Wenzhou Guci Balladry

01 · Historical Records

It is performed in the Wenzhou dialect and has a strong local flavour and a distinctive artistic style; it was already being transmitted by the middle of the Qing dynasty. After the 1970s, ensemble forms of three or more performers did appear. Known artistic inheritors of Wenzhou drum words include Bai Mensong, Aguanger, Mao Xingfa and Chen Changde of the Qing dynasty; Cao Daiqing, Chen Renlian, Li Qingxin, Li Linmu, Bai Xiangzhen and Wang Akun of the Republican period; and Guan Huashan, Ruan Shichi, Zheng Mingqin, Ding Lingsheng, Chen Zhixiong, Fang Keduo, Xu Yuyan, Lin Xiuzhen and others since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Since the beginning of the 21st century the development of Wenzhou drum words has run into difficulties: performances are rare, the line of inheritors is broken, and urgent protection is needed.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Wenzhou drum words are a quyi genre popular in Wenzhou, Zhejiang and its neighbouring areas, popularly called 'changci' (sung words). Because performers in the past were mostly blind, it is also called 'guci' (blind words) or 'mangci' (blind words). Wenzhou drum words alternate between speaking and singing; the music of its vocal style is of the banqiangti system, its basic melody is the 'yindiao', its rhythm is even and easily catchy, and it has a rich variety of ban formulas. Performances are mainly by a single performer, the 'dan dang'; there are also two-person forms such as husband and wife, brother and sister, or master and apprentice, and the performer sings and speaks while accompanying himself on the niujin qin (a plucked instrument with a thick gut string). Wenzhou drum words have a very deep artistic accumulation and a large number of traditional programmes, including the mythological 'Nanyou' and 'Fengshen', the judicial-case 'Justice Bao's Cases', the historical 'Conquest of the East' and 'Conquest of the West', the worldly 'Twelve Reds' and 'Eight Beauties', the chivalric 'Seven Heroes and Five Gallants' and 'Seven Swords and Thirteen Gallants', as well as newly written programmes such as 'Haiying', 'Railway Guerrillas', 'The Marriage of Xiao'erhong' and 'Qiuxiang's Love for the Community'.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Wenzhou drum words take Rui'an as their centre and are popular in Wenzhou and in the neighbouring areas of Yongjia, Pingyang, Cangnan, Yueqing and Taishun; because performers in the past were mostly blind, they are also called 'guci' or 'mangci'. Performance is mainly by a single performer in 'dan dang' form, but there are also two-person groups formed by husband and wife, brother and sister, or master and apprentice, and the performer sings and speaks while accompanying himself on the niujin qin; the vocal style is of the banqiangti system, with the 'yindiao' as its basic melody, its rhythm even and easily catchy. Famous masters have come out in unbroken succession in the Rui'an line: Bai Mensong, Aguanger, Mao Xingfa and Chen Changde in the Qing dynasty; Cao Daiqing, Chen Renlian, Li Qingxin, Li Linmu, Bai Xiangzhen and Wang Akun in the Republican period; and Guan Huashan, Ruan Shichi, Zheng Mingqin, Ding Lingsheng, Chen Zhixiong, Fang Keduo, Xu Yuyan, Lin Xiuzhen and others after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Wenzhou Guci Balladry.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Ruan Shichi (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, Han nationality, born in 1929, native of Taishun, Zhejiang. At the age of 12 he became a disciple of the folk artist Wang Qifan, appeared on stage at 13, and by 17 his art had reached maturity; he became famous throughout Wenzhou for singing works such as 'Twelve Reds' and 'Five Phoenixes'. In 1952 he was elected chairman of the Rui'an County Quyi Association; in 1983 he was transferred to the Rui'an Cultural Centre, and he retired in 1986. His vocal style is graceful and restrained, his articulation of the words is clear, his language is plain, his expression vivid and his feelings delicate; he excels in portraying young ladies of wealthy families, pretty village girls and peasant women, and he formed the slender and ornate style of the 'Ruan school'. His representative works include: 'Twelve Reds', 'Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang' and others. Representative inheritor of Wenzhou drum words, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the second batch. In 2001 he was awarded by the Chinese Quyi Association the title of 'Special Contribution Artist to Fifty Years of New China's Quyi'. Fang Keduo (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, Han nationality, born in 1942, native of Pingyang, Zhejiang. In 1955 he began studying Wenzhou drum words under the folk artist Su Fangzu; in 1960 he was conscripted into the army, and in 1964 he was discharged and returned home to organize the Pingyang Quyi Troupe; in 1980 he was transferred to the Pingyang County Cultural Centre, in charge of quyi work, until his retirement. Both his vocal style and his accompaniment on the niujin qin inherit the traditions of his predecessors, while in performance he also absorbs and draws upon the characteristics of operatic art, which makes him deeply beloved by his audience. His representative works include 'The Whole Family Takes the Stage' and others. Representative inheritor of Wenzhou drum words, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the second batch.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

• Ruan Shichi 02-0722
• Fang Keduo 02-0723
• Chen Zhixiong 04-1704
• Wang Hanhua

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Wenzhou Guci Balladry (Ruian, Zhejiang) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Ruan Shichi · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Fang Keduo · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗