Shanxi ancient stage

Shanxi is called "the cradle of China opera". As early as the Han Dynasty, the bud of traditional Chinese opera appeared in Shanxi. By the Yuan Dynasty, Shanxi had become the center of the national opera art. In the Northern Song Dynasty, when the performance places of Bianjing were also called Goulan, Washe and Peng Yue, there were already fixed brick and wood buildings in Shanxi, which were called Dance Pavilion, Dance Building and Moon Building. At present, there are more than 3,000 old stages in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties in Shanxi Province, ranking first in the country. The only six Yuan Dynasty theatres in China are located in the south of Shanxi, which has become a precious "living history".

The history of the ancient stage is a history of the development of China culture. The joys and sorrows of the world and the joys and sorrows of the world have all been vividly interpreted here. After all, this ancient stage is a spiritual shrine that ordinary people can't leave and forget. Located on the east bank of the Yellow River and the right side of Taihang Mountain, the hometown of Sanjin is the main birthplace of ancient culture and folk art in China, and is rich in traditional Chinese opera art resources. Shanxi traditional opera has a wide variety and a long history, and occupies an important position in China. As far as traditional Chinese opera is concerned, there are as many as 52 local operas in Shaanxi, and those colorful local operas and unpretentious Gu Zhuo ancient operas are full of vitality and beautiful. Today, there are as many as 4,000 plays in Yu Ben, and it's really a hundred flowers blossom and the stars hold the moon.

There are many plays in Shanxi, and there are naturally many stages. You can't sing when you leave the stage. You can sing and play on the stage. Touching the scene under the stage and praising good and evil, after all, this stage has been a spiritual home that people can't forget since ancient times.

Because there have been plays since ancient times, there has been an ancient stage. There are many ancient stages in Shanxi. We find that the ancient stages in Shanxi are always accompanied by ancient temples, and the stages are accompanied by temples, which is quite intriguing. According to the literature, in the early days of primitive society, "if the country is in a drought, the fish will dance without food", which directly shows that the primitive song and dance and the sacrificial ceremony are integrated, and the singers and dancers are asking God for rain to relieve natural disasters. In those years when it is impossible to compete with nature, once disaster strikes, people often turn to the gods to worship songs and dances and pray for peace. As a result, those songs, dances and dramas with strong religious flavor are handed down from generation to generation, and religion and drama are derived together and accompanied. In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism was introduced into China, and Buddhist temples flourished, so people used it as a place to show their acting skills, and the temple performance was unprecedented.

There are more temples and more temple fairs. All kinds of performances compete for beauty, and there are many scenes on the stage. The audience watched TV plays all day. It can be said that the village temple fair is like running water in the play, and the voices of various theaters in towns and villages are very quiet. This lively performance promoted the development of traditional Chinese opera, which led to the heyday of drama in the Yuan Dynasty, thus making traditional Chinese opera truly stand firm in various arts.

Since singing opera comes from offering sacrifices to gods, the stage is naturally related to temples. Due to the large size of China and different local customs, there are different ways to send plays to worship the gods, so the building of the stage has formed different forms and styles. Generally, the stage and the temple are located in the same temple. The gate, stage, lobby and main hall are vertically arranged on a central axis and staggered. Because it is dedicated to the gods, the stage faces north, and the entrance of the stage respectfully faces the temple to show respect for the gods, so as to make it a blessing for the world. The stage in each village is built according to this rule, forming a pattern. Of course, there are also different stages. A stage in Banyu Village, Jiexiu, Shanxi Province, which can be sung on three sides and seen on three sides, seems somewhat unconventional. However, after all, I have my own stress. The stage is due east of the Jinshi Hall, and it sings to the east on the 15th day of the third lunar month every year to avoid disaster. The stage faces the Longwang Temple due north. On the eighth day of the sixth lunar month, operas are sung in the north to offer sacrifices to the Dragon King to avoid floods. The south of the stage faces Guandi Temple. On the 13th day of the fifth lunar month, people went to the south to sing operas and offer sacrifices to Master Guan, in order to achieve loyalty and peace in the world. Only after the sacrifice of the three gods can we feel the peace of the four seasons, and our hearts are at ease. What is left under the stage is the people's suffering and happiness, and it also shows people's cultural mentality under the self-sufficient economy.

The ancient stage in Shanxi is inextricably linked with the ancient temple. People on the ancient land of Sanjin held the tablet of God and offered sacrifices to the temple. They developed their own opera art and built different forms of ancient stage. This ancient stage in Shanxi is a witness to the development of China opera.

Today, these ancient stages, which have experienced wars and years of hardships, have endured a hundred years of wind and rain. Just like a weather-beaten old man, although he has lost his former elegance, his bones and muscles still exist. Looking around, people seem to have returned to the years of annihilation, and vaguely feel that ancient and deep tunes are still echoing on these ancient stages.

The ancient stage in Shanxi was originally an open-air stage, made of rammed earth, with bricks and stones. It's just a big platform without a roof.

Pavilion stage first appeared in Song and Jin Dynasties. The passage of time and hardships have made it impossible for us to see its true colors. However, its shadow is still faintly visible in the Jin Dynasty tomb in Houma, Shanxi. It is square, open on all sides, with four pillars and a wide roof. The ancients called it a "dance pavilion".

In the Yuan Dynasty, the development of Yuan Zaju was unique, and the narrow and airy dance pavilion was replaced by a brick-wood dance building. The ancient stage of Yuan Dynasty, located in Niuwang Temple, Wei Village, Linfen, Shanxi Province, is such a dance building. This stage was rebuilt in the first year of Yuan Dynasty (132 1), and it is spacious and spacious with excellent acoustics. During the performance,

As can be seen from the mural of Guangsheng Temple in Hongdong, Shanxi Province, there is a backstage peeper in the painting, which shows that there is a backstage, and it also shows that there is a relatively complete stage in the heyday of Yuan Zaju.

There are three main forms of stage, one is single stage, the other is double stage, and the other is triangular parallel stage.

The front and back of the double-shaped stage are relatively independent. Its origin is mainly due to the integration and exchange between North and South. Due to the development of the times, exchanges between the two places have increased. Traditional operas from the south are staged in the north, with strong dialects, which are difficult for northerners to understand. Therefore, actors' performances rely more on flirting and gestures. While the double-shaped stage is separated from the background, it also makes the foreground stand out and become beautiful in Worry-Free. Even if you don't understand the dialect, your movements and expressions can be clear at a glance.

The three-shaped parallel stage is formed by adding an ear room on both sides of a single stage, which further expands the chassis in the background. The existing stage of Wudi Temple in Hepo Village, Jincheng, Shanxi Province is three conjoined buildings, which are elevated above the courtyard gate, with two embroidered buildings on the east and west sides. The first floor is the place where the troupe stays, and the second floor is the watchtower of the audience. It can be seen that the drama art flourished in the late Ming Dynasty, the performance scale was more complete, and there were enough places to put costumes and props in the expanded backstage. The wing of the temple became the actor's apartment, and God was with people. It can't be said that this is a manifestation of people's anti-feudal ethical consciousness.

Shanxi's ancient stage, after the accumulation and evolution of Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, has its own unique style and complete style, which is a living specimen for our study of classical opera performances.

The ancient stage in Shanxi has experienced ups and downs. By the Qing Dynasty, there were more and more kinds of dramas, and craftsmen and craftsmen also played their whimsy and built colorful and varied stages.

Some stages are surprisingly well built because of different terrains. There is a hollow stage in Gaopinggou Village, Shanxi Province. The stage hall is opposite to the east and west wings to form a courtyard. Located in the center of the village, the compound is a transportation hub from south to north. The stage is the only way for pedestrians and horses to travel, so a passage is cut to facilitate ordinary passers-by. Whenever you sing, put up a wooden board horizontally on the stage, which can not only pass people, but also sing. This hollow activity stage is in the north.

At this time, the construction of the ancient stage has been quite large. It is no longer a simple roof and a few columns, but has various shapes and more complex building structures.

There are three interconnected "Pin"-shaped stages in Qiancun Village, Wanrong, Shanxi. The front stage is integrated with the entrance of the temple, usually the entrance aisle. During the performance, the wooden pole was tenoned and put on the stage, which immediately became the stage. Forty meters in front of it, there are two stages standing side by side. The top of these two stages are connected, and there is a channel below, which is zigzag with the previous stage. These three stages stand on the banks of the ancient Yellow River, facing the autumn wind tower that goes straight into the sky. Every temple fair, all three troupes come to sing together. In the warm cheers of people, the waves of the Yellow River are rolling, and the drums on three stages are vigorous and intense. It's a magnificent sight.

During the evolution of stage scale, from Song Dynasty to Qing Dynasty, the ancient stage in Shanxi also had its own unique laws. Dongyue Temple Stage in Dongyang Village, Linfen, Shanxi Province was built in Yuan Dynasty. This is a typical square. The depth of the stage and the width of the platform mouth are 7.7 meters, and the top is a decorative square bucket arch, which has rich shapes and can divert rainwater. Like this square stage, there are the Sisheng Palace Stage in Caogong Village, Yicheng County, Shanxi Province, the Niuwang Temple Stage in Wei Village, Linfen, Shanxi Province, and the Saburo Taimiao Stage in Yongji East Village, Shanxi Province.

In the Yuan Dynasty, there were some exceptions. Compared with other stages, the stage, entrance and depth of Qiaoze Temple in Yicheng, Shanxi are all around 10 meter, which can be regarded as the ultimate stage in Yuan Dynasty in terms of scale. The stage of Niangniang Temple in Shiloudianshan, Shanxi Province, is very small, with the entrance and depth of the stage only about 5 meters, which can be regarded as a fine stage in the Yuan Dynasty. The reason why these two stages are different is that they were rebuilt on the basis of the old stage in the Song and Jin Dynasties, and they were already the stage foundation in the Yuan Dynasty in appearance, but the stage foundation was still the old organizational system. However, in the Song and Jin Dynasties, the development of traditional Chinese opera was not standardized, and the performance did not pay attention to strict procedures, so the size of the stage could not be unified.

By the Ming Dynasty, the original platform scale could not meet the requirements of many audiences. Therefore, in order to facilitate more audiences to watch the drama, the platform was relaxed and the stage was lengthened from square. In this way, the stage of the Ming Dynasty changed from a square to a rectangle. The expansion scale of Taikou is determined by the performance at that time. At that time, the north and south cultures were further integrated, and the old rule of one-person lead singer in Yuan Zaju was broken. A drama has many specifications such as lead singer, solo, rotation and chorus, including martial arts routines and songs and dances.

From the Qing dynasty to the Qing dynasty, some stages developed in the direction of polarization. In addition to building a resplendent and magnificent royal stage, the opposite of the palace stage is a small-scale and unique family stage. This stage is very exquisite, and the desktop is generally too large, reflecting the wealth and wealth of the family. In order to pursue pleasure and show glory and art, the dignitaries in the Qing Dynasty often set up their own stage in their own Zhumen mansion. The scale of this stage can only be used by the singing club in the family, thus limiting the scale of the performance. In the final analysis, this is a manifestation of the abnormal development of the stage.

Before the Yuan Dynasty, there were only a handful of stages in China, while there were more than ten dance buildings in the Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasties in Shanxi, with different postures and magnificent momentum, which amazed visitors.

Taiyuan Jinci Ming Dynasty Stage

Stage model of Houma Jindong's tomb

Yuncheng baixi building

Linfen weicun yuan zaju stage

Linfen dongyang yuanzaju stage

As an important factor in architecture, the scale of the stage not only shows the spatial construction relationship of the stage itself, but also makes an important footnote for the evolution and development of traditional Chinese opera art and the process of social history.

The ancient stage is full of cultural atmosphere, scattered in every corner of Sanjin ancient land. If any village or town has a stage, it is like having a beautiful scenery. The wealth of villages and towns, the wealth of the people and the prosperity of culture can all be shown from the setting of the stage. The ancient Yellow River gave birth to splendid opera culture, and it is the ancient stage that has gone through vicissitudes that carries this endless culture from generation to generation like the flowing water of the Yellow River. The ancient stage silently watched the scenes of joys and sorrows staged by the world in historical changes, leaving us with that heavy and unspeakable history.