Danxian Paizi Melody

01 · Historical Records

It originated in the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty, has a history of more than two hundred years, and is a genre that developed on the basis of the performing arts of Beijing chaqu and the octagonal drum (bajiao gu). Danxian music belongs to the connected tune-pattern form (qupai lianzhui); in the course of long evolution it has preserved the character of Beijing linked-tune-form quyi singing since the Qing dynasty. Chaqu developed and evolved on the basis of jingqiang (Peking-tune style) singing; it appeared roughly in the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty and circulated mainly in the Beijing area. The Nishang Xupu (Sequel to the Dance Music), published in Beijing in the sixtieth year of Qianlong (1795), already includes 148 chaqu pieces.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Danxian paizi melody is abbreviated as “danxian”; it is current in Beijing, Tianjin and northeast China. Danxian works fall into two types, the lyrical and the narrative; in performance the performer generally selects tune patterns according to what the content requires. The tune patterns most often used include [Taipingnian], [Yunsu diao], [Qie kuaishu], [Nancheng diao] and some sixty others. Its sung texts take two forms, the long-and-short line and the paired upper and lower lines; three-character openings, stacked sentences, embedded words and padding syllables are often inserted into the lines to strengthen expression. Danxian has many performance forms: one person may play and sing by himself, or one person may stand and sing while beating the octagonal drum with another person working the sanxian in accompaniment; there can also be antiphonal singing and group singing. The traditional repertoire of danxian is very rich and is drawn largely from huaben (storyteller’s script) fiction from the middle ages onward; Feng Yi Ting (Phoenix Pavilion), Cui Ping Shan (The Green Screen Hill), Gao Lao Zhuang (Old Gao’s Manor) and Dai Yu Zang Hua (Daiyu Burying Flowers) are all representative works of it. The lyrics of chaqu are both elegant and popular, its subject matter is varied, and its melodies are pleasing to the ear. Chaqu has three ways of performing: most often one person sings while beating the octagonal drum; it may also be sung by two people working the octagonal drum, or sung collectively as a group piece; when one person sings, another may work the sanxian in accompaniment alongside. Because danxian and chaqu are rather refined, mastering their performing techniques is not easy, so professional performers who can sing them well are becoming fewer and fewer, while many of the amateur performers (piaoyou) who have reached a certain artistic standard are already in their eighties. Added to this, few musical scores have been preserved, so the tunes of many schools are on the verge of being lost.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Danxian is a product of the blending of Manchu and Han folk art, and it has a strong Beijing local character.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Danxian Paizi Melody · Danxian Paizi Melody.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Today, in Beijing’s principal quyi amateur clubs such as Nishang Xuyong, Yongqing Shengping, Jinqiu Quyi Shalong, Laoyun Jingyin, Qutan Zhiyou and Quyi Zhijia, amateur performers (piaoyou) can often be heard singing danxian and chaqu. Danxian, chaqu and other quyi forms with Beijing local character have few successors and may at any time die out; the departments concerned urgently need to take effective measures and to do the work of rescue and protection well. Zhang Yunhua (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Female, of Manchu ethnicity, born in January 1948, native of Beijing. National first-class actress. Her stage manner is free and elegant, her singing has a rich flavour and clear diction, her performance is full of passion, and she is skilful at depicting every kind of character; in playing and beating the octagonal drum she has her own distinctive skill. In the early 1980s she worked with older-generation danxian artists to make bold reforms to traditional danxian, giving a series of traditional works new vitality. Her disciples include Yang Man, Lu Chen, Ma Jing and others. Representative inheritor of Danxian paizi melody (including chaqu), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fourth batch. Her work Xianglin Sao (Xianglin’s Wife) won the performance award of the second China Quyi Mudan Award in 2002, presented by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the China Quyi Association.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

• Zhang Yunhua 04-1718
• Ma Zenghui 05-2506
• Liu Xiumei

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Danxian Paizi Melody (Xicheng, Beijing) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Zhang Yunhua · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗