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. According to the relevant classical records, the writings and treatises, and the oral material handed down by performers through the ages, Languan opera began in the late Ming and flourished in the early Qing. At the end of the Ming dynasty, when Yiyang qiang was sweeping the whole country, it reached Laizhou; this became the important occasion for the emergence of early "Languan opera" and brought about its gestation and first stirrings.

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. Languan opera is an ancient high-register operatic genre current in Laizhou, Zhaoyuan and other places on the Jiaodong Peninsula; it is the descendant of Yiyang qiang in Jiaodong. Languan opera inherits and imitates Yiyang qiang in its melodic feature of "misusing the local dialect", in its mode of expression "whose measures are carried by the drum and whose tunes are loud", and it has also absorbed the folk melodies of Jiaodong together with other elements. Nearly a hundred plays are staged by Languan opera, chief among them the two large serial stage works Journey to the East and Journey to the West.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

In Languan opera the "chorus, percussion and singing" form an integrated whole whose elements reflect one another and lend brilliance to one another, and they are the three pillars of the music of this genre. The local people hold that "those who can sing it find it fairly pleasing to the ear", and there is a saying that "when Languan opens its stage, wives and mothers rush about until they lose their shoes".

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The history of Languan opera is a history of the development of a vocal operatic genre; the evolution and the transmission of Languan opera are the "guide" by which we explore the ancient cultural content of Languan opera, and it has outstanding academic value and value as historical material. Excavating, rescuing and protecting this ancient genre will be of great benefit to enriching and completing the history of Chinese theatre and to the development of national music.

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 (Laizhou, Shandong) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗