Erjiaxian
01 · Historical Records
Drawing on the Henan volume of the Annals of Chinese Xiqu and local Kaifeng materials, erjiaxian developed from the cotton-spinning ditty and such folk performing forms as “huagu dingxiang” and “da wuyin”; by the mid-Qing it was already current in eastern Henan and south-western Shandong, named for being played with a sihu clamping horsehair, with a history of more than three centuries.
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, 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. It 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”. 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. Its qupai are mostly drawn from folk music, many still fairly primitive. 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”. Henan erjiaxian absorbs the melodies of such genres as Peking opera and Yue opera into its singing, forming a mode of its own; in singing, broad-articulation words combine with falsetto lingering phrases, the range broad and the vocal line gentle, the recitation brisk and clean and the acting meticulous and steady.
The Silk Floss Ruse
One of the representative plays of Kaifeng erjiaxian.
Pan Qi Suo Qi
One of the representative plays of Kaifeng erjiaxian.
The Pedlar Opens the Box
The inheritor played the clownish pedlar; chosen as the “play within the film” for Li Shuangshuang, it became famous throughout the country.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
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.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Erjiaxian · Erjiaxian · Erjiaxian.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The inheritor, a national second-class actor, absorbs the melodies of such genres as Peking opera and Yue opera into his singing, forming a mode of his own; with a broad range, gentle vocal line and the combination of broad-articulation words and falsetto lingering phrases, his recitation is brisk and clean and his acting meticulous, steady and free. His representative works include The Silk Floss Ruse, Pan Qi Suo Qi and The Pedlar Opens the Box; his role of a clownish pedlar in The Pedlar Opens the Box was chosen as the “play within the film” for the film Li Shuangshuang and became famous throughout the country. In 2002 he founded a school and enrolled students, whose pupils at the first Henan provincial folk traditional outstanding opera showcase won five gold and two silver performance awards and a collective performance gold award, while he himself received a special contribution award.
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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