Yong'an Opera

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Yong'an Daqiang Opera

Applicant: Yong'an City, Fujian Province

Item No.: 154

Project No.: Ⅳ - 10

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: Traditional Drama

Region: Fujian Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Yong'an City, Fujian Province

Protection unit: new rural construction service center of Qingshui She nationality township in Yong'an City (planning station for village and town construction of Qingshui She nationality township in Yong'an City)

Introduction to Yong'an Opera

Applicant: Yong'an City, Fujian Province

Yong'an Daqiang opera was formed in the middle of Ming Dynasty. It is a school of Yiyang opera. It is called Daqiang opera because of its "big gong, big drum, big voice". During the reign of Jingtai in the Ming Dynasty, the Xiong family in Fengtian village, Qingshui she Township, Yong'an City, Fujian Province sent people to Shicheng, Jiangxi Province every year to worship their ancestors and learn Yiyang tune from local artists. Then, combined with local folk songs, minor tunes and Taoist music, they established a large tune troupe. With the migration of some members of Xiong family to the surrounding areas, Daqiang opera spread to Datian, Youxi, Shaxian and other places.

There are more than 100 traditional repertoires of Yong'an Daqiang opera, such as the story of the white rabbit, the golden seal, the three elements in the middle, the story of sunflower, taking armor, Huang Feihu, Po Qingyang, San Dairong, he Dao, Bai Luoshan, a dream of platform, and the story of selling water. Daqiang opera has many tunes and few tunes, which is rough, high pitched, simple and straight. The main voice of actors is big voice, combining big voice with small voice. In the performance, the backstage constantly helps, retaining the characteristics of Yiyang tune: "one person speaks, others help". The roles of Daqiang opera can be divided into four categories, namely, Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou. The nine categories are Zhengsheng, Xiaosheng, Fusheng, Zhengdan, Xiaodan, Fudan, Dahua, Erhua and Sanhua. In addition, there are laodan and Tiedan. Generally speaking, the grand opera troupe is composed of 15 people, accompanied by gongs, drums, cymbals, suona and bans. During the performance, only one table and two chairs are displayed on the stage. The costumes of the actors are relatively simple, or they don't wear costumes at all. They only use red, black and white make-up, and then hang a unique "Xu Tao" to perform at the table. Situ sat on the chair playing drums, and kept singing from beginning to end, playing with the actors.

In addition to entertaining themselves, the grand opera in Toyota village is often performed in the village's God greeting contests, ancestor worship and festival activities. After Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty, because of the popularity of Xiaoqiang opera in Northwest Fujian, Daqiang opera began to decline. In the 1920s, many big opera troupes disintegrated one after another, and the scope of activities of the remaining troupes gradually narrowed. Toyota village is located between mountains and dense forests, with closed traffic. Therefore, Daqiang opera, an ancient opera form in Ming Dynasty, has been preserved for more than 500 years. The performance action, stage scheduling and dance form of Daqiang opera are precious remains of Ming Dynasty drama, and are the first-hand important materials for the study of Chinese opera history, cultural history and social life history. At present, there are less than 20 members of Toyota village Opera Troupe, and the scope of performance is limited to the village and the township. In recent years, with the continuous enrichment of cultural life, the local people's interest in Daqiang opera is decreasing year by year. The amateur performances of Daqiang opera are less and less, and the age of artists is also aging. The poverty of mountain life makes the young generation eager to change the economic situation have no time to learn and inherit this ancient opera. The shrinking performance market and the lack of successors make Yong'an Daqiang opera in an endangered state, which is in urgent need of rescue and protection.