Zhangjiajie Yang Opera
01 · Historical Records
Zhangjiajie yangxi originated in the mid-Qing and has a history of more than three hundred years, belonging to the northern-road yangxi.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Its stage performance is based on the Zhangjiajie dialect, with clear level and oblique tones and many retroflex rhymes. Its arias belong to the folk-song structure and divide into the two great categories of “zhengdiao” and “xiaodiao”, with male and female not distinguished by register but with such ban variation as daoban, gunban, sanban, shouting and aizi, this manner of singing being evolved from the Tujia people's singing. Its performing feature is much doing and little combat, mostly civil plays, family plays and tragedies, with a rich flavour of life; the dan role stands first among the roles. Its arias consist of the zhengdiao and xiaodiao parts, with seventeen qupai in all; the zhengdiao arias are all sung with a combination of true and falsetto voice, the final phrase suddenly leaping up an octave, called “narrow voice” in the trade, and the flavour of Dayong yangxi lies precisely in this narrow voice.
Zhengdiao and Xiaodiao (Seventeen Qupai)
Zhangjiajie yangxi's arias consist of zhengdiao and xiaodiao, with seventeen qupai in all; the zhengdiao arias are sung with a combination of true and falsetto voice, the final phrase leaping an octave, called “narrow voice” in the trade.
A Golden Thread Dangling a Gourd
The singing method distinguishing Zhangjiajie yangxi from other local yangxi, combining true and falsetto voice, the lyrics in true voice and the trailing phrase leaping an octave in falsetto.
The White Snake
One of the representative plays led and directed by the inheritor.
Sister Jiang
One of the representative plays led and directed by the inheritor.
Ding Gui Lectures
The play for which the inheritor won first prize for actors in the Xiangxi autonomous prefecture.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Zhangjiajie Tujia yangxi is an operatic genre based on the Zhangjiajie dialect and formed by combining Tujia mountain chants with folk ditties, circulating mainly in Zhangjiajie city, Hunan, and its surroundings. Its singing feature distinguishing it from other local yangxi is the method of “a golden thread dangling a gourd”, that is the combination of true and falsetto voice in singing, the lyrics in true voice and the trailing phrase leaping an octave in falsetto.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Yang Opera · Yang Opera · Yang Opera · Yang Opera.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
As to the “yang” of “yangxi”, one account is that Zhangjiajie lies south (yang) of the Li river, another that the play was developed by people of yangchun, and a third that “yanghua liu” is homophonous with “yang” but “yanghua liu” carries a suggestion of lewdness, so the name “yangxi” was fixed. Social change has left Zhangjiajie yangxi in danger of dying out; the excellent plays and beautiful arias of such famous yangxi artists as Ding Zuxue, praised as the “Mei Lanfang of western Hunan”, are on the verge of being lost, and successors are lacking. The inheritor took part in founding the Zhangjiajie yangxi troupe in 1956 and successively served as head of its art research committee, director and artistic adviser, being re-engaged as its coaching teacher after retiring in 1986; specialising in the dan role and good at combining yangxi's performing features with his own experience, he formed a stage style of sharply personal character, and in directing boldly fused opera and dance-drama art into yangxi's performing conventions, enriching its content, being a yangxi artist combining writing, directing, acting and make-up and costume design. He has led in and directed more than a hundred traditional and modern plays, his representative works including The White Snake and Sister Jiang, winning first prize for actors in the Xiangxi autonomous prefecture for his leading role in Ding Gui Lectures.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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