Lingchuangangbanshu
01 · Historical Records
It took shape in Lingchuan County, Shanxi Province, through the combination, evolution and development of the local "ganban shu" (dry-clapper storytelling) and the "siguxian" music of Henan. Its date of formation is not recorded in writing, but it was certainly already flourishing by the middle and later periods of the Qing dynasty, reached its height in the late Qing and early Republican era, and has a history of more than 200 years.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Lingchuan steel-plate storytelling is a form of quyi "small book" storytelling popular in southeastern Shanxi Province and parts of Henan Province; it is named for the steel plate the performer holds in the hand to beat the time and accompany the singing. Its performance alternates speech and song, with song predominant. The sung text is mainly in seven-syllable and ten-syllable lines; short passages keep a single rhyme throughout, while medium-length and long programmes change rhyme in the middle. Its vocal style belongs to the banqiang system and is divided into such sections as "introductory melody", "main melody", "lamenting melody" and "urgent melody". In its early period one person performed alone, sitting on stage, beating the drum and clappers himself, and playing a number of roles, entering and leaving the stage as different characters. Later the number of performers increased, which enriched the musical accompaniment with the addition of the zhonghu, the banhu and small cymbals in the percussion section. Its time-beating instrument, the steel plate, is distinctive: it can produce single beats, double beats, ornamented beats and chained beats. Its vocal style is resonant and elevated, and its manner is bold and unrestrained. Its traditional repertoire is mostly themed on punishing evil and promoting good, and on extolling loyalty, righteousness, trustworthiness, fairness and filial piety. In content, there are medium-length and long programmes portraying legal-case stories, chivalrous acts and national heroes, as well as short programmes portraying marriage, love and the everyday affairs of family life. It is distinguished for its long-form repertoire, and is one of the genres in Shanxi that perform a comparatively large number of medium-length and long works. Its representative works include "The Case of Lord Bao" (Baogong An), "The Case of Lord Xu" (Xugong An), "The Returning Dragon" (Huilong Zhuan) and "Wang Xiang Sleeping on the Ice" (Wang Xiang Wo Bing). It is a product of the mutual exchange and mutual penetration of the folk arts of the Jin and Yu regions, and it is of important value for the study of regional culture. Its programme content draws a clear line between good and evil, its themes are positive, and it is closely bound to the life of ordinary people, permeating traditional festivals, birthday and full-month celebrations, weddings and funerals, folk sacrifices and every other aspect of communal life. It is deeply loved by the broad masses, and plays an important role in invigorating the cultural life of the people, promoting the formation of good morality, and building a harmonious society.
Steel-plate strokes
The genre takes its name from the steel plates used as clappers, struck in single, double, flowered and chained patterns under a ringing, bold vocal style.
Representative titles
Its representative titles reward virtue and punish evil; the genre is noted in Shanxi for the number of long narrative works it performs.
Dry clapper boards meet four-string
It grew from the local dry-clapper form merging with Henan's four-string music, flourishing by the mid-to-late Qing over two centuries ago.
The county blind artists' troupe
One of its main transmitting groups today, alongside other troupes; the ensemble grew from a single seated singer to include huqin and cymbals.
Its four vocal modes
A banqiang system with introductory, main, weeping and urgent modes over seven- and ten-character lines.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Lingchuan steel-plate storytelling takes Lingchuan County of Jincheng City, Shanxi Province, as its centre of formation and transmission. It circulates through Lingchuan, Zezhou, Gaoping, Huguan and Changzhi in southeastern Shanxi, and owing to the trade routes and folk-art exchanges between Shanxi and Henan it has passed into parts of northern Henan. Lingchuan lies at the southern foot of the Taihang range; in the late Qing and early Republican era temple fairs, markets, weddings and funerals would often engage a small-book troupe to sit and perform, with artists opening by beating the steel plate themselves, playing a number of roles as they entered and left, and later adding the zhonghu, the banhu and small cymbals, so that the accompaniment gradually grew richer. Since the mid-20th century the local blind-artist quyi publicity teams have borne the main task of transmission, and bodies such as the Aihong Storytelling and Singing Troupe of Lingchuan County carry on the repertoire customarily performed; in recent years a new batch of short pieces reflecting stories of modern society has been composed.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In recent years new short pieces reflecting stories of modern society have been added. The main groups currently carrying on the tradition include the Blind-Artist Quyi Publicity Team of Lingchuan County, the Aihong Storytelling and Singing Troupe of Lingchuan County, and similar bodies. Lingchuan steel-plate storytelling has important recreational and educational functions and historical and cultural value.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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