Dadiao Quzi
01 · Historical Records
Dadiao quzi is also called “guzi qu”, came into being in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and has a history of more than three hundred years to the present. After it was introduced into Nanyang, guzi qu absorbed a number of small tunes, opera vocal styles and folk ditties from Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Hubei; both its content and its form developed by leaps and bounds, until it finally became Dadiao quzi with its own local characteristics, and after the 1930s it flourished exceedingly in the Nanyang area. Among its repertoire are the folk songs, mountain songs, fishermen's songs and street-market ditties of the common people, and also refined solo and ensemble pieces such as [Man Jiang Hong], [Ku Zi Lu] and [Shan Po Yang]; there are the brisk and flowing, ardent and unrestrained [Bai Niao Chao Feng] and the lingering and heart-rending, as if weeping and complaining, [Kongzi Tan Yan Hui]; there are the elegant and lofty [Gao Shan Liu Shui] and [Han Gong Qiu Yue] and the humorous and whimsical [Ji Ji Gu] and [Pu Tao Jia]. It may indeed be said to be complete in its kinds and to be appreciated by both the refined and the popular.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Dadiao quzi is performed seated, and there are cases in which the singer accompanies himself while singing; but in the general case the singer and the accompanist sit together, holding clappers in their hands, striking the beats and singing. When a chorus occurs in the singing, it is often one voice leading and many joining in, and the audience too may join in the refrain on the spur of the moment, so the hall is filled with passion and the atmosphere is very warm. In the course of practice a number of representative figures of outstanding skill have emerged among Dadiao quzi artists; Zhou Shaoshao, Wang Gengxuan, Ma Wanshou, Cao Dongfu, Chen Youlan, Li Changxi, Zhai Wenqiang and others are among the finest of them. Dadiao quzi has a very rich accumulation of music, with 229 tunes and 56 bantou (band-head) pieces surviving to the present. The vocal music of Dadiao quzi belongs to the system of tune patterns linked together, and takes two forms, the single piece and the suite. A single piece uses one tune pattern to sing a passage of story or a single scene, such as singing The Meeting at the Ancient City to [Man Jiang Hong] and the Spring Outing to [Ji Sheng Cao]; a suite, by contrast, combines a number of pieces according to certain rules in order to narrate and express feeling. The suites of Dadiao quzi have several types, and may be divided into guzi suites, duozi suites, yuediao suites, matou suites and others.
Kao Hong (The Courting Scene)
The Dadiao quzi performance pieces now collected and edited into volumes number close to a thousand, and Kao Hong, Canhua Zitan and Lin Chong's Night Flight are among the representative works in them.
Canhua Zitan (A Withered Flower Laments)
The Dadiao quzi performance pieces now collected and edited into volumes number close to a thousand, and Kao Hong, Canhua Zitan and Lin Chong's Night Flight are among the representative works in them.
Lin Chong's Night Flight
The Dadiao quzi performance pieces now collected and edited into volumes number close to a thousand, and Kao Hong, Canhua Zitan and Lin Chong's Night Flight are among the representative works in them.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Guzi qu was first recorded in Kaifeng and was originally divided into three branches, the Zhoukou branch, the Yuxian branch and the Nanyang branch; later the Yuxian and Nanyang branches gradually merged in the course of their development. Dadiao quzi has circulated with Kaifeng, Zhoukou, Yuxian and Nanyang as its principal centres; after its introduction the Nanyang branch absorbed small tunes, opera vocal styles and folk ditties from Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Hubei, and in the 1930s it flourished exceedingly in the Nanyang area. Members of the circle often gather in courtyards and teahouses, sitting round, playing and singing, one voice leading and many joining in, and the audience too may join in the refrain on the spur of the moment. Nanyang City is the place of protection for this item, and the protecting unit is the Nanyang Quju Art Centre.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Dadiao quzi performance pieces now collected and edited into volumes number close to a thousand, and Kao Hong, Canhua Zitan and Lin Chong's Night Flight are among the representative works in them. At present Dadiao quzi has few successors, is on the verge of extinction, and urgently needs protection and transmission.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。