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 four-stringed huqin and its ensemble
The four-stringed huqin leads the Ningbo zoushu ensemble, with pipa, erhu and sanxian seated behind at stage right.
Seven-character lines and thirteen rhymes
The prosody of Ningbo zoushu: seven-character lines in a two-two-three structure, rhymed at even line ends by the Ningbo thirteen rhyme categories.
Opening tune with ensemble echo
The customary opening: the siping tune starts the book and the band echoes its last line, while the fudiao varies in tempo for lament or memory.
The Great Red Robe; Lives of Heroes
Representative historical long works of Ningbo zoushu, performed alongside its shorter domestic tales.
Household parties and market stages
The usual occasions for Fenghua zoushu: market days, temple fairs and birthday parties in tea houses and village halls.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Fenghua is one of the important centres of transmission for Ningbo zoushu, belonging, together with Yin County, Cixi, Yuyao, Zhenhai and other places, to a single storytelling circuit. Zoushu performances in the Fenghua area depend mostly on township teahouses and village banquets; at markets, temple fairs and birthday celebrations the performers are invited to tell stories, and their repertoire leans on historical long narratives while also including short works such as “The Twin Pearl Ball”. Singing is accompanied mainly by the four-stringed huqin, together with the pipa, erhu and sanxian; the sung text uses seven-character lines in a two-two-three structure, following the thirteen rhyme categories of Ningbo pronunciation, with rhymes at the ends of the paired lines and free mixing of level and oblique tones. After 1949 the performance form developed from a single act into a two-person act and even a man-and-woman duo. The Fenghua District Cultural Centre of Ningbo City is the protection unit for this project, responsible for registering and recording zoushu performers and for organizing their transmission.
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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