Xiaorehun
01 · Historical Records
Because it took shape out of the hawking calls made while selling pear candy (ligaotang, a boiled sweet that clears heat and dispels phlegm), the performers of former times, when plying their trade, both sold pear candy and performed — selling the pear candy while giving a performance.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Changzhou Xiao Rehun is a distinctive form of quyi, performed by way of reciting and singing, built on the quyi form of the same name that is widely popular in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas and drawing on the local Changzhou speech and folk tunes. To date it has a history of more than 150 years. Because most of the traditional programs satirise the dark phenomena of the society of the time, so as to avoid trouble and persecution, the performers named it "Xiao Rehun". The performance form of Changzhou Xiao Rehun is singing as the main element, with spoken narrative as well. Its programs aim at being lively and witty, the spoken narrative is comic and humorous, and the sung lyrics are easy to understand. The vocal styles draw largely on folk songs and ditties familiar to the local ordinary people, such as the pear-candy tune, the Qingnian tune, the Liuqiangniang tune, the xuanjuan tune, Xiaofangniu and the flower-drum tune; there are also cases in which the vocal styles and tune patterns of Changzhou tanhuang are borrowed and fitted with new lyrics for singing. The accompanying instruments are the small gong and bamboo clappers. The usual performance procedure is therefore: the opening, the "maikou" (hawking segment), singing the tunes, selling the candy, singing the "pian" (narrative piece), and seeing the audience off. Later there also appeared high-platform performance, and the tools used for selling pear candy were generally used as performance props.
The six-part programme
The Changzhou routine runs from an opening through patter, song, candy-selling and recitation to a farewell.
Familiar local tunes
Melodies such as the pear-syrup-candy tune and the Xuanjuan tune were taken from local folk song and from Changzhou tanhuang.
Gong and bamboo clappers
Only a small gong and bamboo clappers accompany the singer, who later brought the candy-seller's tools onstage as props.
Ye Lili's teaching work
Born in Changzhou in 1944, Ye Lili developed her own style and has run classes and lectures across the region.
Parent form of southern Jiangsu genres
Changzhou xiaorehun also served as a parent form for southern Jiangsu farce, Changzhou daoqing and comic duologues.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Changzhou Xiao Rehun is based on the local pronunciation of Changzhou, and its vocal styles draw largely on folk songs and ditties familiar to the local ordinary people, such as the pear-candy tune, the Qingnian tune, the Liuqiangniang tune, the xuanjuan tune, Xiaofangniu and the flower-drum tune; there are also cases in which the vocal styles and tune patterns of Changzhou tanhuang are borrowed and fitted with new lyrics for singing. The accompaniment uses only the small gong and bamboo clappers; later high-platform performance appeared, and the performers also generally used the tools for selling pear candy as performance props.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Xiaorehun.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Changzhou Xiao Rehun not only possesses distinctive artistic value in itself but is also an important matrix that gave birth to art forms such as Southern Jiangsu huaji xi, Changzhou daoqing and dujiao xi. Yet its development in modern times has met with extremely great difficulties: performers have decreased rapidly, the performance market has shrunk, and traditional programs have been lost, so rescue and protection are urgently needed. Ye Lili (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): Female, Han ethnicity, born in May 1944, native of Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province. She has rich artistic cultivation and solid basic skills, and on the basis of what she received from her master she developed further and formed a style of her own. Representative inheritor of Xiao Rehun, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fifth batch. Over many years she has actively devoted herself to the protection, inheritance and dissemination of the Changzhou Xiao Rehun project, performing in various places year-round, giving lectures and running Xiao Rehun training classes, and has trained a number of Xiao Rehun inheritors. The performance procedure of Changzhou Xiao Rehun is generally the six segments of the opening, the "maikou" (hawking segment), singing the tunes, selling the candy, singing the "pian" (narrative piece) and seeing the audience off; in former times the performers performed while selling the pear candy. Ye Lili, on the basis of what she received from her master, has a style entirely her own; she performs year-round, gives lectures and runs Xiao Rehun training classes, and has trained a number of inheritors.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- An Zhongwen 02-0759
- Zhou Zhihua 02-0760
- Ye Lili 05-2494
- Xuzhanggen 05-2495
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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