Huagu Opera

01 · Historical Records

Changsha flower drum opera took shape in the Qing dynasty and is popular in central Hunan, eastern Hunan and along the shores of Dongting Lake. In the middle of the twentieth century flower drum operas of different schools gradually merged through frequent artistic exchange, their stage speech unified towards the Changsha vernacular, forming a relatively complete Changsha flower drum operatic form. In 2009 the Hunan Provincial People's Government listed Changsha flower drum opera in the provincial intangible cultural heritage inventory, with the Hunan Provincial Flower Drum Opera Theatre as the protecting unit.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Its musical melodies fall into four types — chuandiao, daluoqiang, paizi and xiaodiao — numbering some 200 pieces. Its traditional repertoire is characterised above all by plays of the “two smalls” (xiaodan and xiaochou) and the “three smalls” (xiaosheng, xiaodan and xiaochou). Plays it has created and performed, such as “Xi Mai An”, “Xiangli Jingcha” and “Zuotian Hanzi Ye Fengliu”, have won national awards many times. In the contemporary period the audience of Changsha flower drum opera has been shrinking day by day, performance venues have gradually been lost, a break in performing talent has appeared, and the creative corps has shrunk.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Changsha flower drum opera took shape in the Qing dynasty and is popular in central Hunan, eastern Hunan and along the shores of Dongting Lake. In the middle of the twentieth century flower drum operas of different schools gradually merged through frequent artistic exchange, their stage speech unified towards the Changsha vernacular, forming a relatively complete Changsha flower drum operatic form. It is based on four types of melodies — chuandiao, daluoqiang, paizi and xiaodiao, some 200 pieces in all — and its traditional repertoire is characterised above all by plays of the “two smalls” (xiaodan and xiaochou) and the “three smalls” (xiaosheng, xiaodan and xiaochou); it was listed in the provincial intangible cultural heritage inventory in 2009, with the Hunan Provincial Flower Drum Opera Theatre as the protecting unit.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

In order to promote the distinctive culture of the Huxiang region and further excavate, protect and transmit Changsha flower drum opera, the Hunan Provincial Flower Drum Opera Theatre will do its utmost to protect and hand down this artistic wonder, contributing its own strength to the development and strengthening of national culture. Ouyang Juewen (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, of Han nationality, born in December 1942, native of Liuyang County, Hunan Province. A national first-class composer. He entered the Hunan Provincial Flower Drum Opera Theatre in 1956 and from 1969 began composing for 126 plays, among them the flower drum plays “Shajiabang” and “On the Way to Deliver Goods”. He has made achievements both as a drum leader and as a composer, and in particular he has thoroughly mastered the old tune scores of the Hunan flower drum style. His work as drum leader commands the play with great authority, and he knows the vocal styles, lines and cues of the play intimately; as a composer he handles the old tunes with complete ease, and he uses the traditional methods of key-change and “changing the bones” for re-creation, so that every play has its own characteristics. Representative inheritor of flower drum opera (Changsha flower drum opera) in the fourth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage projects. His works “Peach Blossom Flood”, “Autumn Flower Drum”, “The General's Ballad”, “The Village Head's Surname Is Zhao”, “The Village Police” and “Anecdotes of the Cousin” won the “Five One Project” Award of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. Li Xiaojia (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Female, of Han nationality, born in June 1944, native of Changsha, Hunan Province. A national first-class actress and a specialist who enjoys the special allowance of the State Council. She is familiar with the singing techniques of the flower drum style and uses them with ease; she has a good command of the different singing styles of flower drum opera such as the Changsha school and the Shaoyang school, and she can also apply operatic conventions skilfully in the service of shaping all kinds of vivid stage images. At the same time she is good at observing and understanding life, drawing nourishment from it, creating new operatic conventions, enriching the means of performance and shaping modern characters well on the operatic stage. Representative inheritor of flower drum opera (Changsha flower drum opera) in the fifth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage projects. She actively trains successors and hands on, without reservation, the vocal styles, techniques, experience and repertoire accumulated over her many years on the stage to the next generation.

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 (Huaguxijuyuan, Hunan) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Ouyang Juewen · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Li Xiaojia · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗