Huagu Opera
01 · Historical Records
Jingzhou huaguxi is one of the principal local genres of Hubei, formerly called “huaguzi” and “Tianmian huaguxi”, renamed “Jingzhou huaguxi” in 1981.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
After the late Ming it was a rustic opera gradually developed on the folk performing forms of the Jianghan plain such as the three-stick drum, stilt-walking and lotus-picking boat while continually absorbing the repertory, vocal styles and performance of other genres, circulating in Mianyang (including today's Honghu), Tianmen, Qianjiang, Jianli, Hanchuan and Jingshan and spreading to the neighbouring Zhongxiang, Jingmen, Jiangling, Yingcheng, Yunmeng and Yang and to Yueyang, Huarong, Nanxian, Lixian and Changde in Hunan and to Chongyang, Tongcheng and Puqi in south-eastern Hubei. Its music belongs to the gong-beating vocal system, its singing divided into the two great categories of main arias and ditties. Its repertory numbers one hundred and ninety-seven pieces by count, representative works including Beating the Lotus Stick, The Flower Wall Meeting and Love and Hate in the Wilderness. Through the efforts of several generations of artists its singing music has steadily matured, its performance forms grown ever more complete and its repertory ever richer, much favoured by the people of the Jianghan plain.
Beating the Lotus Stick
A representative play of Jingzhou huaguxi.
The Flower Wall Meeting
A representative play of Jingzhou huaguxi.
Love and Hate in the Wilderness
A representative play of Jingzhou huaguxi.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Jingzhou huaguxi centres on Xiantao city, Hubei, and is popular in the Jianghan plain counties of Mianyang (including today's Honghu), Tianmen, Qianjiang, Jianli, Hanchuan and Jingshan, spreading to the neighbouring Zhongxiang, Jingmen, Jiangling, Yingcheng, Yunmeng and to Yueyang, Huarong, Nanxian, Lixian and Changde in Hunan and to Chongyang, Tongcheng and Puqi in south-eastern Hubei.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In recent years Jingzhou huaguxi's transmission has met with crisis; excavating, rescuing and protecting it will help enrich and perfect the history of Chinese opera and Chinese music and to recover the folk culture and art of Jing-Chu. The inheritor studied under Cheng Lanting (stage name A Cloud) and was also guided by such senior artists as Sai Yunxia, Hu Hudie and Shu Xiaoyun, her singing round and natural, her enunciation clear and her flavour mellow, especially skilled in the high-pitched, Qishui, siping tunes and various ditties; on the basis of tradition and combining her own vocal gifts she created a distinctive singing style recognised by connoisseurs and audiences alike. Over several decades she has shaped many lifelike women, her leading roles in such costume plays as Qin Xianglian, Zhu Maichen, Ji Gong Pursues the Trail and Zhao Wuniang and in more than a hundred modern plays such as Making a Son-in-Law of Xiang Laosan, The Red Stove, Selling the Cradle, Little Resolve and Sister Jiang deeply loved by the audiences of the Jianghan plain and praised by experts. After retiring in 1990 she has mainly taught and researched, taking disciples and serving as artistic research adviser to the troupe.
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
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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