Qiju Opera
01 · Historical Records
In the mid-Ming Yiyang qiang came to Qiyang and combined with local folk songs and ditties to form the embryo of Qi opera.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Qi opera, also called “Qiyang opera” and “Chunan opera”, is named for originating in Qiyang county, Hunan. In its development it formed the two schools of Yonghe and Baohe, both performing in Qiyang mandarin. Its singing embraces the high-pitched, Kun and tan vocal styles, its voice ringing and loud, accompanied by the high-pitched war drum, the cap-shaped dry drum and the hard-bow Qihu. Accordingly the xusheng uses a hoarse voice to show age, the xiaosheng a fine voice to show refinement, the dan a narrow voice to show charm, and the painted face a domineering or shouting voice to show roughness. Its facial designs usually take red, black and white as base colours, opening the face with mixed colour, expressing sharply characterised figures through bright tones, bold lines, delicate patterns and vivid suggestion. Its tan-vocal plays are rough and plain, broad in movement and stirring and deep in singing with a strong mountain flavour, while its high-pitched and Kun plays are fine, gentle and graceful with a cultured restraint. Its horse-riding dance convention, popularly called “ma lu”, is its most characteristic performing feature, each role changing the “ma lu” style according to character and plot so that it takes varied forms. Its repertory and qupai are rich, with more than nine hundred traditional plays and more than a thousand qupai now collated and printed.
Yang Bajie Chooses a Husband
One of the traditional plays of Qi opera and a representative play of the Yonghe school's dan role.
The Red Lantern
One of Qi opera's modern plays and a representative work of the inheritor.
Ma Lu (The Horse-Riding Dance Convention)
Qi opera's horse-riding dance convention, its most characteristic performing feature.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Qiyang is the birthplace of Qi opera; Qiyang Qi opera centres on Qiyang county, Hunan, and is popular in the Yongzhou, Hengyang and Chenzhou area and into northern Guangxi; the local Qi opera troupe is noted for its high-pitched plays and completely inherits the performance of the various dan-role types.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Qiju Opera · Qiju Opera.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The inheritor, a national second-class actor, has clear and flowing singing and distinct and pleasant recitation, attends to character portrayal in acting and stresses inner meaning and temperament; as the principal inheritor of the various dan-role types of the Yonghe school of Qi opera she commands nearly a hundred plays, such as the traditional Yang Bajie Chooses a Husband and the modern The Red Lantern, and has taught opera at the Qi opera class of Qiyang normal school, working to transmit Qi opera and raise its influence. She has won the Tian Han performance prize at the Hunan art festival, carefully coaches the younger generation of the troupe and personally teaches the performing art of the dan role, her disciples having won awards many times.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Liu Dengxiong 03-1142
- Zhang Shaojun 04-1690
- Yuan Qili 05-2458
- Fei Jianchu
- Shenguitao
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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