Huagu Opera

01 · Historical Records

Changde huaguxi circulates in the Changde, Taoyuan and Hanshou area of northern Hunan and along the western shore of Dongting Lake, and belongs to the Changde branch of Hunan huaguxi. Flower-drum singing arose out of folk song, later developed into the “two-small play” of one dan and one chou, and then into an independent genre. The Changde branch is dominated by three vocal categories, chuan-diao, da luo qiang and xiaodiao; its performance is close to rural life and its traditional repertory often intermixes with sixian and Han opera troupes; the huaguxi protection centre of Dingcheng district is the main professional support for the project, and the locality holds huaguxi showcase performances and “sending opera to the countryside” public-benefit shows every year.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Huaguxi is the general name for the “flower-drum” local short operas of various places in China, circulating mainly in Hunan, Hubei, Anhui and Zhejiang. The Ming-dynasty chuanqi of Fan Wenruo already depicts a scene of flower-drum singing, showing the earliest aspect of this art form. Flower-drum singing came out of folk song and gradually developed into the “two-small play” performed by one dan and one chou. In practice it drew on the performing modes of local grand opera and absorbed various artistic elements, finally becoming an independent local operatic genre. Its music belongs basically to the qupai-linking form, aided by some ban-style variation. Its performing means are rich and varied, lively and vivid, with a distinctive local character and folk song-and-dance style. Its traditional repertory mainly reflects productive labour, love between men and women and family conflict, and later development also produced new works on modern life. Its vocal music divides into the two great categories of “gong-qiang” and “qin-qiang”: gong-qiang has southern-road, northern-road and special gong-qiang sanqu, and qin-qiang has zhengdiao qin-qiang and qin-qiang xiaodiao. Shaoyang huaguxi has rich singing and many qupai, forming a musical system fusing the chuan-diao, paizi and xiaodiao categories, its performance and music divided into eastern, southern and western roads according to basic artistic style. The main tunes of Huaibei huaguxi include “Suzhou diao”, “Huibei diao”, “kouzi diao pingban” and “hanban”, the “han diao” being especially individual. Its performance is also distinctive, the “flower-drum great procession” being its most characteristic feature, regarded as the “consummate skill” of Huaibei huaguxi. Wannan huaguxi has the four main arias of “tao qiang”, “beiniuzi”, “siping” and “bei qiang”, with flower arias made up of lantern tunes and folk ditties besides. Its traditional plays include Saohua Tang, Daguayuan, Jiabaoxi, Dangchayuan and Dabuding. Suizhou huaguxi's singing divides into the four modes of “man diao”, “tai diao”, “Liangshan diao” and “cai diao”. Macheng huaguxi, also called “eastern road”, has such singing as “dong qiang”, “er gaoqiang”, “erhang”, “dui qiang”, “tan qiang” and “xiaodiao”, and such plays as Maihua Ji, The Pearl Tower, Suing the Dyke Tyrant and Storming the Court.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Yueyang huaguxi in Hunan is sung in the northern Hunan dialect and has one hundred and twenty-three traditional plays in all.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Yang Jian'e (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): A woman of Han ethnicity, born in May 1945, native of Changde county, Hunan province. A national second-class director. She takes part every year in Changde huaguxi showcase performances and “sending opera to the countryside” public-benefit shows. Her works The Death of Sister You Erjie, Pan Jinlian Cutting a Garment and Gathering Wild Mushrooms were videotaped and collected by the China Academy of Art. From 2013 to 2015 she transmitted and restored a number of full-scale traditional huaguxi plays, and took part in showcase performances many times. Representative inheritor of huaguxi in the third national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. She began studying the art at seven and performed with a troupe; at fourteen she became its lead performer, and at sixteen began to double as director, starring in more than a hundred plays in all and winning provincial and municipal outstanding young actor awards many times. At the huaguxi protection centre of Dingcheng district she transmits and teaches the three great vocal styles of Changde huaguxi, among other things. In 2017 she completed the national rescue-and-record project for representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage. Du Meishuang (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): A woman of Han ethnicity, born in March 1965, native of Taoyuan county, Hunan province. A national second-class actress. She once assisted her teacher in transmitting and re-staging traditional huaguxi, and later directed full-scale traditional huaguxi herself. In 2014 she compiled and published the Compendium of Changde Huaguxi (two volumes), providing Changde huaguxi with rich script resources and research literature. She formally took apprentices in 2015, with nine disciples in all. In 2017 she held a solo showcase of her own huaguxi and sixian work. Representative inheritor of huaguxi in the fifth national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. She entered the Taoyuan county huaguxi troupe by examination in 1979, and has worked at the huaguxi protection centre of Dingcheng district, Changde city, since 1986. She has performed close to a hundred roles in traditional huaguxi and newly written plays, and has won national, provincial and municipal awards many times. She served as a singing and teaching master at the huaguxi protection centre of Dingcheng district, and takes part every year in the “sending opera to the countryside” public-benefit programme.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

• Lvjinling 03-1119
• Zhou Qinquan 03-1120
• Chixiuyun 03-1121
• Yang Yuping 03-1122
• Yang Jiane 03-1123
• Pan Aifang 04-1684
• Yang Xiaolan 04-1685
• Ouyang Juewen 04-1686
• Zhou Yuling 05-2440
• Wei Guifeng 05-2441
• Wan Baoying 05-2442
• Cengmeiling 05-2443
• Hu Ruishi 05-2444
• Du Meishuang 05-2445
• Liao Hanmei 05-2446
• Li Xiaojia 05-2447
• Li Saijian
• Liu Liurong
• He Xiangan

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Huagu Opera (Changde, Hunan) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Yang Jiane · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Du Meishuang · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗