Information of Yueju Opera

Yueju Opera, a type of opera. It was named Yueju Opera because it originated in the area of Sheng County, Shaoxing District, Zhejiang Province, where the ancient state of Yue was located. It was developed from the art of rapping, "landing and singing". During the Spring Festival in the 32nd year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1906), six rappers from the rural areas of Sheng County made up and appeared on stage for the first time to perform "Ten Pieces of Heads", "Lai Marriage", "Ni Feng Fan Tea", etc., and their voices were still based on the "floor-standing singing tune" (i.e., "ging-oh tune"), and they only used the duk-duk drums and sandalwood boards to beat on the beat. The drums and sandalwood boards are beat by beat, and the sound of Duk is constantly heard, so it is called "Duk class", also known as "small song class". It was later popularized in Tonglu, Fuyang, Haining and Hangzhou. The repertoire mostly reflected rural life, mainly including "Selling Grannies", "Selling Green Charcoal", "Hoop Bucket", and "Raising a Daughter-in-law to Return to Her Mother's Home", and so on. With the spread of small song classes in the cities of Southeast Zhejiang, the repertoire was gradually changed to take the sung books of the community or transplanted to the repertoire of chaotic bombing, such as "Pearl Tower", "Double Pearl Phoenix", etc. The tunes were also sung by gangs. The tunes were also developed from the "Yin Oh Tune" sung with a band accompaniment, and after 1916, the Xiao Ge Ban entered Shanghai several times, and in 1921, in order to differentiate itself from the "Shaoxing Daban", it was performed in the name of "Shaoxing Literary Opera" at the Shengping Opera House. In 1921, in order to distinguish itself from the "Shaoxing Daban", it performed in the name of "Shaoxing Literary Opera" on the Shengping Opera Stage. Artists such as Wei Meiduo used Banhu (later changed to Pinghu), Douzi accompaniment (fixed strings do, sol, called "the right tone"), in the singing absorbed Shaoxing Opera, Yuyao Qingqiang, Wulin tune of the musical components, enriching the plate style, created the inverted boards, fast boards, clean boards, and the return of the Yang tune. In the performance, it also drew on the artistic strengths of Shao Opera and Peking Opera. From then on, the men's class entered the golden period, and in 1923, Jin Rongshui, influenced by the Peking Opera's "Funky Children's Opera", set up the first women's class in Shi Jiaao, Sheng County, and after a short period of training, it entered Shanghai to perform under the name of "Shaoxing Literary Opera" and "Literary and Martial Arts Women's Class". After a short period of training, they entered Shanghai to perform under the name of "Shaoxing Wen Opera" and "Wenwu Women's Class", and soon returned to the countryside. 1928 saw a large number of women's cultural opera classes. Because of the difference of four or five degrees between the female voice and the male voice, so absorbing the Beijing Opera Xipi la, mi fixed strings, to create a "four work tunes", a moment of competition with the men's class. 1936, the women's class finally because of the handsome costumes, smooth tunes, and replaced the men's class, prevalent in Zhejiang and Shanghai. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Shanghai was reduced to an isolated island, Jiangsu and Zhejiang gentry and businessmen were concentrated here, the market was abnormally prosperous, and the influx of women into Shanghai amounted to more than 30 women's classes, known as "women's theater". Famous actors and actresses include Shi Yinhua, Zhao Ruihua, Wang Xinghua, Tu Xinghua, Yao Shujuan, Shiaodangui and Ma Zhanghua. The repertoire of the opera was mainly based on the plays of talented men and women, such as Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (also known as Double Butterflies), Dragon and Phoenix Lock, Jasper Hairpin, and Three Looks at the Royal Sisters, etc. The opera is also known as the "The Sisters of the Emperor".

In the fall of 1938, the name "Yueju Opera" was used instead of "Women's Literary Opera". 1942, Yuan Xuefen was the first to initiate reforms at the Dailai Theater, hiring Lv Zhong, Han Yi, and Zheng Chuanjian as choreographers and directors; replacing the script system with a tableaux system; setting up a directing system; reforming costumes; and adopting oil paint make-up. Yuan Xuefen initiated reforms, hiring Lv Zhong, Han Yi, and Zheng Chuanjian as choreographers; replacing the script system with a tableau system; establishing a directing system; reforming the costumes; adopting make-up in oil; improving the stage scenery and lighting; enriching the orchestra; and cooperating with the zither master to create the ruler-tuned cadence with fixed-string sol and re, which became the acoustic keynote of the new Yueju opera. The actors also absorbed the strengths of kunqu and drama, which enriched and developed Yueju Opera. 1945 saw the formation of the Xuesheng Theater Troupe and the establishment of a more formal drama department, which, with the collaboration of the actors, scriptwriters, directors, musicians, and choreographers, made Yueju Opera further develop in terms of synthesizing various artistic means and enriching its expressive power. At this time, Fan Ruijuan, in the performance of "Liang Zhu Mourning History", together with zither master Zhou Bao Cai, created the "under-string accent" of the fixed-string do and sol, which enriched the tunes of Yueju Opera. 1946 May, Xue Sheng Theater Troupe adapted Lu Xun's Blessing into Xiang Lin Sister-in-Law, which was staged, and caused a great reaction in the literary world, and got the care and support from the Communist Party of China (CPC). In the summer of 1947, in order to oppose the old troupe system, to prepare for the construction of theaters and theater schools, and to develop the cause of Yueju Opera, the "Ten Sisters" (Yin Guifang, Yuan Xuefen, Shiau Dangui, Fan Ruijuan, Fu Quanxiang, Xu Yulan, Zhu Shuizhao, Zhang Guifeng, Xu Tianhong, and Wu Xiaolou) staged a charity performance of "Love of the Mountains and Rivers," and waged a struggle against the reactionaries of the Kuomintang, who were sabotaging the reform of Yueju opera. During this period, some good plays appeared in the repertoire, such as "Red Pink and Gold", "Bleak Liao Palace Moon" and "The Great Wall" of the Xue Sheng Troupe; "Shi Dakai", "Ge Nen Niang" and "The Prodigal Son" of the Fang Hua Troupe of Yin Gui Fang and Zhu Shui Zhao; "Dreams of the End of the World", "Complaints of the Changling Tree" and "Southeast Flight of the Peacock" of the Dongshan Yueyi Art Association of Fan Ruijuan and Fu Quanxiang; "The Country is in tatters", "Red Niangzi and "The Red Queen" of the Yulan Theater Troupe of Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan. In terms of the singing art of the actors and actresses, they gradually formed their own schools, among which the more influential ones were the Yuan, Yin, Fan, Fu, Xu, and later on, the Chi Yaxian schools. The combination of troupes changed from time to time, and by 1949 there were nearly 30 troupes in Shanghai, of which Xuesheng, Dongshan, Yulan, Yunhua (Zhu Shuizhao and Qi Yaxian), and Shaozhuang (Lu Jinhua, etc.) were known as the "five major troupes". During the same period, the Chinese ****production party led by the Zhejiang East SiMingShan area also reformed the Yueju opera, formed a social education team, compiled and performed new operas in the army and the countryside. When the New Fourth Army in Jiangnan withdrew to the north, Yueju Opera also went to Shandong with the army. The social education team took the form of co-education, and performed a lot of plays reflecting the reality of the struggle.