Nanqu
01 · Historical Records
Nanqu arose between the Qianlong and Guangxu reigns of the Qing dynasty and has a history of about two hundred years.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
In the course of its long transmission, Nanqu continually absorbed musical elements from Tujia folk songs and from shadow puppetry, unifying the local spoken language with its melodic style and so forming a strong artistic appeal; it is praised in the world of music as "the fragrant mountain flower". Nanqu performance mainly adopts the seated-singing form, accompanied by instruments such as the small sanxian, erhu, sihu, yangqin, yueqin (colloquially "kuaizi") and yunban (also called "jianban" or "yazi"), with the small sanxian as the leading instrument. Accompanied by these instruments, Nanqu singing sounds all the more pleasing to the ear, displaying artistic features of gentle subtlety and beautiful lyricism. In performance it may be sung by one person accompanying himself, or sung in antiphonal duet by two or more actors taking different role types, or sung in unison by several people. During the performance one person may be assigned to play alone while another sings and beats the clapper; alternatively one person may beat the clapper while several others each play a sanxian at the same time, joining in with choral support when the melody is drawn out in the extended cadential run (tuoqiang). The lyrics of Nanqu consist mainly of seven-character lines, and its vocal music belongs to the tune-pattern (qupai) system. Thirty-one traditional vocal tune patterns of Changyang Nanqu survive to the present, divided into two classes, Nanqu and Beidiao. The basic tune patterns of the Nanqu class include [Nan Qu Tou], [Duo Zi], [Shang Xia Ju], [Wei Qiang], [Shu Ban], [Lang Ban], [Huo Hu Lu], [Bei Qiang] and [Hu Qiang], while of the Beidiao class only a single pattern, [Ji Sheng Diao], survives. Wufeng Nanqu has nearly thirty vocal tune patterns surviving today, together with a rich and varied body of titles and lyrics. The more than one hundred titles that survive draw mostly on historical novels and chuanqi stories, and "Cai Zi You Jiang" (The Scholar Roaming the River), "San Guo Ying Xiong" (Heroes of the Three Kingdoms), "Zhao Jun He Fan" (Zhaojun Going to the Border), "Da Yu Sha Jia" (Fishing and Slaying the Family) and "Hong Niang Di Jian" (Hongniang Delivering the Letter) are representative works among them. Nanqu is often sung at wedding ceremonies, birthday celebrations, banquets for honoured guests and gatherings of close friends; it carries a certain element of self-amusement, hence the saying that people "play silk strings" (wan sixian).
Cai Zi You Jiang (The Scholar Roaming the River)
The more than one hundred titles that survive draw mostly on historical novels and chuanqi stories, and "Cai Zi You Jiang" (The Scholar Roaming the River), "San Guo Ying Xiong" (Heroes of the Three Kingdoms), "Zhao Jun He Fan" (Zhaojun Going to the Border), "Da Yu Sha Jia" (Fishing and Slaying the Family) and "Hong Niang Di Jian" (Hongniang Delivering the Letter) are representative works among them.
San Guo Ying Xiong (Heroes of the Three Kingdoms)
The more than one hundred titles that survive draw mostly on historical novels and chuanqi stories, and "Cai Zi You Jiang" (The Scholar Roaming the River), "San Guo Ying Xiong" (Heroes of the Three Kingdoms), "Zhao Jun He Fan" (Zhaojun Going to the Border), "Da Yu Sha Jia" (Fishing and Slaying the Family) and "Hong Niang Di Jian" (Hongniang Delivering the Letter) are representative works among them.
Zhao Jun He Fan (Zhaojun Going to the Border)
The more than one hundred titles that survive draw mostly on historical novels and chuanqi stories, and "Cai Zi You Jiang" (The Scholar Roaming the River), "San Guo Ying Xiong" (Heroes of the Three Kingdoms), "Zhao Jun He Fan" (Zhaojun Going to the Border), "Da Yu Sha Jia" (Fishing and Slaying the Family) and "Hong Niang Di Jian" (Hongniang Delivering the Letter) are representative works among them.
Da Yu Sha Jia (Fishing and Slaying the Family)
The more than one hundred titles that survive draw mostly on historical novels and chuanqi stories, and "Cai Zi You Jiang" (The Scholar Roaming the River), "San Guo Ying Xiong" (Heroes of the Three Kingdoms), "Zhao Jun He Fan" (Zhaojun Going to the Border), "Da Yu Sha Jia" (Fishing and Slaying the Family) and "Hong Niang Di Jian" (Hongniang Delivering the Letter) are representative works among them.
Hong Niang Di Jian (Hongniang Delivering the Letter)
The more than one hundred titles that survive draw mostly on historical novels and chuanqi stories, and "Cai Zi You Jiang" (The Scholar Roaming the River), "San Guo Ying Xiong" (Heroes of the Three Kingdoms), "Zhao Jun He Fan" (Zhaojun Going to the Border), "Da Yu Sha Jia" (Fishing and Slaying the Family) and "Hong Niang Di Jian" (Hongniang Delivering the Letter) are representative works among them.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Nanqu is also called "silk strings" and is popular in the area of Changyang Tujia Autonomous County and Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County, Hubei Province. Nanqu has a large number of titles, of which about two hundred and fifty have now been collected; they fall roughly into four classes: the first draws on novels and drama scripts, the second on folk stories and legends, the third on social entertainments and jesting verses, and the fourth is used for singing in praise of scenery and expressing the heart's feelings.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Its words are clear and elegant, its music archaic and simple, its history long, its base among the masses deep and its performers numerous; it is the result of artistic and cultural exchange and blending between the Tujia and Han peoples, and it has important reference value in studies such as ethnology and cultural studies. At present Nanqu has a dearth of successors, its survival is in crisis, and it urgently needs protection and transmission.
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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