Shanzhouluogushu
01 · Historical Records
It originated in ancient sacrificial rites and in the jumping-god rites, and was already widely current in the Sanmenxia area in the early Qing dynasty; by the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns the performers had begun to form troupes and travel to give performances, and it continued to develop and has flourished down to the present. Its repertoire is extremely rich. There is a saying that “it does not narrate long passages of dynastic affairs, but speaks of winnowing baskets and needlework”; its subjects are chiefly exhortation to goodness, myth and historical stories; its content mainly reflects folk anecdotes, stories of family life and local customs and manners, and is full of local colour.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Shanzhou luogushu is an ancient form of quyi transmitted in the area under the jurisdiction of Sanmenxia City, Henan Province; it is named for the fact that it is accompanied by gong and drum, which beat time while the singing goes on. Because a lead instrument, the four-string fiddle, was added to it in its later development, it is also called “four-string fiddle book”. The performance form of Shanzhou luogushu is seated singing, mainly sung, with a high-pitched delivery and a strict rhythm. A performance troupe generally consists of four to eight people, and the accompanying instruments are gong, drum, clappers, hand cymbals, four-string fiddle, sanxian, banhu, erhu, sheng, dizi and so on. The lead singer operates seven or eight kinds of instruments single-handed and can also portray many different roles. During performance it is sung in local dialect and rustic speech, with a strong local flavour. Its vocal music belongs to the banqiang (metrical-tempered) system; the principal ban patterns are “manban” (slow board), “erxing”, “feiban”, “liushui”, “jianban”, and also the special vocal mode “manzi qiang” and others; the ensemble distinguishes between a civil and a martial side. Its principal traditional text repertory includes “Hongluoshan”, “Shuanglongji”, “Wusongzhuan” and so on.
Home tales rather than dynasties
A local saying notes it prefers sewing-basket tales to dynastic epics, its themes being moral persuasion, myth and history.
Main traditional titles
Its principal traditional titles; performance is seated singing, high-pitched and strictly rhythmic.
Its metres and manzi mode
A banqiang system with slow, double, flying, flowing and interlude metres plus the distinctive manzi mode, split into civil and martial sections.
One singer, seven or eight instruments
In a troupe of four to eight the lead singer works seven or eight instruments himself and takes multiple roles.
Newly composed pieces
Recent compositions that have been performed over three thousand times, alongside master-pupil and family transmission through troupes.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Shanzhou luogushu is also called four-string fiddle book; it is named for the fact that gong and drum beat time during the singing and that the lead instrument, the four-string fiddle, was added in its later stages. It is now current chiefly in Shanzhou District, Lushi County and Lingbao City under the jurisdiction of Sanmenxia City in Henan Province, as well as in some counties and cities of the neighbouring parts of Shanxi Province and Shaanxi Province. The Sanmenxia area lies at the junction of Henan, Shanxi and Shaanxi. Yellow River canal transport and the caravans of the old post roads brought in the speech intonation and melodic modes of various places, and luogushu was already widely current here in the early Qing dynasty; in the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns the performers began to form troupes and travel to give performances. Performances are seated singing, troupes generally number four to eight, the lead singer operates seven or eight kinds of instruments single-handed and can portray several different roles, and the ensemble distinguishes between a civil and a martial side. The Sanmenxia Municipal Mass Arts Centre is the protecting unit, and in recent years transmission has been carried on through troupe performances and school-visit activities.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
It is now current chiefly in Shanzhou District, Lushi County and Lingbao City under the jurisdiction of Sanmenxia City in Henan Province, as well as in some counties and cities of the neighbouring parts of Henan Province and Shanxi Province. In recent years works such as “Nanwa Renjia”, “Singing The East Is Red Again”, “Togettingher Towards a Well-off Life”, “The Ten-bowl Feast of Shanzhou” and “A Couple Quarrelling” have been created, with more than 3,000 performances given. Shanzhou luogushu is transmitted mainly through performance troupes, by master-disciple succession and by family transmission. Shanzhou luogushu has important academic value and social value. As a locally rare genre of quyi, its qupai music and performance form are primitive and unadorned, giving it precious historical-documentary value for the study of the development and evolution of Chinese quyi. It has a long history and distinctive character, is warmly welcomed by the people, and plays a role that cannot be ignored in enriching the cultural life of the people, in strengthening new socialist countryside construction, and in building a harmonious society.
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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