Hua Lantern Opera
01 · Historical Records
Huadeng opera is a principal local genre of Guizhou and Yunnan; it derives from folk lantern song-and-dance, developed into local opera in the late Qing and early Republic, and in its diffusion formed various singing and performing styles under the influence of local dialects, folk ditties and customs. Its most flourishing period in Yunnan was the 1950s and 1960s, when many famous huadeng actors such as Shi Baofeng, Xiong Jiechen and Yuan Liuan emerged and a group of plays renowned on the Yunnan stage appeared, including Tan Ganmei, Nao Du, Liu Cheng Kan Cai and San Fang Qin. Drawing on the Yunnan volume of the Annals of Chinese Xiqu, Yunnan huadeng grew out of folk lantern song-and-dance and, collated and adapted by professional troupes in the 1950s, moved from short plays to grand plays while absorbing the music and conventions of genres such as Dianju.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
In performance huadeng artists never let go of fans and handkerchiefs, singing and dancing, with singing and acting closely combined. Among them Dushan huadeng has more than one hundred and forty plays, including eighty-five early outline plays, twenty-seven adapted plays and twenty-seven newly created plays. Yunnan huadeng at first performed huadeng short operas with a heavy song-and-dance component; later, influenced by genres such as Dianju, plays with more intricate plots appeared, and the tunes of other genres were absorbed and varied, extended and renewed, forming new huadeng tunes. Yunnan huadeng takes “group scenes” and linked ditties as its structural basis, its tunes including Daobanjiang and Jinniussi, its actors singing and dancing with fans and handkerchiefs, its performance close to life, humorous and brisk.
Jinling Ji (The Golden Bell Tale)
One of the eighty-five early outline (tiangang) plays of Dushan huadeng.
Mangshe Ji (The Python Tale)
One of the eighty-five early outline (tiangang) plays of Dushan huadeng.
Zha Mei An (The Case of Beheading the Unfaithful Husband)
One of the twenty-seven adapted plays of Dushan huadeng.
Qimei and She Lang (Seventh Sister and the Snake Bridegroom)
One of the twenty-seven newly created plays of Dushan huadeng.
Tan Ganmei (Visiting the God-Sister)
A play renowned on the Yunnan huadeng stage.
Nao Du (The Boisterous Ferry)
A play renowned on the Yunnan huadeng stage.
Liu Cheng Kan Cai (Liu Cheng Watches the Vegetables)
A play renowned on the Yunnan huadeng stage.
San Fang Qin (Three Visits to Kin)
A play renowned on the Yunnan huadeng stage.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Guizhou huadeng is found mainly in Dushan, Zunyi, Bijie, Anshun and Tongren, with different names from place to place: in northern and western Guizhou “lantern-lined opera”, around Dushan “platform lantern”, and in Sinan and Yinjiang “high-platform opera” or huadeng opera. Yunnan huadeng has three main branches—Kunming, Yuxi and Yao'an—besides which there are extremely many minor branches. Yunnan huadeng has formed three main branches, Kunming, Yuxi and Yao'an; the Yunnan Provincial Huadeng Theatre, based on the Kunming line and drawing on the strengths of the others, attends to the creation of modern plays alongside traditional sketches.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Hua Lantern Opera · Hua Lantern Opera · Hua Lantern Opera · Hua Lantern Opera · Hua Lantern Opera · Hua Lantern Opera · Hua Lantern Opera.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Yunnan Provincial Huadeng Theatre is the core professional troupe of Yunnan huadeng, responsible for the genre's creation, performance and training of talent; combining the language and folk song of Kunming and other places, huadeng opera has formed a rich local style with relatively high value for music and folklore research.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Qin Zhifeng 02-0621
- Liu Fang 02-0622
- Li Hongyuan 02-0623
- Chen Keqin 02-0624
- Liu Shengyang 04-1657
- Shao Zhiqing 05-2389
- Chen Shenhua 05-2390
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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