Ningbo Zoushu
01 · Historical Records
It originated during the Tongzhi and Guangxu reigns of the Qing dynasty, and gradually took shape through the refinement of successive generations of performers.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Ningbo zoushu is also known as “lotus document singing” and “ploughshare document singing”, and is popular in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, and the areas around it. The performance of Ningbo zoushu passed through three stages of development. It began as the “seated singing” performed by a single artist, who sang while playing instruments and accompanying himself or herself; it then developed into “inner zoushu”, with one performer seated behind the table singing and another seated at the side of the table accompanying; later the singer and the accompanist sat on opposite sides of the table, and the singer could move about on the stage while performing, a form called “outer zoushu”. In the early years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Ningbo zoushu had already developed from “seated singing” into “walking singing”, and from a single act into a two-person act and even a man-and-woman duo. In performance a table is set on the stage, hung with an ornate table surround made of purplish-red silk velvet, embroidered with the zoushu performer's name or the name of the storytelling troupe; on the table are placed a folding fan, a handkerchief and a hardwood striking block — a few performance props. The singer sits on the left of the table and the accompanist on the right. When a two-person zoushu is performed, the two artists sit on opposite sides of the table, and the band sits at the rear right of the stage. Besides speaking, singing and playing instruments, the performers must also achieve “xue” and “yu” in the course of the performance. “Xue” means provoking laughter through humorous speech and gesture; “yu” means that a single performer acts many role types — sheng, dan, jing, mo and chou. Ningbo zoushu uses a large number of tune patterns, the most important being the “Siping tune”, the “fu tune” and the “matou tune”, collectively called the “old three doors”; besides these there are more than thirty other tune patterns, including the “huanhun tune”, the “ci tune”, “erhuang”, “sandun” and “san-wu-qi”. The “Siping tune” is generally used to open a repertoire piece, and its final line is often joined in sung by the band; the “fu tune” varies with the course of the story and the character of the personage, and is divided into fast, medium and slow variants to suit different situations — laments and recollections, for example, commonly use the slow fu; the “matou tune” is used mostly for narration. The accompanying instruments of Ningbo zoushu include the four-stringed huqin, the pipa, the erhu and the sanxian, among others, with the four-stringed huqin as the principal instrument. The sung text generally uses seven-character lines in a two-two-three structure, with rhymes at the end of the paired lines, following the thirteen rhyme categories of the Ningbo pronunciation, where level and oblique tones may rhyme freely. On the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the best-known zoushu performers of Yin County, Ningbo, were Chen Kaixiang, Jiang Shunhai and others, who exerted considerable influence among the masses. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China up to the present, further well-known zoushu actors such as Zhang Zhiqing and Xu Zhiqing have emerged, contributing to the development of this storytelling form in modern and contemporary times. The repertoire of Ningbo zoushu includes historical long narratives such as “The Scarlet Robe”, “The Green Robe” and “The Chronicle of the Heroes”, together with short works such as “The Twin Pearl Ball”, “The Jade Lotus Ring” and “The Picture of Ten Beauties”, the former predominating.
The “three old gates” tunes
The three principal tunes of Ningbo zoushu: the opening siping tune, the flexible fudiao and the narrative matou tune.
Sitting, inner and outer walking-book
The three stages of Ningbo zoushu staging, from solo sitting performance to the walking-book forms with a separated accompanist.
Xue and yu
Two required skills besides speech, song and plucking: comic byplay and the solo impersonation of many role types.
The Great Red Robe; The Green Robe; Lives of Heroes
The historical long works of Ningbo zoushu, which dominate its repertoire alongside smaller tales.
Twin Pearl Ball; Jade Linked Rings; Ten Beauties
The shorter domestic tales of Ningbo zoushu, performed between the historical long works.
The table setting of Ningbo zoushu
The stage arrangement of Ningbo zoushu: a table with an embroidered crimson velvet skirt and a fan, handkerchief and wooden block upon it.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Ningbo zoushu is transmitted in Yin County and in the neighbouring Ningbo counties and cities of Fenghua, Cixi, Yuyao and Zhenhai, with the Yin County line having the greatest influence around the founding of the People's Republic of China; performers such as Chen Kaixiang and Jiang Shunhai based their activities in Yin County, and after the founding of the PRC well-known actors such as Zhang Zhiqing and Xu Zhiqing emerged. Performances are given mostly in township teahouses, at private banquets, and in the open-air venues where storytelling troupes tour the countryside; the performers narrate long historical works in the “old three doors” tune patterns, and also perform short pieces such as “The Twin Pearl Ball”. Xianliu Village, Xianxiang Town, Yinzhou District, Ningbo City is the protection site for this project, where local cultural institutions organize the registration, recording and transmission of zoushu performers.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Ningbo Zoushu.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, because of the impact of outside culture and the changes in the cultural ecology, the performance market for Ningbo zoushu is shrinking day by day, storytelling troupes have been dissolved, large numbers of zoushu performers have taken up other occupations, and the art has fallen into a state of imminent danger, urgently in need of rescue and protection.
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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