Xiju Opera

01 · Historical Records

Since the Qianjia reign of the Qing dynasty, tanhuang in the Wu language has flourished, and by the Daoguang reign professional or semi-professional tanhuang performers had appeared. On the basis of long practice this folk art of singing and narration gradually developed and transformed into an independent operatic genre with its own vocal system.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Xiju, formerly called “tanhuang”, is one of the principal operatic genres of Jiangsu province. Its place of origin is said by one account to be in the northeastern countryside of Wuxi city and by another to be the De'anqiao area of Changzhou city, hence the names “xi tan” and “chang tan”. The vocal music of xiju takes “huangdiao” as its basic tune, while also incorporating dozens of tunes such as “dalu ban” and “linglingdiao”. Over years of performance xiju has formed a number of vocal schools with strong artistic individuality — the Yao (Cheng) school, the Wang (Lanying) school, the Shen (Peihua) school, the Wang (Binbin) school, the Mei (Lanzhen) school, the Wang (Hanqing) school and the Wu (Yatong) school — which have actively driven the development of the genre. The role types of xiju centre on huadan and xiaosheng; such representative plays as Double Mill Push, Meeting in the Nunnery Hall, Recognising the Mother in the Nunnery Hall and Twin Pearl Phoenix have all been filmed as xiqu cinema feature films. Besides its traditional repertory, xiju also has a body of fine modern plays, among which The Red Seed is the most highly praised. In recent years the traditional play The Pearl Tower, re-created by a new generation of xiju performing artists, won the Ministry of Culture award for new repertoire, marking a further stage in the development of xiju in the new period. The tunes of xiju are elegant and lyrical, rich in the flavour of everyday life and distinctive of the Jiangnan water-town style, a precious treasure in the storehouse of Wu culture.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Xiju, formerly called “tanhuang”, is said by one account to have originated in the northeastern countryside of Wuxi city and by another in the De'anqiao area of Changzhou city, hence the names “xi tan” and “chang tan”. The xiju troupe of the Jiangsu Provincial Performance Group, belonging to the xi tan branch, is distinguished as a provincial-level troupe for its revision and adaptation of traditional plays and its newly created repertory, and it also draws on the strengths of the vocal styles of the Yao Cheng, Wang Lanying, Shen Peihua, Wang Binbin, Mei Lanzhen and other schools; together with huju, yongju and suju of the same tanhuang system, it forms the tanhuang lineage of Jiangnan opera.

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

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Together with huju, yongju and suju of the same tanhuang system, xiju forms a bright line in the landscape of Jiangnan operatic art and provides rich material for the study of Jiangnan local culture. Ni Tongfang (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): A woman of Han ethnicity, born in August 1946, native of Jingjiang city, Jiangsu province. A recipient of the State Council special government allowance. She specialises in the dan role; her voice is clear and broad, her resonance full, her melodic line distinctive in style and powerfully expressive, so that her singing is known as the “Ni school vocal style”. Her representative plays include Double Mill Push, The Island Female Militia, Shajiabang, The Red Seed, Liu Hulan, Meng Jiangnu, Embroidered Purse, Jade Dragonfly, Return South and The Pearl Tower. Representative inheritor of xiju in the third national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. Her work The Exquisite Woman won first prize in the national television xiqu drama competition, and she herself was named best leading actress. She has won awards including the tenth China Drama Plum Blossom Award and an outstanding performance award at a China Theatre Festival. She has performed throughout the country, and many of her students have won the China Drama Plum Blossom Award or become backbone actors of the various troupes. Wang Lanying (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): A national first-class actress. She specialises in huadan and is the founder of the Wang school of dan-role art in xiju. Her singing is beautiful, husky and pleasing to the ear and her colouratura unusual; experts and scholars call her a “moon behind the clouds” with a charm of her own. Her stage manner is elegant and expansive, delicate and moving, and she is honoured as the “Mei Lanfang of southern Jiangsu”. Her representative works include Double Mill Push, Jade Dragonfly, Chang'e Flying to the Moon, Meng Lijun, The Pearl Tower, Blowing the Lamp and Testing the Brush, and Xianying Bridge. She herself and her representative work Double Mill Push have been included successively in reference works such as the Encyclopaedia of China, the Dictionary of Chinese Artists and the Dictionary of Chinese Xiqu and Quyi. A woman of Han ethnicity, born in August 1926 and deceased in July 2019, native of Wujin county, Jiangsu province. Representative inheritor of xiju in the third national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. In 1954 she took part in the first East China regional xiqu observation and performance conference, winning the actor first prize. She performed throughout the country, and among the students she trained was Ni Tongfang, who won the China Drama Plum Blossom Award.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

• Ni Tongfang 03-1106
• Wang Lanying 03-1107
• Shen Peihua 03-1108
• Yao Cheng 03-1109
• Wu Yatong 03-1110
• Wang Genxing 04-1677
• Zhou Dongliang 05-2434
• Wang Jianwei 05-2435
• Huang Jinghui

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Xiju Opera (Yanyijituanxijutuan, Jiangsu) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Ni Tongfang · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Wang Lanying · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗