Nanpingquzi
01 · Historical Records
Historical records state that during the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty large numbers of migrants from Shaanxi and Gansu moved into Nanping, where the cultures of Shaanxi and Gansu, of Bashu and of the various ethnic groups met and fused, giving rise to Nanping quzi with its distinctive local character.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Jiuzhaigou county of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, was formerly Nanping county. It is an area where Han, Tibetan, Qiang and Hui people live in mixed settlement, and it adjoins Gansu province to the northeast. Nanping quzi is sung in the local Chinese dialect and is basically performed in the plucked-and-sung form, accompanied mainly by the Nanping pipa and often with percussion such as porcelain dishes and clappers. According to its melodic structure and singing style, Nanping quzi is divided into two parts, huaquzi and beigongquzi. Huaquzi are short, concise lyrical folk songs, with representative works such as Cai Hua. Their structure is generally that of strophic song, performed as solo, antiphonal duet, one-leader-with-many-joining, or in unison. There are two singing methods, gaoqiang and pingdiao; gaoqiang is used mainly for the male voice, while pingdiao can be used by either men or women. The rhythm of huaquzi is orderly yet rich and varied, combining the steadiness of southern minor tunes with the liveliness and bounding energy of northern quzi; the melodies flow freely and smoothly, are mostly pentatonic, and are highly expressive. Beigongquzi are mainly narrative folk songs that sing stories of short and medium length; they have two structural types, the single-tune form and the linked-tune form. In the linked form, one tune pattern may serve as both the beginning and the end with other tune patterns inserted in the middle, or several different tune patterns may be strung together. The lyrics are mostly in lines of unequal length, and their literary forms include pure narrative and a combination of narrative with the speaking of a persona. The singing forms of beigongquzi are relatively simple, comprising only solo and unison, and the male voice is always sung in gaoqiang. The words are strongly articulated, the metre is not very regular, the range is wide, and the melody leaps widely, giving a strongly declarative quality. Its representative work includes Pan Hong Jun.
Cai Hua
A representative work of the huaquzi section of Nanping quzi, a short and concise lyrical folk song.
Pan Hong Jun
A representative work of the beigongquzi section of Nanping quzi.
Hua-quzi and Bei-gong-quzi
Divided by melodic structure and singing style into two parts: huaquzi, lyrical folk songs generally in strophic form; and beigongquzi, narrative folk songs that sing stories of short and medium length, in two structural types, the single-tune form and the linked-tune form.
Nanping pipa song-form
Sung to the accompaniment of the Nanping pipa, often with percussion such as porcelain dishes and clappers; there are two singing methods, gaoqiang and pingdiao, gaoqiang being used mainly for the male voice while pingdiao may be sung by either men or women.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Nanping quzi circulates in the area of Jiuzhaigou county (formerly Nanping county) of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, where Han, Tibetan, Qiang and Hui people live in mixed settlement and which adjoins Gansu province to the northeast. During the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty large numbers of migrants from Shaanxi and Gansu moved into Nanping, where the cultures of Shaanxi and Gansu, of Bashu and of the various ethnic groups met and fused, forming Nanping quzi with its distinctive local character; performers sing in the local Chinese dialect, basically in the plucked-and-sung form, accompanied mainly by the Nanping pipa and often with percussion such as porcelain dishes and clappers.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The content of Nanping quzi is broad, covering love, farming, historical legend and other subjects, and it is of important reference value for the study of the history, culture and social conditions of Jiuzhaigou. Because Nanping quzi is difficult to sing, fewer than three people can now master its repertoire and vocal technique with any completeness, and protective measures are urgently needed. Huang Decheng (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, of Han ethnicity, born in August 1947, native of Jiuzhaigou county, Sichuan province. On the basis of fully and systematically mastering the traditional techniques and repertoire, he has infused his own characteristic style and is deeply loved by the local people. He has collected and sorted out more than thirty Nanping quzi that were on the verge of being lost, and has arranged and composed more than twenty works. In April 2004 he founded a training centre locally, devoted to taking apprentices and transmitting the art. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item Nanping quzi; former director of the education, science, culture and health committee of the Jiuzhaigou county people’s congress. For many years he has devoted himself to performing Nanping quzi, collecting materials and training successors. He has taken part in more than two hundred performance events of various kinds, has appeared many times on China Central Television and on provincial television stations, and has won awards. The work Yinwei Youni, which he created and performed in, won second prize at the 2010 arts performance of the Sichuan provincial agricultural and water conservancy system and the outstanding work prize of the twelfth Five-One Project award for spiritual civilization in Sichuan province in 2011.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Huang Decheng 05-2100
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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