ximei 02-0607
• Huang Fenglan 04-1652
• Liu Haozhi 04-1653
• Wu Cuihua 05-2384
• Lei Tongxia 05-2385
• Bianxiao 05-2386
• Ji Xianglin
• Fan Yu
• Dou Fengxia

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Daoqing Opera (Lin, Shanxi) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Zhang Ruifeng · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Ren Linlin · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗