Nanlusixian

01 · Historical Records

Nanlu Sixian, which originated in Xingtai and Handan in southern Hebei and is popular in Hebei as well as Henan, Shanxi and Shandong, is the main branch of the sixian operatic school. Nanlu Sixian traces its origin to the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty, and is also called xianziqiang, xianqiang or xiansuoqiang. In 1965, Jueji (Catching the Chicken), created by the Xingtai County Sixian Theatre Troupe, took part in the joint theatrical exchange of the five provinces and municipalities of North China, and Premier Zhou Enlai attended the performance in person and praised it highly. In 1982 and 1986 the Pingxiang Sixian Theatre Troupe took part in the third and fourth Hebei Provincial Theatre Festivals, and Zaokang Qing (The Chaff and the Bran) and Huangshang Hen (The Imperial Widow's Sorrow) won first prize.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Xingtai City lies in southern Hebei Province at the heart of the Bohai Rim economic zone: to the west it borders Shanxi along the Taihang Mountains, to the east it faces Shandong along the Wei Canal, to the north it adjoins Shijiazhuang and Hengshui, and to the south it connects with Handan, making it the northern gateway of the Central Plains economic zone. For several hundred years, Nanlu Sixian has enjoyed great fame among the folk for its distinctive vocal art, its strong flavour of everyday life and its plain, readily understood grass-roots style. To this day dozens of folk troupes remain active in Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong and elsewhere, performing in the villages and lanes, so that it is a genre known in every household and welcomed everywhere locally. After several hundred years of continuity, change and development, Nanlu Sixian has formed a complete system of music and vocal styles together with a highly individualised performance style. Its repertoire is rich, giving equal weight to traditional plays and modern plays, and accommodating both civil drama and martial drama. Its vocal styles are distinctive, its metrical patterns complete and its tune patterns rich; the vocal system consists chiefly of a combination of the two registers yuediao and guandiao, using the real voice to articulate the words and the falsetto voice to carry the melody, the real and falsetto voices used together to mutual advantage — pleasant to hear and good to watch, and deeply loved by the broad masses of the people. Repertoire such as Cao Cao Sha Gong (Cao Cao Slays in the Palace) and Zhong Bao Guo (Loyalty in Guarding the State) of Nanlu Sixian in Ren County, and Huangniu Xianling (The Magistrate of Huangniu County) and Hai Rui Gao Zhuang (Hai Rui Files a Complaint) in Pingxiang, has remained perennially popular. Over the years, Nanlu Sixian troupes in various localities have created, performed, recorded and released a large number of plays. The script of Fang Kunshan (Visiting Kunshan), as adapted and performed by the Ren County Nanlu Sixian Theatre Troupe, has been permanently kept by the National Library of China. The newly composed historical play Huangniu Xianling (The Magistrate of Huangniu County) by the Hongfu Sixian Theatre Troupe of Pingxiang County took part in the eleventh provincial theatre festival and won the Hebei Province Fine Arts Works Support Award.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Sixian is an operatic genre unique to Hebei Province; because of regional differences it is divided into eastern, western, southern, northern and central sixian. Nanlu Sixian is one of the important local operatic genres of Hebei Province and of its neighbouring provinces. Rich in local character, it provides vivid material for the study of China's history, culture, folk customs and ways of life.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Zao Kang Qing (The Chaff and the Bran) was published in comic-strip form by the China Opera Publishing House and circulated throughout the country. Repertoire such as The Small Sword Society, The Women Generals of the Yang Family and San Xiu Fan Lihua (Fan Lihua Rested Three Times) was recorded and broadcast by national and provincial radio stations and released as records by China Record Corporation. In recent years Xingtai City has created a number of modern Nanlu Sixian plays, which play a positive role in promoting core socialist values and building the new countryside.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

• Chen Xiuzhi

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Nanlusixian (Xingtai, Hebei) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗