Yang Opera
01 · Historical Records
Research shows that the history of Shejian marionette yangxi can be traced back to the forty-sixth year of Qianlong in the Qing, with twelve generations of transmitters since and a surviving handwritten script of the first year of Xuantong; its craft is hereditary within the family and all female roles are played in reverse by men.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Shejian marionette yangxi is a traditional dramatic form circulating mainly in Shejian township, Zhaohua district, Guangyuan city, Sichuan, and the surrounding northern Sichuan area; also called “flower-vow opera”, it is called “yangxi” because its purpose is to exhort people to goodness in this world, and is customarily called “Shejian marionette yangxi” because its performance includes marionette “heaven plays”. It performs with marionettes and men on the same stage. Its roles divide into sheng, dan, jing and chou, its accompaniment percussion without strings, its arias mainly absorbing local folk ditties and mountain songs. The masks used take the facial designs provided by folk legend and librettos as their prototype and are then coloured and exaggerated, their images both matching the characters' temperaments and conforming to people's imagined artistic modelling, with the modelling features of primitive religious deities. The performance has three parts: first opening the altar, that is inviting the gods; second entertaining people, that is the play; third sending off the gods, returning to heaven. Its repertory is rich, with thirty-two heaven plays and thirty-two earth plays. The heaven plays, that is immortal plays, are all performed with marionettes, with thirty-two deity plays and forty-two images, including the horse-leading boy, the pair of little ghosts, the pair of great ghosts, Zhong Kui, the judge, the earth god, the horse-riding immortal official, the prayer lad, the pair of jailers, the judge's assistant, the Sichuan lord, the local lord, the medicine king, the pair of beast-leaders, the pair of plum-blossom girls, Wenchang, the patrol officer, the pair of pearl-embroidering boys, the Huang family daughter, Liu Qingniang, the pair of Lord Chen, the two harmony immortals, Guan Yu, Han Xin, the longevity star, Erlang and the first, second and third uncles and aunts. The earth plays include Jiang Ziya Takes Command, Lianhua, Watering the Flowers, Running the Horse, Five Ghosts Make Havoc with the Judge, Sending Wealth and the Earth God, The Bridal Lament, Reading the Dates, The Lingguan Guards the Altar and Meng Jiangnü, divided into short and grand plays and civil and martial plays—for instance Jiang Ziya Takes Command is a short play and also a martial play, Lianhua a short play and a civil play, and Meng Jiangnü a grand play with men and masks on stage together. Shejian marionette yangxi is performed mainly to drive out evil, seek blessing and redeem vows for the host, a great vow taking three days and a small one a whole night, impromptu words being added to wish the host good fortune and thriving livestock; the donor gives not only money but also food and other goods. It is also performed at spring sowing, autumn harvest and festivals to seek blessing and thank the gods. The performing ground is usually the host's main room or courtyard without a stage, audiences gathering around, and it is deeply loved by the people.
The Heaven Plays (Thirty-Two Deity Plays, Forty-Two Images)
The heaven plays are immortal plays performed entirely with marionettes, with thirty-two deity plays and forty-two images, including Zhong Kui, the judge, the earth god, the Sichuan lord, the local lord, the medicine king, Guan Yu, Han Xin and Erlang.
Jiang Ziya Takes Command
One of the earth plays, a short play and also a martial play.
Meng Jiangnü
One of the earth plays, a grand play with men and masks on stage together.
Five Ghosts Make Havoc with the Judge
One of the earth plays of Shejian marionette yangxi.
The Lingguan Guards the Altar
One of the earth plays of Shejian marionette yangxi.
Opening the Altar, Entertaining the People, Sending Off the Gods (The Three-Part Performance)
The performance structure of Shejian marionette yangxi: first opening the altar, that is inviting the gods; second entertaining people, that is the play; third sending off the gods, returning to heaven.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Shejian marionette yangxi centres on Shejian township, Zhaohua district, Guangyuan city, Sichuan, and circulates in Zhaohua and the surrounding northern Sichuan area; because its performance includes marionette “heaven plays” and masked earth plays performed by real people on the same stage, it is customarily called “Shejian marionette yangxi”, also “flower-vow opera”.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Zhangjiajie Yang Opera · Yang Opera · Yang Opera · Yang Opera.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Shejian marionette yangxi is a dramatic cultural phenomenon of Daoist culture and Qinba culture multiplying among the people; it provides living field evidence for studying Chinese nuo opera, drama, dance, music and ethnology, religion, folklore and sociology, and plays some part in enriching the people's spiritual and cultural life and promoting cultural development and prosperity.
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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