Sichuan Yangqin
01 · Historical Records
Since the Qing dynasty, the storytelling-and-singing of the tanci type of quyi in the south and the drum-word forms of the great drum or drum book in the north, though sharing a common origin and branching apart, all belong to the storytelling-and-singing forms of the tanci type of quyi; combined with the indigenous operatic and folk tunes of Chongqing and Chengdu and transformed in the process, they gave rise to the Sichuan "yangqin" storytelling-and-singing music. In 1937, when Chongqing served as the wartime capital, quyi performers gathered in the city and "yangqin" troupes stood thickly side by side, competing with one another in holding open shows — earning a living while also contending for fame — so that yangqin was able to reform and develop. In the 1940s Chongqing had the Chongxin Yangqin Society, the Shuya Qinju Society and others. Yangqin performers who became famous from the 1950s onward were to be found throughout the city's urban districts and its suburbs.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Sichuan yangqin is one of the quyi music genres of Chongqing and Sichuan. The two places share a common tune-based music system, but each also has its own line of transmission and development and its own vocal characteristics. During the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty, Chongqing (also called Yuzhou) belonged to the "zhou diao" school of "yangqin". The Baxian Gazetteer of Chongqing contains a record of "Fu Qi yangqin", which should be assigned to the "zhou diao" school. In particular, through exchange with Chuanju (Sichuan opera) performers — either using their song-books directly to sing huqin plays, or having Chuanju performers who had drifted into obscurity switch to singing "yangqin" — "yangqin" flourished in the teahouses and restaurants. During the War of Resistance against Japan, Chongqing's "Mass Education Centre" gathered and influenced a large number of quyi performers, among them no few noted yangqin masters, who publicised resistance and national salvation and roused patriotic enthusiasm. Its reliably documented origins likewise extend back over a century; to this day the history of Sichuan yangqin in Chongqing is still being carried on, with difficulty.
The zhou mode in the Ba County Gazetteer
Chongqing yangqin belongs to the zhou mode, recorded as early as the Guangxu-era Ba County Gazetteer, sharing a tonal system with Chengdu yet preserving its own lineage.
Chongxin and Shuya yangqin societies
1940s Chongqing yangqin societies that, with wartime influx of performers, drove the genre's renewal.
Great Opening, Small Opening and General's Order
Representative pieces by Chen Zaibi, a 1958 recruit of the Chongqing troupe known for her powerful male-role singing.
Visiting Kin; Mother and Daughter; Through the Kuimen Gorge
Chen Zaibi's creative works; Visiting Kin won a 1982 Ministry of Culture composition prize for southern-region quyi.
One singer, many voices
Ye Jishu's signature skill of switching voice for several roles, drawing on Beijing, Henan, Sichuan and Huangmei opera.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Chongqing branch belongs to the "zhou diao" school of yangqin, and the Baxian Gazetteer of the Guangxu reign of the Qing already records "Fu Qi yangqin". During the War of Resistance against Japan Chongqing was the wartime capital and quyi performers gathered there, with "yangqin" troupes standing thickly and competing to hold open shows; in the 1940s there were the Chongxin Yangqin Society and the Shuya Qinju Society and others. From the 1950s onward performers entered professional troupes through the quyi teams. The Chongqing Municipal Quyi Troupe Co., Ltd. is the protecting unit of this project.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Sichuan Yangqin · Sichuan Yangqin · Sichuan Yangqin.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Beginning in 1951, Chongqing yangqin, together with other quyi genres and their performers, passed through the "Learned Society of Operatic and Quyi Performers", the "Quyi Singing Production Group", the "Quyi Team" and on to the "Chongqing Municipal Quyi Troupe", training generation after generation of yangqin successors and preserving a large body of traditional pieces and programmes. Chongqing Sichuan yangqin has documented origins, a long history of transmission, coexisting schools and surviving successors. Chen Zaibi (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Female, Han ethnicity, born in April 1947, native of Chongqing Municipality. In 1958 she was admitted to the Chongqing Municipal Quyi Troupe and studied the performance and singing techniques of Sichuan yangqin under Li Deyuan. Her timbre is rich and full-bodied; she is skilled in the male style and can also sing the female style. Her principal works include Dakaimen, Xiaokaimen and Jiangjun Ling. While performing Sichuan yangqin she also began to try her hand at composition, and her works won provincial or ministerial awards on several occasions. Her representative works include Tanqin, Mu Nü Qing and Chuang Kuimen. Representative inheritor of the Sichuan yangqin project under the fourth batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage. Tanqin won the second prize for composition at the 1982 national quyi southern-region exchange performance organised by the Ministry of Culture. Ye Jishu (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Female, Han ethnicity, born in October 1945, native of Chongqing Municipality. A national second-grade performer. She devoted herself to studying the vocal styles of noted yangqin masters in the Chongqing and Sichuan areas, drawing on the essence of such genres as Peking opera, Henan opera, Chuanju and Huangmei opera; one performer can take several roles with the voice changed for each, the male style is firm and the female style soft, her performance is delicate and expressive in word and feeling alike; she enriched the ornate vocal techniques of Sichuan yangqin and formed a distinctive performing style. Her representative pieces include Xiang Lian Chuang Gong, Bei Lou Sha Xi, Tanqin and Bao Yu Ku Ling. Representative inheritor of the Sichuan yangqin project under the fifth batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage. In 2002 the work Wu Du Ming Deng, in which she performed, won the tenth Wenhua New Play Award. In 2007 Yue Guang Xia De Shui Xian, in which she performed, was nominated for an Outstanding Production award in the National Stage Art Masterpiece Project jointly run by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Finance.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Xu Shu 03-1187
- Liu Shiyan 03-1188
- Chen Zaibi 04-1722
- Ye Jishu 05-2512
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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