Northeast Errenzhuan
01 · Historical Records
Errenzhuan took shape in the middle of the Qing dynasty and is widely transmitted in the provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang and in the eastern part of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It came into the Tongliao area in the early 20th century and has a history of one hundred years.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Errenzhuan is a form of folk quyi performed in speech and song in the Northeastern dialect, formed by the fusion of the Northeast yangge dance and lianhualuo. Errenzhuan performance is mainly centred on “shuang wanyi” and “qun chang”, in which two or more performers speak and sing in turn; there are also the forms “dan chu tou” and “lachang xi”, in which the performers act out roles. In “shuang wanyi” the two performers take the dan and chou roles respectively, singing and dancing as they speak and sing. In “qun chang” several performers each hold a different accompanying instrument and sit in turn to sing by role type. Errenzhuan is accompanied by instruments such as the banhu fiddle, the suona and bamboo clappers, and its vocal music is very rich, traditionally described as “nine styles and eighteen tunes, seventy-two keke”. The tune patterns in common use include “Huhuqiang”, “Laba Pingzi”, “Wen Keke” and others. Its lyrics are mainly in seven-character and ten-character lines, with long and short lines also used. Performance stresses the combined use of the four skills of singing, speaking, acting and dancing. The singing skill stresses “character, phrase, flavour, metre, register and force”, producing a high-pitched and fiery sound that is warm and pleasing to the ear; the speaking skill is divided into “shuokou”, “chengkou” (also called “taokou”) and “lingkou”, in which the chou teases the dan, mostly in rhymed speech, though there are also plain speech and rhythmic reciting, the language being witty and humorous; the acting skill (also called “ban gong”) stresses assisting the singing with body carriage and movement, emphasising the combined use of the techniques of hand, eye, body, method and step; the dancing skill is based mainly on the Northeast yangge dance and also absorbs elements of other folk dances and martial arts, while acrobatics such as playing fans, waving handkerchiefs, beating hand shakers and striking large bamboo clappers are interspersed, creating a lively and boisterous stage effect. Errenzhuan in Suiling, Heilongjiang Province, is a branch of Northeast Errenzhuan and has a history of more than one hundred and thirty years. It incorporates a variety of quyi styles, including Xihe dagu, Henan zhuizi, Northeast dagu, dakou luozi and pingtan, in order to portray the joy, anger, sorrow and happiness of the characters better. Its singing is not bound by the fast or slow limits of fixed metrical patterns and can be adjusted freely to suit the content and plot, using metrical techniques such as hei, hong, ding, chuang and pie, seizing the beat and the words to meet the needs of the performance. Suiling Errenzhuan breaks with the traditional form of using only handkerchiefs and fans: the performers carry a pair of fans on the upper body and a pair of hand shakers on the lower body, and its techniques of carrying the large clapper, the hand shakers and the pair of fans are distinctive and have been handed down to this day. Errenzhuan in the Tongliao area absorbs Mongolian dance steps in performance, and in its music blends Mongolian folk melodies into the vocal styles, forming features distinctive in its own right. On the one hand it inherits traditional Northeast Errenzhuan repertoire such as “Meeting at the Blue Bridge”, “Bao Gong Apologises”, “Sister Yang's Spring Outing”, “Li Cuilian Preaches on the Road”, “Liang Saijin Rolls Noodles”, “Yan Qing Sells Thread” and “Painting at the White Jade Tower”; on the other hand it has created new works with grassland characteristics such as “Wild Geese over the Plateau” and “The Archery Competitors”, displaying a moving grassland ethnic flavour.
Meeting at the Blue Bridge
On the one hand it inherits traditional Northeast Errenzhuan repertoire such as “Meeting at the Blue Bridge”, “Bao Gong Apologises”, “Sister Yang's Spring Outing”, “Li Cuilian Preaches on the Road”, “Liang Saijin Rolls Noodles”, “Yan Qing Sells Thread” and “Painting at the White Jade Tower”; on the other hand it has created new works with grassland characteristics such as “Wild Geese over the Plateau” and “The Archery Competitors”, displaying a moving grassland ethnic flavour.
Bao Gong Apologises
On the one hand it inherits traditional Northeast Errenzhuan repertoire such as “Meeting at the Blue Bridge”, “Bao Gong Apologises”, “Sister Yang's Spring Outing”, “Li Cuilian Preaches on the Road”, “Liang Saijin Rolls Noodles”, “Yan Qing Sells Thread” and “Painting at the White Jade Tower”; on the other hand it has created new works with grassland characteristics such as “Wild Geese over the Plateau” and “The Archery Competitors”, displaying a moving grassland ethnic flavour.
Sister Yang's Spring Outing
On the one hand it inherits traditional Northeast Errenzhuan repertoire such as “Meeting at the Blue Bridge”, “Bao Gong Apologises”, “Sister Yang's Spring Outing”, “Li Cuilian Preaches on the Road”, “Liang Saijin Rolls Noodles”, “Yan Qing Sells Thread” and “Painting at the White Jade Tower”; on the other hand it has created new works with grassland characteristics such as “Wild Geese over the Plateau” and “The Archery Competitors”, displaying a moving grassland ethnic flavour.
Li Cuilian Preaches on the Road
On the one hand it inherits traditional Northeast Errenzhuan repertoire such as “Meeting at the Blue Bridge”, “Bao Gong Apologises”, “Sister Yang's Spring Outing”, “Li Cuilian Preaches on the Road”, “Liang Saijin Rolls Noodles”, “Yan Qing Sells Thread” and “Painting at the White Jade Tower”; on the other hand it has created new works with grassland characteristics such as “Wild Geese over the Plateau” and “The Archery Competitors”, displaying a moving grassland ethnic flavour.
Liang Saijin Rolls Noodles
On the one hand it inherits traditional Northeast Errenzhuan repertoire such as “Meeting at the Blue Bridge”, “Bao Gong Apologises”, “Sister Yang's Spring Outing”, “Li Cuilian Preaches on the Road”, “Liang Saijin Rolls Noodles”, “Yan Qing Sells Thread” and “Painting at the White Jade Tower”; on the other hand it has created new works with grassland characteristics such as “Wild Geese over the Plateau” and “The Archery Competitors”, displaying a moving grassland ethnic flavour.
Yan Qing Sells Thread
On the one hand it inherits traditional Northeast Errenzhuan repertoire such as “Meeting at the Blue Bridge”, “Bao Gong Apologises”, “Sister Yang's Spring Outing”, “Li Cuilian Preaches on the Road”, “Liang Saijin Rolls Noodles”, “Yan Qing Sells Thread” and “Painting at the White Jade Tower”; on the other hand it has created new works with grassland characteristics such as “Wild Geese over the Plateau” and “The Archery Competitors”, displaying a moving grassland ethnic flavour.
Painting at the White Jade Tower
On the one hand it inherits traditional Northeast Errenzhuan repertoire such as “Meeting at the Blue Bridge”, “Bao Gong Apologises”, “Sister Yang's Spring Outing”, “Li Cuilian Preaches on the Road”, “Liang Saijin Rolls Noodles”, “Yan Qing Sells Thread” and “Painting at the White Jade Tower”; on the other hand it has created new works with grassland characteristics such as “Wild Geese over the Plateau” and “The Archery Competitors”, displaying a moving grassland ethnic flavour.
Wild Geese over the Plateau
On the one hand it inherits traditional Northeast Errenzhuan repertoire such as “Meeting at the Blue Bridge”, “Bao Gong Apologises”, “Sister Yang's Spring Outing”, “Li Cuilian Preaches on the Road”, “Liang Saijin Rolls Noodles”, “Yan Qing Sells Thread” and “Painting at the White Jade Tower”; on the other hand it has created new works with grassland characteristics such as “Wild Geese over the Plateau” and “The Archery Competitors”, displaying a moving grassland ethnic flavour.
The Archery Competitors
On the one hand it inherits traditional Northeast Errenzhuan repertoire such as “Meeting at the Blue Bridge”, “Bao Gong Apologises”, “Sister Yang's Spring Outing”, “Li Cuilian Preaches on the Road”, “Liang Saijin Rolls Noodles”, “Yan Qing Sells Thread” and “Painting at the White Jade Tower”; on the other hand it has created new works with grassland characteristics such as “Wild Geese over the Plateau” and “The Archery Competitors”, displaying a moving grassland ethnic flavour.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Errenzhuan in the Tongliao area was spread by Northeastern performers who arrived in the early 20th century and has a history of one hundred years; it is performed mostly in village yards, at temple fairs and in markets, and because Mongols and Han people live together on the Horqin grasslands, the performers absorb Mongolian dance steps and blend Mongolian folk melodies into their vocal styles, so their performing style has already diverged from that of Liaoning and Jilin.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Northeast Errenzhuan · Northeast Errenzhuan · Northeast Errenzhuan · Northeast Errenzhuan · Northeast Errenzhuan · Errenzhuan · Errenzhuan.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Suiling Errenzhuan is an important branch and typical representative of the northern Heilongjiang school of Errenzhuan, and it has irreplaceable reference value for research into the social history, folk customs, culture and art of the Northeast. At present Errenzhuan in the Tongliao area lacks successors and is in danger of dying out, so it urgently needs protection.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Li Xiuyuan 02-0751
- Zhao Benshan 02-0752
- Wang Zhongtang 02-0753
- Zhao Xiaobo 02-0754
- Shi Guiqin 02-0755
- Dong Xiaofang 04-1710
- Han Ziping 04-1711
- Wang Suzhen
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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