Gaoqiang (Songyang Gaoqiang)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Gaoqiang (Songyang Gaoqiang)

Applicant: Songyang County, Zhejiang Province

Project No.: 151

Project No.: Ⅳ - 7

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: Traditional Drama

Region: Zhejiang Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Songyang County, Zhejiang Province

Protection unit: Songyang County Cultural Center

Introduction to Gaoqiang (Songyang Gaoqiang)

Applicant: Songyang County, Zhejiang Province

Gaoqiang is a kind of opera derived from Yiyang tune in Ming Dynasty and later Qingyang tune. In the course of hundreds of years of evolution, great changes have taken place in the branches of Yiyang tune, which have different degrees of integration with local folk music, thus forming different musical styles of Gaoqiang.

Songyang Gaoqiang is one of the oldest operas in Zhejiang Province. It is an independent branch of the eight Gaoqiang systems in Zhejiang Province. It is a kind of mono opera. Because the performance of Songyang Gaoqiang by baishagang Gaoqiang class in Yuyan town of Songyang county has never stopped and occupies a prominent position in the inheritance of this tune, Songyang Gaoqiang is also known as "baishagang's local tune", while the local people call it "Gaoqiang". It began in the Ming Dynasty, mainly based on Songyang local drama, absorbed Kunqiang and other foreign artistic factors, and finally formed. It reached its peak from Qianlong to Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty. Songyang Gaoqiang is now mainly popular in rural areas of Southwest Zhejiang Province with Songyang as the center, as far as Fujian, Jiangxi, Anhui and other places.

The performance of Songyang Gaoqiang retains the original state of opera, with the characteristics of beautiful melody and simple style. Its singing style belongs to the combination of Qupai, but the sentence pattern and word pattern can be changed according to the needs. The lining words such as "Yi", "Ya", "ah" and "ha" are often used in the singing style, and the high octave falsetto is used to help the singing, forming a unique singing style. Songyang Gaoqiang is accompanied by orchestras, which is a special kind of Gaoqiang system. Musical instruments include board, drum, flute, suona, erhu, small Gong, big gong, big cymbal, etc. There are more than 100 original Qupai, and more than 70 preserved Qupai.

In the early stage, Songyang Gaoqiang's characters were divided into eight trades: Sheng, Dan, Jing, Chou, Xiao, tie, Wai and Fu. Since the end of the Qing Dynasty, the trades of Er Dan, Zuo Dan, Lao Wai, Er Hua and Si Hua have been added. Since the founding of the troupe, Songyang Gaoqiang artists have been handed down from generation to generation, and have been handed down for 23 generations. Their performances have distinctive characteristics of folk art, emitting a strong local flavor. There are more than 40 plays in Songyang Gaoqiang, among which Madame's play, the third champion, baxianqiao, the story of buying water, the story of carp, the story of fire bead, and the story of restaurant killing the family are its masterpieces.

Songyang Gaoqiang has a high historical and cultural research value. In the 1950s and 1980s, the relevant departments at all levels of cities and counties in Zhejiang Province successively carried out the restoration, inheritance and excavation of Songyang Gaoqiang, and achieved preliminary results. At present, due to the aging age of Songyang Gaoqiang artists, young artists are out of touch, and the way of oral transmission is facing challenges. At the same time, it is difficult for folk troupes to enter the market and face the danger of extinction. In addition, the local finance is tight, and there is not enough support. Therefore, the rescue and protection of Songyang Gaoqiang is imminent, and there is a long way to go, which should attract the attention of relevant parties.