Minxi Han Opera

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Minxi Han Opera

Applicant: Longyan City, Fujian Province

Item No.: 177

Project No.: Ⅳ - 33

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: Traditional Drama

Region: Fujian Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Longyan City, Fujian Province

Protection unit: Longyan Han Opera transmission center

Introduction to Minxi Han Opera:

Applicant: Longyan City, Fujian Province

Minxi Han Opera is one of the main local operas in Fujian Province. It belongs to xipi and Erhuang tune system. It was formerly known as Waijiang opera, also known as Luantan opera. It is popular in Minxi, eastern Guangdong, southern Jiangxi, Southern Fujian, Taiwan and other places, and affects all over Southeast Asia. In the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Luantan flowed into the west of Fujian Province. After absorbing local dialect and folk music, it gradually evolved into a local opera in the Jiaqing period. Originally called Luantan, it was named Han Opera in the early 1930s. In the late 1950s, it was officially renamed Minxi Han Opera, which was different from Hubei Han Opera.

According to the repertoire list, there are 836 traditional repertoires of Minxi Han Opera, among which zuiyuan, lanjizi, Shiqian steals chicken, zangmei temple, shenliuqu, Luoyang lost seal, bailixi, havoc in kaifengfu and erjingong are representative repertoires. There are six kinds of roles in Han Opera in Western Fujian, namely, Sheng, Dan, Chou, Gong, Po and Jing. The performance program of each role is different, even for the same role. Each trade has a set of traditional basic skills, such as "hanging lotus upside down", "thrush jumping frame", "crossing fire pit", "jumping knife point", "turning on the table" and other martial arts skills are unique to Minxi Han Opera.

Western Fujian Han Opera is mainly composed of xipi opera and Erhuang opera, which also uses Kunqiang opera, Bangzi opera and Yiyang opera, and absorbs a large number of popular folk tunes and Buddhist and Taoist music in Western and southern Fujian. In the tune of Minxi Han Opera, each line has its own pronunciation. Xiaosheng, Qingyi, Huadan and Zhengdan use false voice; Laosheng, laodan and Chou use native voice; Heijing sends explosive voice; Hongjing combines true and false voice, emphasizing the resonance between nose and back brain. The voice is pure and sonorous, and the line is vigorous and flexible. It is rare in China. Daobai and libretto are based on Mandarin, with Zhongzhou rhyme and Minxi dialect, so they are called "Local Mandarin". The band system of Minxi Han Opera is obviously different from other kinds of pihuang opera. It is based on the "four pieces" of Diaogui, Tihu, Yangqin and xiaosanxian, plus the national musical instruments such as YeHu, Zhonghu, Ruan, bamboo flute, suona and haotou. Among the musical instruments, diaogu and Dasu Gong are very special. Diaogu is shaped like an ox horn, also known as an ox horn string. It is a leading musical instrument in Minxi Han Opera with high and sharp pronunciation. Dasu Gong is about 80 cm in diameter, weighs 17.8 kg, and has a huge volume. Its music is simple, elegant, quiet and melodious.

Minxi Han Opera is closely related to Luantan and Hubei Han Opera, from which we can sort out the basic track of the evolution of local opera. Today, with the acceleration of modernization, the Western Fujian Han Opera has also encountered a survival crisis, which is in urgent need of rescue and protection.