Qiyangxiaodiao
01 · Historical Records
Qiyang xiaodiao, also called "diaozi" or "xiaoquzi", is a sung form of quyi transmitted in Qiyang County, Hunan Province, and its surrounding areas. The Qiyang County Cultural Centre is the protecting unit. Qiyang is the birthplace of Qiju opera, where dramatic art and folk tunes have long converged; xiaodiao took shape gradually on the basis of Ming and Qing folk shiqi, absorbing the characteristics of the local flower drum, silk-string music (sixian) and local speech, and is sung mostly at festivals, weddings and private hall performances. Traditional repertoire is mostly named after the tune that is sung, such as "Keeping the Young Man at the Fifth Watch", "Flowers Bloom in the Four Seasons", "Cutting Chinese Chives" and "Flower-Gathering Tune"; most of the pieces are very brief, while their vocal styles and tunes are rich and varied, lively and clear in style.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Qiyang xiaodiao, also called "diaozi" or "xiaoquzi", is a sung form of quyi transmitted in Qiyang County, Hunan Province, and its surrounding areas. The traditional form of performance is usually a single woman standing and singing while striking saucers herself, with a man seated to accompany her on the erhu; there is also a duet in which a man holds a flowered fan and a woman holds a handkerchief, the two singing and dancing as they go. Later there appeared the form of seated singing accompanied by a small silk-string ensemble, and a group form of eight to twelve persons combining singing, speaking and counting. The accompanying instruments grew to include the yueqin, sanxian and yangqin, and in some cases the bamboo flute, small suona and percussion instruments. The lyrics are mostly in the seven-syllable four-line form, and the vocal styles and tunes belong to the qupai (tune pattern) system; the tunes in common use include "Keeping the Young Man at the Fifth Watch", "Flowers Bloom in the Four Seasons", "Cutting Chinese Chives" and "Flower-Gathering Tune". Traditional repertoire is also mostly named after the tune that is sung. Most of the pieces of Qiyang xiaodiao are very brief, but their vocal styles and tunes are rich and varied. They are lively and clear in style, the performance is distinctive in its own way, and the value is highly singular.
A woman on saucers, a man on erhu
The traditional pairing is a woman standing and striking saucers while a seated man accompanies on the erhu.
The named tunes of Qiyang xiaodiao
Its common airs give many items their titles, for the genre uses a tune-family system with short texts and rich melodies.
The fan-and-handkerchief duet
In another mode a man with a painted fan and a woman with a handkerchief sing antiphonally while dancing.
The eight-to-twelve-voice ensemble
A later ensemble form unites eight to twelve performers in singing, speech and patter over a small string band.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Qiyang lies in the middle reaches of the Xiang River and adjoins Lingling, Dong'an and Changning; the circulation of dialect and folk tunes has made Qiyang xiaodiao widely sung in southern Hunan. The traditional form of performance is usually a single woman standing and singing while striking saucers herself, with a man seated to accompany her on the erhu; there is also a duet in which a man holds a flowered fan and a woman holds a handkerchief, the two singing and dancing as they go. Later came seated singing accompanied by a small silk-string ensemble and group performances by eight to twelve persons; the accompanying instruments grew to include the yueqin, sanxian and yangqin, and in some cases the bamboo flute, small suona and percussion instruments. The local cultural centre keeps the tradition alive by sorting out vocal styles and tunes and organising amateur troupes to perform. Qiyang lies in the middle reaches of the Xiang River and adjoins Lingling, Dong'an and Changning; the circulation of dialect and folk tunes has made Qiyang xiaodiao widely sung in southern Hunan. The traditional form of performance is usually a single woman standing and singing while striking saucers herself, with a man seated to accompany her on the erhu; there is also a duet in which a man holds a flowered fan and a woman holds a handkerchief, the two singing and dancing as they go. Later came seated singing accompanied by a small silk-string ensemble and group performances by eight to twelve persons; the accompanying instruments grew to include the yueqin, sanxian and yangqin, and in some cases the bamboo flute, small suona and percussion instruments. The local cultural centre keeps the tradition alive by sorting out vocal styles and tunes and organising amateur troupes to perform. Qiyang xiaodiao is also often engaged to sing at private hall performances for weddings and birthday celebrations; the duet form of one woman striking saucers and one man playing the erhu is the most welcome in the countryside, and the name of the tune sung is the name of the piece.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
However, its development today is beset by difficulties and it is in urgent need of support and protection.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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