Luoqiang
01 · Historical Records
Luoqiang developed out of Lianhualuo, a folk ballad art of the Anyang, Neihuang and Nanle area, and took shape in the middle of the Qing dynasty. Because it originated mainly in the Anyang area of Henan Province, it is also known as “Anyangqiang”.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Luoqiang, originally named “Luoziqiang” and colloquially known as “Laoziqiang” (written in two variant forms), was formed on the basis of the folk ballad art Lianhualuo. It is popular in northern Henan, southern Hebei, eastern Shanxi and eastern Shandong, and combines both the qupai (tune-pattern) system and the banqiang (metrical) system. The melodies of Luoqiang developed out of local Anyang folk songs and ditties; the tunes are light and lively, and the principal accompanying instruments are the pihu, the bamboo flute and the like. Its vocal patterns include pingban, erban, sanban, liushui, xieban, nianban and others. Its vocal system has three schools: Anyang, Linxian, Cheng'an and Linzhang form the central school, called “Luoziqiang”; Wu'an and Shexian form the west school, called “Wuan Luozi”; Neihuang, Weixian, Qingfeng, Nanluo, Huaxian and Puyang form the east school, called “Luoqiang”. Each of the three branches of Luoqiang has its own character. In the west school, Wuan Luozi has vocal styles of many layers, with dramatic rises and falls and a high, resonant melodic line; the central school, Luoziqiang, is comparatively even in pronunciation, yet its vocal style is rugged, it is careful about stealing characters and slipping the beat, and it is skilled in florid vocalization; the east school, Luoqiang, is steady and archaic, its diction is clear, and it is good at tragedy. Luoqiang today preserves 6 categories and 23 varieties of unique vocal music, 58 qupai and percussion pieces, 12 special body techniques and skills, 3 characteristic instruments, and 210 repertoire works transmitted orally. Luoqiang has a large traditional repertoire and is good at depicting farm household life and folk legends. Most of its plays are small domestic dramas, with plain and easily understood text and a performance full of the flavour of real life, such as “Lanqiao Hui”, “An'an Song Mi”, “Xiao Erjie Zhuan Meng” and “Wang Dingbao Jiedang”.
The Meeting at Lanqiao Bridge
Luoqiang has a large traditional repertoire and is good at depicting farm household life and folk legends. Most of its plays are small domestic dramas, with plain and easily understood text and a performance full of the flavour of real life, such as “Lanqiao Hui”, “An'an Song Mi”, “Xiao Erjie Zhuan Meng” and “Wang Dingbao Jiedang”.
An'an Delivering Rice
Luoqiang has a large traditional repertoire and is good at depicting farm household life and folk legends. Most of its plays are small domestic dramas, with plain and easily understood text and a performance full of the flavour of real life, such as “Lanqiao Hui”, “An'an Song Mi”, “Xiao Erjie Zhuan Meng” and “Wang Dingbao Jiedang”.
Second Sister's Dream
Luoqiang has a large traditional repertoire and is good at depicting farm household life and folk legends. Most of its plays are small domestic dramas, with plain and easily understood text and a performance full of the flavour of real life, such as “Lanqiao Hui”, “An'an Song Mi”, “Xiao Erjie Zhuan Meng” and “Wang Dingbao Jiedang”.
Wang Dingbao Borrows on Pawn
Luoqiang has a large traditional repertoire and is good at depicting farm household life and folk legends. Most of its plays are small domestic dramas, with plain and easily understood text and a performance full of the flavour of real life, such as “Lanqiao Hui”, “An'an Song Mi”, “Xiao Erjie Zhuan Meng” and “Wang Dingbao Jiedang”.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Luoqiang, originally named “Luoziqiang” and colloquially known as “Laoziqiang”, developed out of Lianhualuo, a folk ballad art of the Anyang, Neihuang and Nanle area, and took shape in the middle of the Qing dynasty. Because it originated mainly in the Anyang area of Henan it is also known as “Anyangqiang”, and it is popular in northern Henan, southern Hebei, eastern Shanxi and eastern Shandong. Its vocal system has three schools: Anyang, Linxian, Cheng'an and Linzhang form the central school, called “Luoziqiang”; Wu'an and Shexian form the west school, called “Wuan Luozi”; Neihuang, Weixian, Qingfeng, Nanle, Huaxian and Puyang form the east school, called “Luoqiang”.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In recent years the performance market for Luoqiang has been shrinking day by day. Old artists who possessed exceptional skills have died off one after another, and among professional troupes only the Luoqiang Theatre of Neihuang County, Henan Province remains; the art of Luoqiang urgently needs protection. Yuan Zhangkao (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): A national third-class actor. His stage bearing is steady and his step work is free and easy; in beard and mouth pieces (rankou), hat wings, water sleeves and spoken parts (nianbai) he has formed a style of his own. In expressing a character's inner thoughts and feelings he is meticulous and subtle; every figure has its own appearance, vivid and lifelike. His voice is broad and resonant, his vocal delivery is well controlled in extent, and he makes skilled use of florid vocalization and the retching-tone technique; his melodic line flows smoothly and naturally. On the basis of the tradition, he has absorbed and drawn on the vocal art of other forms such as Lu opera and the four-string fiddle (siguxian), inheriting and developing the old-male (laosheng) vocal style of Luoqiang. He has mastered more than forty traditional repertoire works, representative ones being “Mai Miaolang”, “Maqian Poshui” and “Lü Mengzheng Gan Zhai”. He collected the scripts of more than thirty traditional Luoqiang repertoire works and organized them into a volume (more than 80,000 characters in all). Since he began teaching disciples in 1974, he has passed on his art through three generations. Male, of Han nationality, born in February 1941, died in January 2015, native of Neihuang County, Henan Province. Representative inheritor of Luoqiang in the fourth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage projects.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yuan Zhangkao 04-1693
- Yuan Xianying
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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