The Historical Evolution of Puxian Opera

Puxian Opera originated in the Southern Song Dynasty. Guan, a scholar from Putian in Qing Dynasty, recorded in Miscellanies in Middle Fujian: "Xinghua Opera originated in Song Dynasty and flourished in Ming Dynasty." Liu Kezhuang (1 187 ~ 1269), a poet of Putian in the Southern Song Dynasty, saw the performance of Puxian Opera in his hometown during the Duanping period of the Southern Song Dynasty (1234 ~ 1236) and wrote a poem describing the grand occasion at that time: "Get rid of the shackles. It can be seen that most of the plays are based on historical stories, and include some ancient and rare Southern Song Dynasty Yuan Zaju.

According to the investigation of 1962, there are more than 5,000 kinds and 8,000 kinds of traditional operas in Puxian Opera, among which the operas related to Southern Opera in Song and Yuan Dynasties, besides Wang Kui and Cai Bozhen, are Zhang Xie's champions, Liu, Wang Xiang, Sha Dog, Xiao Suntu, Su Qin and Liu Zhiyuan. This kind of drama has long been lost all over the country, but it has been preserved in Puxian Opera for more than 700 years. According to the memory of the old artist Huang Wendi (1895 ~ 1967), the master was handed down from generation to generation. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty (1736 ~ 1795), Putian performed this play in the "Late Tuesday Class". Because "Xie" and "QIA" are homophonic in Xinghua dialect, the title of the play is also called. Later, the script spread to the "Yulouchun Class" in Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty (1875 ~ 1908), and was performed by "Fushun Class" in the early years of the Republic of China.

The Ming and Qing Dynasties were the period of development and prosperity of Puxian Opera. Yao Lu, a Putian scholar in the Ming Dynasty, recorded a special musical instrument flute used in Puxian Opera in Volume 8 of Lushu Fengpian: "Taking reed as reed is called reed flute in Pu Zhong. However, there are many of them, and I have not seen them widely? " The actor's crown is also very distinctive: "I am as good as I am, but when my ears have two hands." I saw it in the theater when I was a child, and now it still has auspicious meaning. Xie, a native of Changle, wrote in Volume 12, Volume 4 of Five Miscellanies: "Putian is good at playing drums, and it is easier to play."

In the 13th year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (1674), a private school class was set up: "Making a living by collecting theatrical troupes" (Hong's "From Pu to Hinayana in the early Qing Dynasty"). As for the development of non-governmental universities, according to Xiaoji Putin written by Chen Hong in the Qing Dynasty, in the thirty-fourth year of Kangxi (1695), "the Spring Festival was celebrated on December 29th, with 28 classes of artists and 48 spring platforms, and the government and the people enjoyed the Spring Festival together." In the twenty-seventh year of Qianlong (1762), there was a "Zhide Monument" embedded in Ruiyun Ancestral Hall outside Beiguan, Putian, which listed 32 categories, an increase of 12 categories compared with the thirty-fifth year of Kangxi (1696), reaching its peak.

During the light years of the Qing Dynasty (182 1 ~ 1850), there were more than 60 troupes in Xianyou County alone. At that time, Hunan native Chen Shengshao was appointed as Xianyou county magistrate. He recorded in "Ask the Villagers": "The villagers like to sing and dance in the alley, and they don't perform plays, but the price is also low. He Yi has more than 60 classes, which Fujian people call seven classes. I am happy to speak local dialect, and people in other counties are relative all day long, not reaching a word. " According to the survey, from the middle of Qing Dynasty to the end of Qing Dynasty, there were more than 150 troupes in Putian and Xianyou. He also absorbed a large number of legendary plays from Kunqu Opera, Yiyang Opera and Random Opera, and changed the tunes into songs, enriching the traditional plays of Puxian Opera.

In addition, Puxian Opera in Qing Dynasty also appeared current affairs dramas adapted from characters' current affairs or local stories. Among them, it was revealed that Xianyou County instructed Song to make arbitrary judgments, ignored human lives and caused unjust cases; There are Sweeping Horse Manure on the Red Roof, Lin Zexu Banning Smoking, Morphine Robbery, etc., which reflect that after Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, a senior official of the Qing court was chased by British and French invaders to sweep horse manure in the street.

During the Republic of China, Peking Opera and Fujian Opera were introduced into Putian one after another. The martial arts performances and chivalrous dramas of Beijing Opera, the institutional setup and performance techniques of Fujian Opera all had a certain influence on Puxian Opera. The background accompaniment also absorbs some musical instruments of "ten tones" and "eight tones" from the original simple instruments such as erhu, banhu, pipa, sanxian, dulcimer and cello, which makes the musical form of Puxian Opera more diverse and lyrical.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Puxian Opera was very active. From September 9 to12 (1920 ~1923), the "Zixinglou" class went abroad for the first time, and went to Singapore and Malaysia to perform dramas such as Bianzi Opera, Zheng Dong, Zheng, Three Kingdoms and Shen Feng Gang. 16-19 (1927 ~1930) Shuangsai Music Class went to Singapore and Malaysia to perform Tianbao Tu, Wagangzhai, Water Margin, Three Kingdoms, Fang Shiyu Hero, Wang Kui and During this period, a number of famous actors appeared on the stage of Puxian Opera, such as Fu, Fu, Fu and so on.

From the victory of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression to 1949, Puxian Opera was at a low ebb, with a large number of troupes reduced, and artists changed careers or scattered in rural areas.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Puxian Opera was reborn. In the early 1950s, the cultural authorities in Putian and Xianyou counties organized troupe artists to study and implement the Party's literary and artistic policy and the policy of "changing operas, replacing people and restructuring" to restore and reform Puxian Opera. Putian county's "new harmony", "benefiting Chinese style", "competing for the phoenix", "new folk customs" and "competing for nature" are 40. They transplanted, adapted, and staged a number of dramas in the old liberated areas, such as Breaking the King into Beijing, Lin Chong, Three Jia Zhu Villages, Forced to Mount Liangshan, Nine Clothes, Revenge with Blood and Tears, which were appreciated by the audience. From 195 1 to 1952, new troupes (such as Putian County Typical Troupe and Xianyou County Experimental Troupe, etc. The Ministry of Culture sends cadres, and the leading bodies of literary and art groups are democratically elected by artists. 1953, there were mass troupes, labor troupes, Li Sheng troupes, peace troupes, Qianjin troupes in Putian county, and carp troupes in Xianyou county, which promoted the compilation and performance of plays.

1952 10, the traditional drama "A Thousand Miles to Send", participated in the first opera performance in Fujian Province and was well received. 1In August, 954, he arranged traditional repertoires such as Qin Diao, Ruilan Walking in the Rain, Baihua Pavilion, Lao Guo Planting Melons and Chunjiang River. , and participated in the second Fujian opera performance. In September of the same year, Puxian Opera Team went to Shanghai for the first time to participate in the East China Opera Exhibition, and "Qin Diao" won the performance award. /kloc-0. In September, 1959, Puxian Opera Team participated in the touring performance group of Fujian Province, and went to Beijing to participate in the performance of the 10th anniversary of the National Day with "Reunion" and "Wang Ying Three Beats". Party and state leaders Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai and Zhu De watched the performance and took photos with all the cast members. 1960, after the reunion, it was called "Shakespeare's Great Tragedy" and was made into a dramatic art film by changchun film studio.

In 1950s, Puxian Opera also edited and performed a number of plays reflecting modern life. On February, 1956, Daniel and Mavericks and Sanjialin, which were directed and performed by Li Sheng Troupe in Xianyou County, and Planting Litchi, which was directed and performed by Putian Experimental Troupe, participated in the first report performance of modern opera in Fujian Province and was well received. Daniel and Mavericks and San Jialin also won the screenplay creation award. In August, 1958, The Couple Red, created by Li Sheng Troupe in Xianyou County, participated in the second drama report performance in Fujian Province and was well received. During 1959, Puxian Opera After the Reunion and Three Beats in Wang Ying went to Beijing to participate in the performance of the 10th anniversary of the National Day. Party and state leaders Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Peng Zhen watched the performance and spoke highly of it.

At the same time, the cultural authorities and scriptwriters in Putian and Xianyou counties have done a lot of work in excavating and sorting out traditional heritage and developing art education. They organized personnel to go deep into folk, troupe and diaspora artists, rescued, excavated and collected a large number of performance transcripts, music qupai and historical relics, and recorded many oral copies. To1July, 962, when the provincial traditional opera heritage excavation and rescue meeting was held in Putian, * * collected more than 56 traditional plays19, including 20 newly discovered 1020, more than 8,000 performance transcripts, and more than 0,000 pieces of music 1000, which were only used in South China. Another example is 1956, a handwriting "Fu Tian Dou" excavated from folk rescue, which is a precious document with high research value. In addition, in the early 1960s, manuscripts such as Introduction to Puxian Opera Tradition and Puxian Opera Traditional Stage Art were successively edited and published. At the same time, under the guidance of experts from China Opera Research Institute, a historical investigation team composed of the Research Office of Opera History of Fujian Opera Research Institute and local opera workers conducted a four-month observation and investigation in Putian and Xianyou, and wrote a historical investigation report of Puxian Opera with hundreds of thousands of words. In terms of art education, Putian and Xianyou counties held Puxian Opera art training classes and students' classes in 1956, rehearsed dramas such as "The Portrait of Zunde" and "Rouge Shop", and participated in the performance report of Fujian Opera Art Training Class.

During the Cultural Revolution, Puxian Opera was severely damaged, and a large number of good and relatively good plays, such as After the Reunion, Spring Grass Catching the Hall, Wang Ying Triple Beat, were criticized as "poisonous weeds", many artists were persecuted and the troupe was cancelled. After smashing the counter-revolutionary groups of Lin Biao and Jiang Qing, Puxian Opera was liberated again. After 1978, professional troupes in two counties resumed their performances one after another, and many folk professional troupes emerged. More than 65,438+000 professional and amateur troupes are active in towns and villages, and they have been performing for a long time. Puxian Opera ushered in the most prosperous period in history. In the early 1980s, in order to solve the problem of unqualified actors in Puxian Opera, Fujian Art School entrusted Putian to hold a class for Puxian Opera students. Puxian and xian county also established art schools respectively, and trained a group of young actors.

1978 After the reform and opening up, Puxian Opera was full of vitality. 1979, Puxian Opera "Spring Grass Catches the Hall" went to Beijing to attend the 30th anniversary celebration of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

1In February, 979, Xianyou County Troupe rehearsed "Spring Grass Rushing to the Hall" written by Chen (screenwriter), Ke Rukuan, and went to Beijing to participate in the performance of the 30th anniversary of the National Day, and won the first prize for script creation and performance. The play has been transplanted and performed by more than 600 troupes in China, and it has also been brought to Hongkong and abroad by China Peking Opera Theatre, which is quite influential in Southeast Asia.

In 1980s, a group of playwrights such as Zheng Huaixing, Zhou Changfu, Shunzhen Wang and Yao Qingshui had a certain influence in China. They have created a large number of excellent plays, especially the newly edited historical plays, which are unique in Fujian and even the whole country and are called Fujian-style dramas by experts.

198 1, Puxian Opera champion and beggar will perform in Beijing. 1985, Puxian Opera "Autumn Wind Poetry" went to Beijing to participate in the performance of Chinese opera; 1986, Puxian Opera Tears in the New Pavilion, The Story of the Ugly Duckling and Leng Yue in the Golden Palace were staged again in Beijing.

In August 2008, after studying at the 35th executive meeting of Putian Municipal Government, it was decided to start the application of Puxian Opera to the world intangible cultural heritage. In June 2008 +2008 10, the Putian Municipal Government issued the "Implementation Opinions on Doing a Good Job in the World Heritage Application of Putian Puxian Opera". Putian City is carrying out basic work in an all-round way in accordance with the work objectives, work priorities and work requirements formulated in the Implementation Opinions. In addition, more than half of the protection tasks such as the arrangement and recording of outstanding traditional operas of Puxian Opera and the performing arts of famous and old artists have been completed.