Quanzhou Beiguan

01 · Historical Records

In the early years of the Guangxu reign of the Qing, folk music from the Jianghuai region entered Quangang District of Quanzhou City aboard merchant ships, with salt convoys marching south and refugees from the Huai River, and Quanzhou Beiguan gradually took shape. It has passed through five stages: germination and growth (from the late 1870s to the 1920s), its prime (from the late 1920s to the early 1950s), a downturn (from the late 1950s to 1976), recovery (from 1977 to 1994) and renewing development (from 1995 to the present), and it has been handed down continuously to this day. Most qu pieces derive from Jianghuai ditties of the Ming and Qing periods onwards, while most pu pieces derive from Guangdong music, Jiangnan sizhu and Peking opera tune patterns.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Quangang District of Quanzhou City lies on the southern shore of the beautiful and fertile Meizhou Bay, close to Hong Kong and Macao and facing Taiwan; it is the meeting point of the two language groups Minnan and Puxian. Here southern music, Xiang opera, Gaojia opera and puppetry coexist with Puxian opera and other folk art forms. Quanzhou Beiguan is precisely an exotic flower of folk music growing in this special geographical setting and artistic atmosphere. “Beiguan” is also called “beiqu”, “xiaoqu”, “xiaodiao” or “quzai”; it is a kind of sizhu music widely circulated in Quangang District of Quanzhou City, and Beiguan associations also exist in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and elsewhere. The lyrics are mostly narrative or scenic in feeling, and the interjection “aiyo” is often used at the ends of musical phrases, periods and whole pieces. Singing is done in guanhua, that is Huguang speech, comparable to modern Mandarin. In the prelude and at the ends of phrases and periods the singer often sings while playing a percussion instrument, which adds a great deal of life to the piece. The singing frequently rises by an octave, and it also borrows some vocal techniques from Puxian music and Nanyin, making the voice powerful and resonant as well as extended and tender. Pu pieces are generally played without gongs and drums; only clappers or wooden fish drums are used to mark the strong beats. The common form is several tune patterns linked together, but there are also piece forms built up through metrical variation. The ensemble keeps the instruments of Jiangnan sizhu and borrows those of Minnan and Puxian music. The principal instruments are the jinghu and the flute, together with such characteristic instruments as the yueqin, the sanxian and the shuangqing. Representative qu tune patterns of Quanzhou Beiguan include Si Da Jing, Cai Lian, Cai Sang, Yu Mei Ren, Hong Xiu Xie, Chu Han Guan and Da Hua Gu, while the pu repertoire includes Liu Chuan, Cao Qin, Guangdong Chuan, Suzhou Chuan, Hua Liu Ban, San Ban, Jiang Jun Ling, Tai Ping Ge, Ping Ban, Xing Ban, Ba Ban Tou, Da Ba Ban and Jiangnan Da Ba Ban.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Beiguan falls into two large categories, qu and pu: qu are vocal pieces, pu are instrumental pieces. The musical style of Quanzhou Beiguan keeps both the clarity and elegance of Jianghuai folk songs and the soft beauty of Minnan and Puxian music; it is vigorous and plain in character and has long been known as “the messenger of the Son of Heaven”.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Careful excavation and collation of Quanzhou Beiguan is of real importance for studying the connections among Taiwanese Beiguan, Japanese gagaku and Quanzhou Beiguan, for studying cultural exchange and economic trade between China and Japan, between Fujian and Taiwan, and between Quangang and Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and for studying the transition between the Minnan colour-area and the Puxian colour-area of Fujian folk music. Zhuang Longzong (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): a native of Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. His singing voice is resonant and passionate, combining firmness with tenderness, and he skilfully blends the vocal styles of Peking opera and Puxian music. He devoted himself to teaching Quanzhou Beiguan and also took an active part in rescuing and uncovering Beiguan pieces, collating and compiling more than two hundred of them; some have been included in the Collection of Chinese Folk Music, Fujian Volume. Male, Han, born in March 1926, died in February 2015. Representative inheritor of Quanzhou Beiguan, inscribed in the fourth national-level batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage. Zhuang Mingjia (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, Han, born in December 1927, a native of Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. His playing keeps both the clarity and elegance of Jianghuai folk songs and the soft beauty of Minnan and Puxian music; the sound is vigorous and plain and full of character. Representative inheritor of Quanzhou Beiguan, inscribed in the fifth national-level batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage. He has taken part many times in provincial, municipal and international cultural exchange performances and won prizes. He devoted himself to training successors, actively undertook emergency protection of Quanzhou Beiguan, and volunteered to help collect and compile Beiguan pieces.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

• Zhuang Longzong 04-1531
• Zhuang Mingjia 05-2093
• Liu Zongxun

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Quanzhou Beiguan (Quanzhou, Fujian) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Zhuang Longzong · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Zhuang Mingjia · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗