Luojuan Opera
01 · Historical Records
Luo opera came to Runan in the early Qing, its music made up of singing music, wind music and percussion. Juan opera originated in the late Ming at Yantingdian, Chupu and Daitang village in Runan county, evolved from the temple music “juan diao”. After the Republican period the people around Runan habitually called it “luojuanxi” or “juanluoxi”.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Luojuanxi, popularly called “horn opera”, was formed by the fusion of the two genres “luo opera” and “juan opera”. Its singing music is a composite system in which the qupai and banqiang forms coexist; its wind music is led by the great suona popularly called the “big flute”, and its percussion, besides the small five pieces common to opera bands—great gong, second gong, hand cymbals, bangzi and drum-clapper—also disposes two pairs of great nao and two pairs of great cymbals, popularly the “four great fans”. Luo opera's singing is rough and bold, vehement and ringing, suiting mythological plays, court plays and martial plays of war, and its music is made up of singing, wind and percussion music led by the small suona popularly called the “small flute”, mostly performing folk legend, rustic custom and love subjects. Juan opera excels in civil-scene plays and luo opera in martial-scene plays; to attract audiences and achieve completeness in both civil and martial and mutual complement, the two genres often performed together and gradually fused into one.
Li Cunxiao Crosses the River
One of the representative plays of luojuanxi.
Rescuing the Emperor at the Muddy River
One of the representative plays of luojuanxi.
The Small Five Pieces and the Four Great Fans
The signature percussion arrangement of luojuanxi: besides the “small five pieces” of great gong, second gong, hand cymbals, bangzi and drum-clapper, it adds two pairs of great nao and two pairs of great cymbals.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Luojuanxi's recitation mostly uses the local dialect and Zhongzhou rhymes, and its melodic line approaches the rhythm of local folk speech, giving it a very distinct local character.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Luojuan Opera · Luojuan Opera.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The inheritor, masterly in playing and thoroughly familiar with the performance and singing music, is passionately devoted to the art of luojuanxi and has collected, recorded and collated from the old artists a great many old scripts and scores on the verge of loss; with a rich artistic deposit he is a living dictionary of juan opera music and holder of its materials and a leader in transmitting luojuanxi music, and over the years, zealous for its protection and rescue, he has actively passed on the skill and trained students, often leading them to perform in the countryside and in schools, so that this endangered genre has successors.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Sun Sanmin 05-2454
- Liuzhangke 05-2455
- Wang Ronghuan
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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