Sanxian Shu
01 · Historical Records
It formed in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and has a history of more than three hundred years.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Sanxian shu, also called “sanxian jiaozishu”, is current in Qinxian, Wuxiang, Qinyuan and Xiangyuan in southeastern Shanxi, in Zuoquan and Yushe in central Shanxi, in Anze and Fushan in southern Shanxi, and in Nanyang, Henan and the areas around it. In its earliest form sanxian shu was performed by an actor who tied clappers to the leg and sang while holding a sanxian, a style known as “leg-clapper shu”. It later developed into a form in which one person holds a jiaozi and keeps time on an octagonal drum while singing, and another person works a bangzi with the foot and plucks the sanxian in accompaniment; a sheng, a hu and a zheng are sometimes added to the accompaniment. In its later stage, sanxian shu performances generally used a standing delivery, with all manner of stagecraft worked into the singing: the actors sang and danced at once, and the accompanists joined in to lend support, so that singing and answering alternated and the whole performance was full of interest. In the early Qinzhou sanxian shu a single person both narrated and sang, accompanying himself on the sanxian, the shuai ban and small cymbals. It later developed into a group form with one lead person and several others assisting the narration in different role types; those on stage shared out the instruments — sanxian, erhu in normal and reversed tuning, flute, sixian, erhu and so on — playing as they sang. The person who carried the main burden of narration and performance had to play the sanxian and also strike the small cymbals by hand and bind the shuai ban to the leg. The vocal music of Qinzhou sanxian shu belongs to the banqiang system and consists of two parts, “yue diao” and “ping diao”. “Yue diao” includes such metrical patterns and singing styles as “pingban”, “duoban”, “chanban” (also written “zhanban”) and “kuban”; “ping diao” is built from six melodic phrases. Its melodies are lovely and pleasing to the ear, and are used mainly to sing and narrate short pieces. Before a Qinzhou sanxian shu performance the musicians usually play a passage of instrumental tune pattern, then chant four lines of “outline” (tigang), then “raise the ban” — also called “call the ban” — and only then move into the narration of the “main text” (zheng shu). Its traditional repertoire consists mainly of long works; a single work runs to roughly thirty to sixty chapters and can be performed continuously for a month or two.
Yue tune and ping tune
The two halves of the Qinzhu sanxian-shu tonal system: the yue mode with its several metrical types, and the six-phrase ping mode for short pieces.
Outline, opening call and main text
The performance sequence of Qinzhu sanxian-shu: an instrumental prelude, four recited lines of outline, the opening call, then the main narrative.
From leg-board to standing ensemble
The formal evolution of sanxian-shu from the leg-board solo to a standing ensemble in which several performers divide the roles.
Tale of the Virtuous Woman; The Sweat-Shirt; The Golden Bell
Three long titles in the repertory of Li Siwen, running thirty to sixty chapters and taking one or two months to perform.
Traditional short pieces such as Liu Fang Abandons His Son
Short pieces from the repertory, including Zhu Yuanzhang Herding Sheep and Luo Cheng Tells Fortunes.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The transmission of Qinzhou sanxian shu is centred on Qinxian, with Wuxiang, Qinyuan, Xiangyuan and other counties and cities forming its area of spread. Storytelling gatherings and temple fairs in the Lu'an area went on without interruption, and storytellers were often invited to villages and communities to perform “divine books” (shen shu) and “votive books” (huanyuan shu). Performers have traditionally been for the most part blind men, who worked collectively as the blind arts teams (mangxuan dui) of the county, with a head of the troupe leading them in groups into the countryside; one book of thirty to sixty chapters could be narrated for a month or two. In 1978 the Qinxian Quyi Troupe was reorganised into performing groups, with Li Siwen as leader of Group Five, and in 1993 he became head of the troupe, going on to be the mainstay of the Qinxian Blind Quyi Troupe; for many years he led his troupe on tour through Changzhi and the counties of southeastern Shanxi, taking part many times in the Changzhi City cultural performances and winning prizes. The protecting unit is the Qinxian Cultural Centre.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Sanxian Shu.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present sanxian shu is declining year by year in Shanxi and has few successors, so corresponding measures are urgently needed to rescue and protect it in time. Li Siwen (official archive record of the associated inheritor): Male, of Han nationality, born in November 1961, a native of Qinxian County, Shanxi Province. At 19 he entered the school of Yan Yiqing to learn to sing Qinzhou sanxian shu, and four years later completed his training and led a troupe on village tours. In 1978 he became leader of Group Five of the Qinxian Quyi Troupe and in 1993 head of the Qinxian Quyi Troupe, becoming the mainstay of the Qinxian Blind Quyi Troupe. His voice is distinctive and his expressiveness rich, especially in his sanxian technique, which is exceedingly refined; he can also play string instruments such as the banhu, the erhu and the jinghu. He is noted for the long works Tale of the Virtuous Woman, The Sweat-Shirt and The Golden Bell, and for traditional short pieces such as Liu Fang Abandons His Son, Zhu Hongwu Tends His Sheep, Wenquxing Descends to the Mortal World, Wang Yuanwai Divorces His Wife, Luo Cheng Casts Lots, Snatching the Copper Coins, Big-Foot King, The Great Changeover and Da Laidai. He is the representative inheritor of the third national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item Sanxian Shu (Qinzhou Sanxian Shu). For more than thirty years he has worked on the performance, the tidying up and the transmission of Qinzhou sanxian shu and on the training of inheritors, his footsteps reaching every city and county of southeastern Shanxi, and he has taken part many times in the Changzhi City cultural performances and won prizes.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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