Erjiaxian
01 · Historical Records
Drawing on the Anhui volume of the Annals of Chinese Xiqu and local Bozhou materials, erjiaxian was first a cotton-spinning ditty and, through the artists' development and creation, gradually formed on the basis of such genres as “huagu dingxiang”, “da wuyin” and “sigen xian”; it is named because the four strings of its chief accompanying instrument, the sihu, separately clamp the two strands of horsehair on the bow, with a history of more than three hundred years.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Erjiaxian, also called “liangjiaxian”, is a local operatic genre of long history widely found in the four provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui. Its singing music belongs to the “xuansuo vocal” system combining the banqiang and qupai forms, its chief feature being the alternation of true and falsetto voice in singing. Its qupai are mostly drawn from folk music, many still retaining a fairly primitive state. It is deeply loved by audiences, so that in its areas there is even the saying “though you eat nothing, wear nothing and give up the New Year, you must still go to hear erjiaxian.” Its ban styles are rich and its musical style fine, full of local character, and it excels in the “three-small plays” reflecting folk life, its subjects mostly realistic.
Xie Yaohuan
A large traditional stage play of Bozhou erjiaxian, led by the inheritor and repeatedly winning awards within and beyond the province.
The Princess of West Lake
A large traditional stage play of Bozhou erjiaxian, led by the inheritor and repeatedly winning awards.
The Brilliant Scholar
A large traditional stage play of Bozhou erjiaxian, led by the inheritor and repeatedly winning awards.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Anhui erjiaxian centres on Bozhou and has rich ban styles and fine music full of local character, excelling in the “three-small plays” reflecting folk life.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Erjiaxian · Erjiaxian · Erjiaxian.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Anhui erjiaxian centres on Bozhou and its alternating true-and-falsetto singing is widely current among the people of northern Anhui, giving rise to the saying “though you eat nothing, wear nothing and give up the New Year, you must still go to hear erjiaxian”; the locality sustains the genre through troupe performance and opera-school training. The inheritor, a national first-class actor, entered the Boxian erjiaxian opera school in 1980 and joined the Boxian erjiaxian troupe (today Bozhou performing arts company) in 1983, mastering erjiaxian's singing technique with a style both gentle and fine, true voice for the words and falsetto for the lingering phrases, combining the two, and fusing articulation and performance to enrich erjiaxian's expressive power; committed to transmitting and spreading erjiaxian, he has trained several young actors for Anhui's erjiaxian performing bodies, his leading roles in the large traditional stage plays Xie Yaohuan, The Princess of West Lake and The Brilliant Scholar repeatedly winning awards within and beyond the province.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Tian Aiyun 03-1124
- Li Jinghua 03-1125
- Song Ruitao 03-1126
- Fuhongwei 05-2448
- Wu Li
- Zushuxian
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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