Meihu
01 · Historical Records
The origin of Meihu has two accounts: one that it comes from Mei county and Hu county in Shaanxi, taking its name from the place; the other that it comes from Huayin and Hua county in Shaanxi, so pleasing in tune as to be called a charming play, shortened to “mi xi” and popularly “mihu”. Drawing on the Xinjiang volume of the Annals of Chinese Xiqu and materials of the Production and Construction Corps, meihu opera originally circulated in Shaanxi and Gansu and entered Xinjiang around the middle of the nineteenth century with famine refugees and migrants from the Shaanxi-Gansu region; after more than a hundred years of development it has become an operatic genre much loved by the people of Xinjiang, called “mihu xi” there and circulating mainly in the Corps' Wujiaqu, Maocaohu, Xinhu and Qitai reclamation areas.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Meihu, also called “mihu”, “quzi” and “qingqu”, is widely found in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Gansu and Ningxia. Meihu moved gradually from folk-song medley and ground-mat storytelling to stage performance, with two main forms of performance: one retaining the storytelling form of the ground-mat, its librettos mostly zhezi excerpts sung throughout with little spoken dialogue; the other the stage form, with speech, song and acting and freer choice of qupai. Meihu is a local operatic genre of distinctive character with rich tunes and a wide area of circulation, holding an important place in Chinese operatic culture. In the course of its change mihu xi absorbed some artistic elements of Xinjiang quzi opera and Qin opera, forming features of its own. Its singing has a strong rustic charm, performed with the accompaniment of sanxian, erhu, flute, bangzi, bell and bamboo clapper. During the Cultural Revolution it once declined, but after reform and opening-up folk artists and retired workers of the Corps spontaneously organised singing again, so that this frontier operatic genre was to some extent restored.
Mihu Xi Singing (The Meihu Base)
Taking the meihu tunes as its base and adding elements of Xinjiang quzi opera and Qin opera, the singing has a strong rustic charm.
Accompaniment of Sanxian, Erhu, Flute and Others
Singing is accompanied by sanxian, erhu, flute, bangzi, bell and bamboo clapper.
Transmission by Oral Teaching
Mihu xi is transmitted in Xinjiang folk society by oral teaching with very few written scores, a living case for studying the spread of migrant opera.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Xinjiang mihu xi circulates mainly in the Corps' Wujiaqu, Maocaohu, Xinhu and Qitai reclamation areas and also appears in the counties and cities of northern Xinjiang; introduced with Shaanxi-Gansu migrants, its singing adds elements of Xinjiang quzi opera and Qin opera to the meihu base, forming a distinctive aspect combining Qin-Long and frontier colour.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Meihu · Meihu · Meihu · Meihu.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Mihu xi is transmitted in Xinjiang folk society by oral teaching, with very few written scores. At present, however, the old artists are passing away one after another and those surviving are advanced in years, so that mihu xi lacks successors and is in danger of being lost, urgently needing rescue and protection.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Li Yingjie 03-1099
- Pan Guoliang 05-2428
- Li Ruifang 05-2429
- Jiao Ruixia
- Yan Huifang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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