Yicheng Qinshu Balladry
01 · Historical Records
There is no documentary evidence for the time when Yicheng qinshu took shape; judging by the master-disciple succession of its performers, it was already flourishing in the late Qing dynasty, and its history goes back at least one hundred and twenty years.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The performance form of Yicheng qinshu alternates between spoken narration and singing, is sung mainly, and uses the Yicheng accent. In the early period a single performer struck the jiaozi (small clappers) to accompany himself, and there were also performers who beat a yangqin themselves or played a yueqin to accompany the narration and singing. Later a multi-person performance form appeared, with instruments such as the small yangqin, the sanxian and the sihu added to the accompaniment. In the early years of the Republic, bamboo flutes, banhu, erhu, small cymbals and the octagonal drum were added as accompanying instruments. Still later there came forms of performance by a pair of two or by several people. In two-person performance, one person beats the octagonal drum and sings while the other plays the yueqin for accompaniment; in multi-person performance, one performer sings lead while holding the octagonal drum or a single cymbal, and the others divide the accompanying instruments or take part in 'split singing'. In performance a table is placed in the centre of the venue, the lead performer stands behind the table, and the instrumentalists sit on either side. The vocal system of Yicheng qinshu is a mixed clapper-and-tune-pattern system, comprising two vocal tunes, 'bo'er qiang' (the cymbal style) and 'gu'er qiang' (the drum style). 'Bo'er qiang' is named for the lead performer holding a single cymbal in hand during performance; it belongs to the clapper-pattern type, with clapper patterns including the slow clapper, the two-eight clapper, the flowered two-eight, the tight two-eight and the flying clapper. 'Gu'er qiang' is named for the lead performer beating an octagonal drum by hand to accompany the singing during performance, and belongs to the single-tune type. The two styles can both be used within a single sung passage. 'Gu'er qiang' is generally used only once, and is normally inserted into 'bo'er qiang'. The lyric format is mainly seven-character lines in paired upper and lower lines, with the lower line rhymed. Yicheng qinshu has a great many traditional works: it is known to include more than fifty long-form books, more than seventy short-form books, more than two hundred 'huishu' episodes often excerpted for performance, and more than three hundred 'shumao' opening pieces, an extremely rich heritage.
The clapper book and the local book
Two bynames of Yicheng qinshu: the "clapper book" from its single-leaf cymbals, and the "local book" from its regional circulation.
The cymbal aria and the drum aria
Its mixed metrical-and-tune system pairs the cymbal aria, a metrical form in five metres, with the drum aria, a single-tune form inserted once within it.
The octagonal drum and single cymbal
The lead singer holds an octagonal drum or a single cymbal while others accompany, an ensemble that grew from a lone clapper to include yangqin, sanxian and fiddles.
Fifty long books and three hundred preludes
The heritage is large: over fifty long books, seventy short ones, two hundred extractable episodes and more than three hundred prelude songs.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Yicheng qinshu is also called 'jiaozi shu' and is commonly known as 'bendi shu'; it is a form of quyi storytelling popular in Yicheng County in southern Shanxi and in the surrounding areas of Quwo, Xiangfen, Fushan, Qinshui and Jiang County. Yicheng qinshu, also named 'jiaozi shu' and colloquially 'bendi shu', circulates in Yicheng County of southern Shanxi and the neighbouring districts of Quwo, Xiangfen, Fushan, Qinshui and Jiang County; the Yicheng County People's Cultural Centre is the protecting entity. There is no documentary record of the time it took shape; inferred from the master-disciple succession of its performers, it was already flourishing by the late Qing dynasty, a history of at least one hundred and twenty years. In performance a table is placed in the centre of the venue, the lead performer stands behind it and the instrumentalists sit on either side; in a pair of two, one person beats the octagonal drum and sings while the other plays the yueqin for accompaniment, and in multi-person performance the performers divide the accompanying instruments or take part in 'split singing'. Its known traditional repertoire includes more than fifty long-form books and more than seventy short-form books, together with more than two hundred 'huishu' episodes often excerpted for performance and more than three hundred 'shumao' opening pieces.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
But for various reasons, the state of its survival and development today is a cause for concern, and rescue and protection are urgently needed.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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