Daoqing Opera (Languan Opera)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Daoqing Opera (Languan Opera)

Applicant: Laizhou City, Shandong Province

Project No.: 215

Project No.: Ⅳ - 71

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: Traditional Drama

Region: Shandong Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Laizhou City, Shandong Province

Protection unit: Laizhou Cultural Center

Introduction to Daoqing Opera (Languan Opera)

Applicant: Laizhou City, Shandong Province

Daoqing opera is a popular folk opera in the Yellow River Valley in China. It originated from the "Jingyun" sung by Taoists in the Tang Dynasty, and developed into a form of white quyi, Daoqing Gucci, in the Song Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty, rap and Daoqing, which was popular in northern Shanxi, was put on the stage of opera, becoming a popular opera variety among local audiences. Before and after Daoqing in northern Shanxi appeared on the stage of opera, Linxian Daoqing, which was popular in Western Shanxi, also appeared on the stage of opera. Hongdong Daoqing, which was popular in southern Shanxi, also appeared on the stage twice in Xianfeng and Xuantong years, but failed to continue. After the founding of the people's Republic of China, Daoqing plays such as Hedong Daoqing in Jinnan, Shanxi, Zhoukou Daoqing in Henan and Languan opera in Shandong have developed into stage plays.

The early plays of Daoqing mainly reflected the life of Taoism and preached the doctrines of Taoism, such as jingtanghui, erlinying, gaolouzhuang, etc. In the middle stage, most of the plays are stories of Taoist cultivation and good advice, and the representative plays are Wang Xiang lying on ice, Guo Ju burying her son, Xiao Tao grinding, etc. The contents of the plays in the middle and later periods reflect the stories of folk life, and the representative plays include "changing wives between the old and the young", "beating kitchen king", "ceiling lamp", "striking knife" and so on. There are singing tunes in Daoqing operas all over the country. Daoqing opera in northern Shanxi includes playing children, Xijiang moon, and langtaosha. Daoqing opera in Linxian county includes seven character tune, cross tune, Zhongnan tune, luotousha, Yizhimei, taipingnian, and yanzifei. The accompaniment musical instruments of Daoqing opera are dizi, Sihu, dabanhu and xiaobanhu. Except for Yugu and Jianban, other musical instruments in Wuchang are the same as Bangzi. The roles are divided into five elements: Xusheng (Xusheng), Hei (Jingjiao), Sheng (Sheng), Dan (Dan), Chou (Chou).

After the founding of the people's Republic of China, professional Daoqing troupes were established in Yingxian and Linxian counties of Shanxi Province, which further improved and promoted the singing art of Daoqing. After the 1980s, the competition in various forms of art and entertainment has intensified. Daoqing opera has been greatly impacted. There are fewer and fewer amateur folk performances, and professional troupes are in urgent need of rescue and protection.

Languan opera is an ancient high tune opera which is popular in Laizhou and Zhaoyuan of Jiaodong Peninsula. It is the descendant of Yiyang opera in Jiaodong. According to the records, works and word-of-mouth information of artists in the past dynasties, Languan opera began in the late Ming Dynasty and flourished in the early Qing Dynasty. At the end of Ming Dynasty, Yiyang opera spread to Laizhou when it was popular all over the country, which became an important opportunity for the early "Languan opera" and promoted its birth. Languan opera follows and imitates Yiyang tune with the tonal feature of "misusing the local dialect", and absorbs Jiaodong folk tunes and other elements.

The trinity of "helping, fighting and singing" in LAN Guan opera has become the three pillars of the opera's music. The local people "can sing, quite to the ear", known as "Lan Guan opened the stage, mother-in-law ran off her shoes". There are nearly a hundred plays in LAN Guan opera, mainly two large-scale series, journey to the East and journey to the West.

The history of Languan opera is a development history of vocal opera. The evolution and inheritance of Languan opera is the "guide" for us to explore the ancient cultural connotation of Languan opera, which has outstanding academic value and historical data value. Exploring, rescuing and protecting this ancient type of opera is of great benefit to enriching and perfecting the history of Chinese opera and developing the cause of national music.