Yinggeliushu
01 · Historical Records
Yingge liushu is also called "yingge liuzi"; it evolved from the tune pattern [yingge liu] of Ming-dynasty liuzi opera, and is transmitted chiefly in southwestern Shandong, southern Shandong, eastern Henan and northern Jiangsu. In the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns of the Qing dynasty, Yingge liushu performers Cheng Mengbu and Cheng Zuozhou became famous throughout Shandong and Henan, indicating that this shuaying form had already reached a considerable degree of maturity. In the late Qing and early Republican period, Yingge liushu was combined with yuguqiang tunes, and from this combination the form known as "zhuidi shu" was further derived. The earliest known Yingge liushu performer in Heze, Shandong, was Zhang Xiazhi of Zhongdiqiao, Cao County, in the late Qing and early Republican period; after him there appeared in succession a group of Yingge liushu performers including Zhang Baoliang, He Liwen, Zheng Yukun and Zheng Haiquan of Cao County and Cao Zhitian of Dingtao.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Yingge liushu is usually performed in the two-person form (shuangdang), the two performers singing and playing in turn: the singer holds an octagonal frame drum in the left hand and strikes it with the right hand, while the accompanist sits at the side playing a sanxian (three-string fiddle) in response. In its early phase, Yingge liushu performance was dominated by singing, using tune patterns such as [jieziyun], [yuediao] and [pingdiao], and its vocal music was rich and varied; in its later phase, performance shifted to an alternation of speech and song, and the musical structure correspondingly became that of a single tune repeated. Its basic vocal style is the four-sentence form (siju qiang), from which all other vocal styles were derived and developed. Each sentence of the four-sentence form comprises four bars, forming a melodic contour built on the chi-cheng-zhuan-he (rise, carry, turn, close) scheme, and the trailing dawei chenqiang that follows is likewise a complete four bars, giving the style great expressiveness. Yingge liushu covers a wide range of subjects and has a rich repertory; its works are at once literary and orderly and also colloquial and close to everyday speech, revealing a strong local flavour. Its principal repertory includes more than a dozen medium- and long-length works such as Xu Xian Rescues the Lake, Guan Gong Takes Leave of Cao Cao, Dragon and Phoenix Bracelets, The Sweat-Shirt Story and Yang Zongbao Descends the Mountain, together with more than sixty pieces of duanshu (short narrative ditties) such as Miaochang Gives Birth, The Story of the Curtain Roller and The Rabbit Takes the Pawn Ticket.
Xu Xian Rescues the Lake
Yingge liushu covers a wide range of subjects and has a rich repertory; its works are at once literary and orderly and also colloquial and close to everyday speech, revealing a strong local flavour. Its principal repertory includes more than a dozen medium- and long-length works such as Xu Xian Rescues the Lake, Guan Gong Takes Leave of Cao Cao, Dragon and Phoenix Bracelets, The Sweat-Shirt Story and Yang Zongbao Descends the Mountain, together with more than sixty pieces of duanshu (short narrative ditties) such as Miaochang Gives Birth, The Story of the Curtain Roller and The Rabbit Takes the Pawn Ticket.
Guan Gong Takes Leave of Cao Cao
Yingge liushu covers a wide range of subjects and has a rich repertory; its works are at once literary and orderly and also colloquial and close to everyday speech, revealing a strong local flavour. Its principal repertory includes more than a dozen medium- and long-length works such as Xu Xian Rescues the Lake, Guan Gong Takes Leave of Cao Cao, Dragon and Phoenix Bracelets, The Sweat-Shirt Story and Yang Zongbao Descends the Mountain, together with more than sixty pieces of duanshu (short narrative ditties) such as Miaochang Gives Birth, The Story of the Curtain Roller and The Rabbit Takes the Pawn Ticket.
Dragon and Phoenix Bracelets
Yingge liushu covers a wide range of subjects and has a rich repertory; its works are at once literary and orderly and also colloquial and close to everyday speech, revealing a strong local flavour. Its principal repertory includes more than a dozen medium- and long-length works such as Xu Xian Rescues the Lake, Guan Gong Takes Leave of Cao Cao, Dragon and Phoenix Bracelets, The Sweat-Shirt Story and Yang Zongbao Descends the Mountain, together with more than sixty pieces of duanshu (short narrative ditties) such as Miaochang Gives Birth, The Story of the Curtain Roller and The Rabbit Takes the Pawn Ticket.
The Sweat-Shirt Story
Yingge liushu covers a wide range of subjects and has a rich repertory; its works are at once literary and orderly and also colloquial and close to everyday speech, revealing a strong local flavour. Its principal repertory includes more than a dozen medium- and long-length works such as Xu Xian Rescues the Lake, Guan Gong Takes Leave of Cao Cao, Dragon and Phoenix Bracelets, The Sweat-Shirt Story and Yang Zongbao Descends the Mountain, together with more than sixty pieces of duanshu (short narrative ditties) such as Miaochang Gives Birth, The Story of the Curtain Roller and The Rabbit Takes the Pawn Ticket.
Yang Zongbao Descends the Mountain
Yingge liushu covers a wide range of subjects and has a rich repertory; its works are at once literary and orderly and also colloquial and close to everyday speech, revealing a strong local flavour. Its principal repertory includes more than a dozen medium- and long-length works such as Xu Xian Rescues the Lake, Guan Gong Takes Leave of Cao Cao, Dragon and Phoenix Bracelets, The Sweat-Shirt Story and Yang Zongbao Descends the Mountain, together with more than sixty pieces of duanshu (short narrative ditties) such as Miaochang Gives Birth, The Story of the Curtain Roller and The Rabbit Takes the Pawn Ticket.
Miaochang Gives Birth
Yingge liushu covers a wide range of subjects and has a rich repertory; its works are at once literary and orderly and also colloquial and close to everyday speech, revealing a strong local flavour. Its principal repertory includes more than a dozen medium- and long-length works such as Xu Xian Rescues the Lake, Guan Gong Takes Leave of Cao Cao, Dragon and Phoenix Bracelets, The Sweat-Shirt Story and Yang Zongbao Descends the Mountain, together with more than sixty pieces of duanshu (short narrative ditties) such as Miaochang Gives Birth, The Story of the Curtain Roller and The Rabbit Takes the Pawn Ticket.
The Story of the Curtain Roller
Yingge liushu covers a wide range of subjects and has a rich repertory; its works are at once literary and orderly and also colloquial and close to everyday speech, revealing a strong local flavour. Its principal repertory includes more than a dozen medium- and long-length works such as Xu Xian Rescues the Lake, Guan Gong Takes Leave of Cao Cao, Dragon and Phoenix Bracelets, The Sweat-Shirt Story and Yang Zongbao Descends the Mountain, together with more than sixty pieces of duanshu (short narrative ditties) such as Miaochang Gives Birth, The Story of the Curtain Roller and The Rabbit Takes the Pawn Ticket.
The Rabbit Takes the Pawn Ticket
Yingge liushu covers a wide range of subjects and has a rich repertory; its works are at once literary and orderly and also colloquial and close to everyday speech, revealing a strong local flavour. Its principal repertory includes more than a dozen medium- and long-length works such as Xu Xian Rescues the Lake, Guan Gong Takes Leave of Cao Cao, Dragon and Phoenix Bracelets, The Sweat-Shirt Story and Yang Zongbao Descends the Mountain, together with more than sixty pieces of duanshu (short narrative ditties) such as Miaochang Gives Birth, The Story of the Curtain Roller and The Rabbit Takes the Pawn Ticket.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Yingge liushu fully reflects the local customs, manners and regional character of the border zone between Shandong and Henan, and it is of important reference value for research in folk art, northern dialects and folklore. Yingge liushu is transmitted centred on the counties of Cao County, Dingtao, Shan County and Chengwu in Heze, spreading along southwestern Shandong into southern Shandong, eastern Henan and northern Jiangsu, where it competes on the same stage with the local yugu and zhuidi. Zhang Xiazhi of Zhongdiqiao, Cao County, in the late Qing and early Republican period is the earliest known performer, and after him came Zhang Baoliang, He Liwen, Zheng Yukun and Zheng Haiquan of Cao County and Cao Zhitian of Dingtao in succession; in his later years Zheng Yukun handed on his skills to Zheng Wenxiang of Cao County and Gao Zhijun of Heze. Since the 1950s, Yingge liushu has mostly been carried by shuaying troupes on tour into the countryside, and the repertory still centres on medium- and long-length works such as Xu Xian Rescues the Lake, Guan Gong Takes Leave of Cao Cao and Dragon and Phoenix Bracelets, with more than sixty pieces of duanshu such as Miaochang Gives Birth and The Story of the Curtain Roller also sung. The protecting unit is the Heze Municipal Institute of Arts.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In his later years Zheng Yukun transmitted his skills in full to Zheng Wenxiang of Cao County and Gao Zhijun of Heze; these two elderly men are today the only inheritors of this rare shuaying form in the Heze area. At present this shuaying form has few or no successors and is close to extinction, so urgent rescue is needed.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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