Changxinwen
01 · Historical Records
Since the late 1980s, the number of people watching changxinwen has steadily dwindled, and many performers have left the art to make a living elsewhere.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Changxinwen is also called "luogushu" (gong-and-drum book); it is an ancient genre of quyi widely transmitted in Xiangshan County under Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, and in neighbouring Beilun and Yinzhou. It is called "singing the news" because what is sung is mostly current events that have just taken place. Within Xiangshan, changxinwen is always performed in the local Xiangshan speech and tunes, and its content largely reflects local customs and conditions, so it is also called "Xiangshan changxinwen", abbreviated as "xinwen". Performance alternates between speech and song, with song predominating. Lyrics are mostly in seven-syllable lines, though long and short lines occur as well, and paired lines rhyme. There are two forms of staging: dan kou (single mouth, one performer) and shuang kou (double mouth, two performers). In the single-mouth form the performer holds a small gong and bamboo clappers in the left hand and a drumstick and a gong plate (a bamboo slip) in the right, with a small waist drum set on the left thigh; sometimes the performer speaks and sings while beating, sometimes sings a passage, then plays a burst of gong and drum before resuming the narrative. In the double-mouth form one performer leads and beats the drum board himself, while the other joins in as a second singer. Before the performance it is usual to beat a burst of gong and drum to draw in the audience, a practice known as "naochang" (livening the venue). When the show opens the performer first sings four or six lines of text, called the "shu maozi" (book cap), after which the piece moves into the "zheng shu" (main book), sung with occasional spoken narration. Changxinwen uses many tunes, most of which took shape by absorbing the various local tunes. In the Ningbo area, including the Xiangshan region, the vocal styles and tunes in common use comprise, besides the basic tune "Xinwen Diao", such pieces as "Zhenhai Diao", "Ci Diao" and "Fu Diao". Traditional repertoire includes the full-length "zheng shu", also called "dangjia shu", such as "The Two Lan Yings", "Wu Yulin", "The Sun-and-Moon Zither", "The Story of Nailing Shoes", "The Cage and the Chest", "Returning the Gold Bracelet", "The White Jade Sash", "The Drugged Dog", "Parting the Mandarin Ducks", "The Ingot", "The Generals of the Yang Family", as well as "The Hair Loop", unique to Xiangshan; there are also "opening books", usually sung before the main book, such as "Practising Health", "Warning Against Gambling", "The Bachelor" and "The Man with the Sore Head Carries His Wife".
Solo and duet performance
In the solo form the singer holds a gong, clappers, stick and bamboo blade over a small waist drum; in the duet one leads at the drum while the other sings along.
The warming drum and the book cap
A drum roll called the "noisy ground" gathers the crowd, after which a four- or six-line "book cap" opens the main narration.
The principal tunes
Beyond the basic News Tune, performers in Ningbo and Xiangshan draw on the Zhenhai, ci and fu tunes among many local melodies.
The long household books
The long "household books" include these titles and the Xiangshan-only Coil of Hair, told over many evenings.
The opening numbers
Short, humorous opening numbers sung before the main book to hold the crowd.
Ye Shengjian and Evergreen Scallion
Ye Shengjian's Evergreen Scallion won a Xingxing award at the tenth China Art Festival; he also collected script material and trained new performers.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Changxinwen is also called "luogushu"; it is widely transmitted in Xiangshan County under Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, and in neighbouring Beilun and Yinzhou. The Xiangshan County Cultural Centre is the protecting unit. Within Xiangshan it is always performed in the local Xiangshan speech and tunes, and its content largely reflects local customs and conditions, so it is also called "Xiangshan changxinwen", abbreviated as "xinwen". The old performers there are growing ever older and young and middle-aged performers are extremely scarce; since the late 1980s audiences have dwindled, many performers having left the art to seek a living elsewhere.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Especially because the old performers are growing ever older and young and middle-aged performers are extremely scarce, changxinwen faces a severe survival crisis and is in urgent need of protection. Ye Shengjian (official archive record of the associated inheritor): male, of Han ethnicity, born in March 1960, native of Xiangshan County, Zhejiang Province. His vocal style is pure and authentic, his voice clean and resonant, full of penetrating and stirring power. His representative works include the full-length "Three Counties in Joint Judgement" and the short pieces "Xu Fu Comes to Xiangshan" and "The Perennial Onion". Every year he gives more than sixty free public performances in villages and communities, and has travelled many times to take part in performances outside the province. He works actively to pass on changxinwen, collecting and sorting the sung-text materials of "The Strange Case of Xinchang" and "Ciyun's Journey Through the Realm"; his student Li Suqin has already become a rising new performer on the stage. He is a representative inheritor of the fifth national-level intangible cultural heritage project changxinwen. His work "The Perennial Onion" won the Qunxing Award (Stars of the Masses) at the 10th China Arts Festival in 2013.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Ye Shengjian 05-2523
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。