Huaji Opera

01 · Historical Records

The Suzhou Municipal Comic Opera Troupe was founded in 1950; through nearly sixty years of development it has accumulated several hundred full-length comic plays and sketches. In the 1950s a group of fine traditional plays such as Suzhou Liang Gongchai (The Two Bailiffs of Suzhou), Qian Duo Tao Prays for Rain and Xiao Shandong Goes to Shanghai won fame throughout the theatrical world. From the 1960s to the 1980s three films — Satisfied or Not Satisfied, The Little Deyue Restaurant and On the Thirty-Third Floor — were made and reached the screen.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Suzhou comic opera is a local drama genre that portrays the behaviour of the people of the Wu region and the ways in which they are humorous. In the new period, the full-length comic plays The Cheerful Yellow Hat, One, Two, Three, Ready, Go!, The Youth Running Track, Shaking Hands with Tomorrow and Mother Gu's Family twice won the 'Wenhua Award', twice were named among the 'Top Ten Outstanding Plays' of the National Stage Art Masterpiece Project, three times won the 'Outstanding Play Award' of the China Theatre Festival, and five times received the 'Five One Project Award' for spiritual civilisation from the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, together with honours such as the first 'Outstanding Retained Plays Award' of the Ministry of Culture. The sketches Tonight's Love, Tonight Is Even More Tender and Going Home for the New Year respectively won the Ministry of Culture's 'Wenhua New Programme Award' and gold medals at the national sketch competition. Modern Suzhou comic opera is represented by the great master of the art Zhang Huan'er, who became famous throughout the world of comic performance for his distinctive deadpan humour; it formed the Suzhou school of comic opera, with its stress on plot structure and characterisation, its austere and witty humour, its refreshing and pleasing vocal delivery, its incongruous comedy and its habit of embedding a moral in the play. Senior artists such as Fang Xiaoxiao and Ye Xiazhen enjoy great renown in the world of comic opera.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Suzhou comic opera is a local drama genre that portrays the behaviour of the people of the Wu region and the ways in which they are humorous, and it rests chiefly on the Suzhou Municipal Comic Opera Troupe. In the 1950s plays such as Suzhou Liang Gongchai (The Two Bailiffs of Suzhou), Qian Duo Tao Prays for Rain and Xiao Shandong Goes to Shanghai won fame throughout the theatrical world, and from the 1960s to the 1980s Satisfied or Not Satisfied, The Little Deyue Restaurant and On the Thirty-Third Floor reached the screen. The Suzhou school of comic opera, represented by the great master Zhang Huan'er, formed a style stressing plot structure and characterisation, austere and witty humour, refreshing vocal delivery, incongruous comedy and morals embedded in the play, and senior artists such as Fang Xiaoxiao and Ye Xiazhen also enjoy renown in the world of comic opera.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Huaji Opera.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Today the Suzhou school of comic opera has once more built up an inheritance system centred on well-known comic artists such as Gu Xiang, Zhang Keqin, Lu Chensheng, Ji Yutang, Gu Yue'e and Fan Lina. Gu Xiang (official inheritor file of the associated inheritor): Female, Han nationality, born in January 1953, from Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. National first-class performer; expert enjoying the special government allowance of the State Council. She joined the Suzhou Municipal Comic Opera Troupe in 1982 and later served as its deputy head. Over an artistic career of more than thirty years she worked with several genres and played leading roles, laying a solid foundation for her career in the art of comic opera performance. After joining the Suzhou Municipal Comic Opera Troupe she played leading roles successively in dozens of full-length comic plays, including The Little Deyue Restaurant, The Cheerful Yellow Hat, One, Two, Three, Ready, Go!, The Youth Running Track, Qian Duo Tao Prays for Rain and Mother Gu's Family. Her range of roles is broad and her technique deep: her singing, recitation and acting are all accomplished, she commands every dialect with ease, her performance is understated and free, humorous and witty, and she is especially skilful at delineating character, forming a comic performance style entirely her own. Representative inheritor of comic opera, fourth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage item. Recipient of the National May 1 Labour Medal and of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles' title of artist of 'high artistic attainment and moral character'. Winner of the Ministry of Culture's Wenhua Performance Award, of a second 'Plum Blossom' of the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award and of the Shanghai Magnolia Award for Theatre Performing Arts. Zhang Keqin (official inheritor file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han nationality, born in July 1947, from Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. National first-class performer; expert enjoying the special government allowance of the State Council. In the 1980s, for his outstanding performances in The Village Tailor and the Western Miss and The Sentimental Little Monk, he became the first recipient of the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award in the field of comic opera performance. Since joining the Suzhou Municipal Comic Opera Troupe he has played leading roles successively in dozens of full-length comic plays, including One, Two, Three, Ready, Go!, The Youth Running Track, Shaking Hands with Tomorrow, Qian Duo Tao Prays for Rain and Mother Gu's Family. His speech and singing are crisp and incisive, his performance technique solid, his exaggeration in performance measured, full of passion and strongly explosive, and his physical vocabulary rich, forming a performance style markedly reminiscent of comic strips. Representative inheritor of comic opera, fourth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage item. He has long been devoted to the training of young performers and to building up the troupe's cadre of talent. Recipient of the National May 1 Labour Medal and of the title of 'Advanced Worker in the National Cultural System'.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

• Weng Shuangjie 04-1696
• Yan Shunkai 04-1697
• Gu Xiang 04-1698
• Zhang Keqin 04-1699
• Qian Cheng 05-2472
• Wang Rugang

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Huaji Opera (Suzhou, Jiangsu) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Gu Xiang · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Zhang Keqin · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗