Xinggan Opera
01 · Historical Records
Xingganxi, also called “shengganxi”, is a ritual play of Daoist salvation of the dead and guidance of the living back to the right, performed as early as the Ming. It originated in Yongkang county, Zhejiang, and spread through Dongyang, Yiwu, Pan'an, Wuyi, Jinhua and Jinyun in Zhejiang.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Xingganxi developed on the basis of folk songs and ditties by absorbing Houyang high-pitched and Songyang high-pitched singing, belonging to the qupai-form high-pitched vocal family. Formed on the basis of folk sacrificial custom and ritual, it has distinctive performing features: its operatic performance is combined with sacrificial rite, actor and Daoist doubling in one person, and script and liturgical text echoing each other. Its music is mainly high-pitched, sung together with folk songs and Daoist tunes, its recitation in plain and easy dialect and its performance interspersed with such acrobatics as “climbing the nine-storey tower”. Its traditional plays can be traced to Song-Yuan nanxi—for instance the Meng Jiangnü version The Great Wall Record and the Donghai Huanggong version The White Tiger. Nine traditional scripts survive—Passing Away of the Daughter, The Fox's Passing, The City-Shaker's Passing, Death by Drowning, Severed Fate, Filial Disobedience, The Maotou Passing and others—their protagonists all having died young, hence the name “passing” and the title “the nine passings of shenggan”. The most important is The Maotou Passing, that is Maotou Huajie, from which the genre is also called “Maotou Huajie opera”. Its arias are rich, and its interleaving of outer-stage performance with inner-altar rite during the performance is unique, making it distinctive among the high-pitched genres as a ritual play.
Meng Jiangnü
One of the traditional plays of xingganxi.
The Great Wall Record
The transmitted version of Meng Jiangnü, one of the traditional plays of xingganxi.
Donghai Huanggong
One of the traditional plays of xingganxi, traceable to Song-Yuan nanxi.
The White Tiger
The transmitted version of Donghai Huanggong, one of the traditional plays of xingganxi.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
At present, with the local government's high regard and support, xingganxi's performance and development are gradually emerging from difficulty, the number of troupes increasing and performances frequently given at local markets, temple fairs and other folk activities.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The deeply rooted Yongkang xingganxi of Zhejiang was at one time reduced to an endangered state.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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