An Overview of Xinzhou Folk Opera (Ⅱ) —— Wuzhai Chapter

An Overview of Xinzhou Folk Opera (Ⅱ) —— Wuzhai Chapter

As early as the Qing Dynasty, the theatrical performances in Wuzhai County were quite prosperous. In the sixteenth year of Qianlong (175 1), Wuzhai County Records described the scene of the theater at that time, and every year, "three spring likes acting, and men and women watch it together". The existing "Fire Temple" stage in the county was rebuilt in the third year of Daoguang (1823), which was an important place for the drama performance of the temple fair in the county. In the past, there were many kinds of dramas in Wuzhai. According to county records, there are Cisse Opera, North Road Bangzi, Middle Road Bangzi and Daoqing, as well as Errenzhuan introduced from Hequ and Baode. There is also a kind of yangko, which sings loudly and violently, usually in the same tone, and the actors need to combine the true and false sounds to make an echo. It's probably from Yangko in northern Shanxi. Nowadays, the names of operas recorded in those county records are still familiar, but there are few performances in the performance market. This may have a lot to do with the dissolution of the local county troupe in 1996. With the impact of foreign entertainment, there is no professional performing group to serve the local people, so China traditional operas naturally fade out of people's sight.

Fortunately, there are two small plays circulating in the local people-Daoqing and Errentai. Because of the deep foundation of the masses, especially the feelings of Taoism, some local farmers' troupes also performed, and the local people began to organize self-entertainment classes in community activities to entertain themselves. The Taoist sentiment in Wuzhai has actually become one of the main contents of local people's leisure and entertainment. Because I only learn to sing by myself, without the guidance and "innovation" of foreign professionals, Wuzhai's Taoist feelings remain a bit original and retain the most pristine feeling of Taoist feelings.

According to historical records, Shanxi was once the most prosperous area of Taoism, especially in the north of Shanxi. Taoism, as a local religion, naturally publicizes its teachings with the help of some artistic forms in the process of communication, and Taoism has become one of the most important artistic means. In the eighteenth year of Jin Dading (1 178), (ten thousand) ordered Qiu Chuji, the founder of Quanzhen Sect, to preach in Yanjing. He started from Hejin, Shanxi, went north along the Yellow River, passed through Xinzhou Hequ to the east, passed through Kelan, Wuzhai, Shenchi, Ningwu, Daixian and Fan Shi, passed through Juyongguan to Xuande, Hebei, and entered Yanjing. At this time, Taoist sentiment was introduced to counties in northern Shaanxi, and quickly merged with local folk customs, dialects and humanistic concepts to form Taoist sentiment in northern Shaanxi. Needless to say, the Taoist feelings of Shenchi and Youyu are sung by local people in Ningwu and Jingle, and Wuzhai is no exception. The spread of Taoism in various places is related to the development of Taoism. First, with the rise of rap art, Taoism stepped off the altar of Taoism and became active among the masses. Later, with the rise of opera art, especially Bangzi opera in Qing Dynasty, Taoism began to transform from rap to opera. Only later, with the development of economy, it gradually declined.

As a branch of Taoist sentiment in northern Shaanxi, Wuzhai Taoist sentiment pays equal attention to high-platform education, proclaims filial piety and praises filial sons and daughters. So from the day it was put on the stage, it has a special position different from other plays. In the past, Taoism was once regarded as a "divine drama", and people worshipped Taoism in order to pray for the blessing of Lv Dongbin, the "drama god". The first scene of the temple fair is a ritual play, and people always love to sacrifice to God with Taoist feelings. Early Taoist artists were also highly respected, and artists who had been engaged in Taoist love were also very popular, which is one reason why Taoist love can be widely spread.

In the past, the Taoist feelings of Wuzhai existed among the people in the form of seasonal class clubs. Jiao Fang is the activity base of Taoism in northern Shaanxi, including Wuzhai Taoism, and also the place to train Taoist talents. Every winter vacation, villages and towns should set up teaching workshops, collect apprentices to pass on their skills, rehearse and tell plays, and prepare for singing in the spring of next year. This is a tradition passed down in Wuzhai area. According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 80 class clubs in Wuzhai County in Qing Daoguang 1 1 year (183 1 year), and these amateur class clubs have gradually developed into professional class clubs with a certain scale. For example, Yang Kuazi's class is active in Shenchi and Wuzhai. The county has Taoist clubs such as Madiwa, Mayingying, Xinzhai, Jiuzhai, Hanjialou and Nanping Class. In addition to performing, the artists of the club also go out to teach and spread their skills, and their footprints are all over the northwest of Shanxi. A number of influential folk artists have also emerged. It is worth mentioning that Wang, Yang Rencheng and Zhou Xiaoxiao, their disciples are also distributed all over the country, prospering and popularizing Taoist art.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was also a proverb in the 1950s that "I'd rather not eat, but I have to look at the king of Wuzhai Daosan Dan". If a play is sung by more people in a certain place, it will definitely have great influence and relevant theatrical troupes will be established. However, although Wuzhai County has a profound Taoist foundation, there has never been an influential troupe since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and there are few records of large-scale Taoist performances in Wuzhai County in the materials of opera tuning. For some reasons, there is no professional Wuzhai Taoist troupe in Wuzhai County, which has always appeared in the form of folk troupes and folk associations. 1958, the county cultural bureau opened a Taoist art class, hired Wuzhai Taoist artists Ji Suo and Mi, and trained a group of Taoist artists. Many Taoist artists such as Lin, Guo Lanxian and Lu all come from this class. 1959, Daoqing Art School was established. Only later, because Wuzhai, Shenchi and Kelan counties were originally affiliated to Wuzhai County, a considerable number of Taoist students went to Shenchi Daoban, because the Shenchi Daoban was already quite large at that time.

Although there is no help from the state-run professional troupe, there are still a number of Taoist artists in Wuzhai. For example, on Thursday, 12 years old studied under Yang Rencheng, focusing on clowns. Ethan, Yang Tingxiang, Yang, Feng Chengchuan, Yang Cunxiao, Fan Xiaowen, etc. In particular, Fan Xiaowen and Yang Tingxiang also compiled more than 240 Taoist songs in Wuzhai in the 1950s and published a Taoist album manual. Li Cunzhong, born in 1946, founded the emerging Daoqing Troupe in Wuzhai County in 1980s, and is still active today. He not only performs by himself, but also is good at martial arts and teaches his daughter, son and nephew to sing Taoism. The members of the troupe are busy with farming and go out to perform during the slack season. They traveled all over Shenchi, Wuzhai and other neighboring counties, and even went to Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi to perform. Now that 30 years have passed, my son Li Changjiang has a special liking for Taoist art in this family atmosphere. A person can play multiple roles, such as the old man, the painted face and the clown. After years of wandering in the Jianghu, he finally grew into a new local Taoist practitioner, and his Taoist singing changed slightly with the needs of local performances.

In addition, I have to mention the old Yang Mantingxiang, born in 1945, whose stage name is "winery red". He studied art, Taoism and singing since childhood. When I was old, I taught Taoism in Lijiakou Community Activity Center. His singing retains the most primitive Taoist flavor and sings euphemistically. He also assisted the Wuzhai County Cultural Center to declare the situation of Wuzhai Taoism and did a lot of work for the provincial intangible cultural heritage. It's just not declared yet. The old man had a cerebral infarction not long ago and has been treated in Taiyuan Hospital. Nowadays, the community Taoist chorus activities are also deserted because of the absence of the elderly. Perhaps this is the fate of traditional opera art in the information age? I don't know.

Nowadays, an ancient and special drama like Daoqing has lost a large part of the performance market, let alone a county town like Wuzhai. This is influenced by environmental factors. From the current era, in an era of obtaining a large amount of information from computers and mobile phone WeChat, this traditional entertainment method has been thrown out of people's field of vision, and people pay more attention to information with universal value. From the artistic characteristics of Taoism itself, although the business is complete. However, the emphasis on martial arts, the repetition of songs, and the repetition of scenes are mostly based on life and drama, which really does not have much appeal to impatient audiences. The artists who sing Daoqing mostly come from rural areas, mostly local farmers, and their skills are passed down by word of mouth. In the monotonous life of northern Shaanxi in the past, Taoist drama was a natural choice for people. But now, most young people have gone to work in cities, and they have no time and don't like this slow opera art. Most people who watch Taoist love are middle-aged and elderly people in their forties and fifties. In this way, the Taoist sentiment of Wuzhai has become one of the ways of community entertainment in people's leisure activities. The Qinglian Theater built after the founding of the People's Republic of China has also lost its former excitement and appears serene and quiet in the afterglow of the sunset.