Qinghai Xiaxian

01 · Historical Records

Qinghai xiaxian circulates in Xining City of Qinghai Province and in the nearby Hehuang region. It arose in the late Qing dynasty and has a history of more than a hundred years. This narrative art form comes from the singing of blind people at the liuqisuo during the Qianlong reign. From the middle of the Qing dynasty until the late Qing and early Republican period it was passed on among the blind, and gradually matured into a distinct genre, taking its name from the xiaxian diao, which supplies the main tune in performance.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Qinghai xiaxian is performed by one or two singers seated, in a very simple form, and can be performed on the spot in parks and hotels, in teahouses and restaurants, and in streets and lanes. A male performer singing alone accompanies himself on the banhu or the sanxian; a female performer singing alone plays the sanxian herself; when a man and a woman perform together, the man plays the banhu and the woman the sanxian. The principal tunes of Qinghai xiaxian are the xiaxian diao, the fang xiaxian diao (in imitation of the xiaxian tune) and the ruan xiaxian diao (soft xiaxian tune). There are also suite pieces such as 【Xia Beigong】 and fixed tune patterns such as 【Qian Beigong】, 【Liqing】, 【Zaoluo】 and 【Hou Beigong】. The vocal music is built on a principal tune framed by an opening and a closing section. The principal tune has a marked rhythm and is good at narration; the opening and closing sections may be long or short and are good at lyrical expression. The prelude and the instrumental interludes are independent musical sections, played with the string-tuning method of the xiaxian diao. The lyrics of xiaxian pieces are generally four lines, of varying length and endlessly varied. The melodic structure of the vocal style is short and compact, and a piece is sung straight through from beginning to end. Although the four lines recur, the many variations within them keep the singing beautiful and moving and touching the heart. In particular, the opening and closing sections follow the lyrics: where the words are long the tune is long, where the words are short the tune is short, giving a swaying richness and a flavour all its own.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Qinghai xiaxian has traditional pieces such as Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage, Leaving Cao's Camp, Yue Fei's Mother Inscribes His Back and Lin Chong Buys a Sword, as well as short items such as Flowers Bloom in the Twelfth Month and A Wild Goose Carries a Letter. Lin Chong Buys a Sword is further divided into short sections including Lin Chong Seeks a Son, Vowing Thanks at the Eastern Peak Temple, Buying the Sword, Interrogation in the Hall, Entering the Prison, Lady Lin's Farewell and Descending the Mountain.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

At present the survival and development of Qinghai xiaxian has run into a crisis and has fallen into a situation in which there is nobody to succeed the existing performers; it urgently needs protection. Liu Yanbiao (from the official file of the associated inheritor): male, of Han ethnicity, born in October 1942, native of Xining City, Qinghai Province. A folk blind artist, he studied the various genres of Qinghai local narrative arts from childhood. After years of study he can sing such genres as Xining xianxiao, Qinghai yuexian and Qinghai xiaxian. His performing technique is accomplished, his diction clear and his style distinctive. His representative work Fine Scenery on Both Banks of the Hehuang River won the 1991 creative work award and the excellence award for amateur cultural performance by the masses, issued by the Qinghai Provincial Department of Culture. He is a representative inheritor of Qinghai xiaxian, a national-level intangible cultural heritage item in the fourth batch. He has taken part many times in cultural performances held at the national, provincial and municipal levels and has been well received. In 1984 he took part in the Chinese music competition for the blind and won the third prize awarded by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Culture.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

• Liu Yanbiao 04-1729

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Qinghai Xiaxian (Qinghai) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Liu Yanbiao · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗