Reasons for the Rise and Fall of Ancient China Opera

First, the present situation of China's traditional operas and the theory of "Sunset in the Western Hills"

"Many countries in the world have their own national dramas, but after careful study, there are three main sources, one is the drama of ancient Greece, the other is the Brahma drama of ancient India, and the third is the drama of China". In the 20th century, China's operas attracted the world's attention with more than 300 kinds of operas, and its profound historical and cultural connotation reached the artistic peak of the world's contemporaries from13rd century to16th century. However, after China opera entered the 1980s, with the profound changes brought about by China's economic reform and opening-up, theater performances all over the country showed a scene of "deserted chariots and horses", and the mainstream historical position of opera art was severely challenged, and it was gradually squeezed out and replaced by various art media.

The present situation and future destiny of China's operas have attracted the attention of China's opera circles and all aspects. A gentleman with the pen name "Rain Man" published an article entitled "Opera is Declining" in 1986, which aroused great vigilance and discussion in the field of opera. All those who love and care about the fate of traditional Chinese opera are all worried and bemoaned. It is necessary to quote some points of this article again to arouse people's thinking. Rain Man believes that "film, television, modern music and modern dance are or will soon replace the traditional opera art in China. Just as Kunqu Opera, Beijing Opera and Sichuan Opera have replaced puppet shows, legionary teleplay and zaju, they are the alternation of old and new normal art forms. The article further expounds that "the development and change of the times and the irresistible law of artistic development are the external causes of the decline and fall of China's traditional operas. "More importantly, the adjustment mechanism of the opera itself has lost its function of restoring vitality." He believes that "today, its performances have been difficult to accept new life and new content." For example, the virtuality and facial makeup of performance actions are quite different from people's demand for real aesthetic taste. In today's complicated life, the monotonous linear storyline and the content of joys and sorrows, karma, helping others and eliminating evil deeds can no longer give any beneficial enlightenment to modern audiences. The lyrics have a strong ancient flavor and are not suitable for expressing people's feelings today. Singing also has a fixed pattern, which greatly restricts people's emotional expression. To deny this performance is to deny the opera itself. The final conclusion of this paper is that "China traditional opera has actually been stereotyped in the West". " ②

The author of this article is an expert, and his "arguments" are quite attractive; But it also sounded the alarm for the development of China traditional opera. What is the future fate of China's traditional operas? There is a famous saying of British biologist Darwin: "The end of logic is verified by facts". We might as well extract some information from Mr. Rain Man's article as a theoretical study. For example, the dialectical relationship between the new and the old, the way of singing, the stylization of performance, and the relationship between traditional Chinese opera literature and the times have theoretical research value. From these feedbacks, we should realize more clearly that the development and evolution of China's traditional operas is not a simple "two-dimensional theory", that is, the repetition of good and bad, good and evil, good and evil, cause and effect. Its development law changes and evolves with its social development, and it is a scientific research proposition given by history to people engaged in traditional Chinese opera. What is the future of China traditional opera? If we look for the answer from the track of its historical evolution, we will inevitably experience some great turmoil, great differentiation, great reorganization and great merger, thus gaining new development opportunities and revitalization. We believe that this opportunity is coming to the 2 1 century.

Second, the periodic law of the rise and fall of opera vocal cavity

In the 800-year history of China opera, there are both peaks and valleys. There are both the rise of new vocal cavity and the decline of old vocal cavity. The rise and fall of traditional Chinese opera tune is in step with social development, and shows obvious periodicity. The first peak of traditional Chinese opera was in the middle of13rd century, at the end of Jin Dynasty and the beginning of Yuan Dynasty. At that time, "in the north, a kind of traditional Chinese opera art of singing Northern Opera was formed, which we called Northern Opera Zaju, referred to as Jinyuan Zaju. Although ┉ appeared at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty (about 12), as a form of drama, it flourished in the Southern Dynasties in Song Guangzong. Song Guangzong's Southern Dynasty was1190-195, while the Yuan Dynasty began at 1206, and the prosperity time of the two tunes was very close, so historians regarded them as two tunes formed at the same time. The second peak appeared in the middle and early period of the Ming Dynasty, which was the period of "four great voices contending for victory" summarized by historians. In Xu Wei's Nanci Lu, the grand occasions of Yiyang, Haiyan, Yu Yaoqiang and Kunshan were described. Among them, Haiyan and Yuyao gradually declined during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. However, Yiyang and Kunshan have continued. Among these four tunes, Kunshan tune (now Kunqu) was boldly reformed by musicians such as Wei Liangfu and Liang Bolong, which promoted the rapid development of this tune, and later generations regarded him as the "ancestor of Kunqu". On the basis of Southern Opera, Kunshan Opera borrowed and absorbed the essence of Yuan Zaju, and pushed the musical structure of "Qupai Siamese" (Qupai for short) to a very beautiful new stage. Such as changing the board in the divertimento, the layout of the palace tune in the divertimento, the coordination between the main melody and the divertimento, the alternate use of the north-south melody, the break of the tune, the comparison of styles, and the use of chorus forms. , inherited all the historical achievements of song and dance music and rap music since the Tang and Song Dynasties. Before the appearance of Bangzi and Pihuang, couplets were the only structural form of China opera music.

The third peak of China opera appeared in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties to Qianlong period. During this period, marked by the rise of Bangzi, Luantan and Pihuang, which is the "Huabu Luantan Period" summarized by historians, music has undergone new changes. Bangzi and Pihuang music, based on the variation of folk music, develop and change on the basis of a certain basic tune, so as to give full play to their musical ideas, such as expanding the board, adding flowers, gathering eyes, expanding the head and tail, slowing down, turning up and down, moving the palace against the tune, and so on. This musical structure characterized by plate variation laid a solid foundation for the formation of "plate variation", which is now called "plate cavity" In the middle of Qing dynasty, the flower department and the elegant department formed a situation of equal strength. 1790, "Huizhou Class Four" performed in Beijing one after another, becoming a strong force of Huabei (the predecessor of Beijing Opera today). It is good at learning from others' strong points, integrating Kunqu Opera, Beijing Opera, Luoluo Opera, Shaanxi Opera and Bangzi Opera, and pushing the musical structure of "Banqiang Opera" to a new peak. Qi Rushan, a critic of Chinese opera, once divided the singing and recitation of Beijing opera into four levels: "The singing at the first level can be said to be pure singing, such as Xipi and Huanger. Anyone who sings loudly and is accompanied by music is at this level. " "Secondary singing, where the introduction, poetry, couplets, etc. Everyone is reading, and they all belong to this level. He likes to sing. He reads poetry with a tone and charm, without music accompaniment, but he still sings. " "Three-level singing, all spoken parts belong to this level, and the spoken part must also have the meaning of singing ┉ with accent, charm, frustration, momentum, syllables, speed and sometimes drawling. At that time, you should use him to call gongs and drums and tell them to wait for them, and all chanting should cooperate with them. " "In the band's four songs, all the sounds made by crying, laughing, anger, worry, sorrow, regret, hate and cough must have the meaning of songs" (6) "It is amazing that the program of Beijing opera music has developed to such a perfect level.

The fourth peak appeared in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. The further development and spread of bangzi, leather spring and high-pitched opera system promoted the rise of folk local operas all over the country. "In fact, not all acoustic cavities can grow and develop, some will die, some will be absorbed and merged by other acoustic cavities, and some will really grow up. In this part, there are also different fates; Others always stick to one place, take root for a long time and develop independently. The specific situation can be described as various "once". The fifth peak appeared after the founding of 1949. From the 1950s to the mid-1960s, under the guidance of the Party's policy of "letting a hundred flowers blossom, bringing forth the old and bringing forth the new", Chinese opera troupes (operas) all over the country took it as their historical mission to inherit, innovate and express modern life. The innovation of traditional Chinese opera music runs through this period. The innovation of modern Peking Opera music in the mid-1960s pushed the development of opera music in this period to a new high point.

To sum up, in the process of rise and fall, the opera vocal cavity presents a certain periodic law. For example, the first peak period was in the late Southern Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty-1mid-2nd century, while the second peak period of "Four Major Tunes for Victory" was from1mid-5th century to1early 6th century. The time span between these two peaks is about 300 years or more. From 65438 to 0790, "Huizhou Class Four" entered Beijing, and Peking Opera became the third peak. The time span between the second peak and the fourth peak was about 200 years. The time span between the fourth peak and the third peak marked by the rise of local operas in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China was further shortened to about a hundred years. In 1960s, the fifth peak marked by the innovation of modern Peking Opera music was shortened from the previous peak to more than 60 years. The interval of this peak period is 300-200- 100-60 years, in which the rise and fall of opera tune reveals a very meaningful historical phenomenon to people.

Third, China opera and European opera.

According to 1959 statistics, there are about 360 kinds of operas in various ethnic groups and regions in China. If the lower limit time for music compilation of China traditional operas is 1985, there will be more than 300 kinds of operas. Its music forms and categories present various complicated phenomena, among which you have me and I have you. Regarding the classification of operas, Mr. Zhou Dafeng once divided operas into nine categories through comparative analysis, namely: 1, Kunqu opera system; 2. High cavity system; 3. Bangzi system; 4. Random bomb system; 5. Leather spring system; 6. Folk songs and dances; 7. Beach spring system; 8. Quyi and Shadow Play degenerate drama; 9. Ethnic minority operas. This paper provides valuable academic research materials for the classification of traditional Chinese opera. The rise and fall of China's traditional operas not only have periodic characteristics, but also have the evolution and quantification process from simple to complex and from less to more. The history of China opera is not an isolated phenomenon in the world culture. It is of great significance to compare, contrast and analyze them with European operas and find out their similarities and differences.

According to historical records, European opera was born in Florence at the end of 16, more than 400 years later than China opera. "At that time, aristocrats and some romantics gathered in several palaces to enjoy music. Among them, Count Battier's people wanted to try to stage a Greek drama." So "A musical based on the Greek myth" The Goddess of the laurel tree "was co-created by the poet Rinuccini, the composer Perry and Caccini, and was staged in 1597, and the opera was born at that time" 9. 1637, the first opera house named siano was established in Venice. /kloc-around 0/645, Italian opera was introduced to France. 1774, German (Will) Gluck launched the opera revolution in Paris, which caused a very famous storm in the history of music. As a result, Ge won, and Italian opera gradually lost its glory. On the one hand, Ge got rid of the habit of bel canto, on the other hand, he made the content of opera profound and swept away the superficial style of Italian opera at that time. At the same time, Mozart devoted himself to the reform of comedy opera and made amazing achievements. After the success of Gomorrah's reform, European opera masters came forth in large numbers, and the content and form of opera became more and more perfect.

The above explanation: First, the formation and development of European opera shows a trend from amateur to professional; The formation and development of traditional operas in China also showed a trend from folk to professional. Secondly, European opera entered the professional stage, and famous artists came forth in large numbers; China opera entered the professional stage, and a large number of famous artists emerged. Such as "Guan, Wang, Bai and Ma" (⑾), Tang Xianzu, Kong and Shen Jing in the legendary period of Ming Dynasty. In music, such as Wei Liangfu and Liang Bolong in Ming Dynasty, and Tang Ye, the composer of "Four Dreams of Tang Yuming". During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, China opera was earlier than European opera in both content and form, and it was becoming more and more perfect. Thirdly, European opera and China opera have experienced ups and downs since their birth. In addition to the above similarities, there are many differences between the two. The most obvious thing is that their development paths are different: the development of European opera has always been along the road of professionalism; On the other hand, China's operas are different. Since the rise of "Hua Bu Luan Tan", its artistic development has gradually returned to the road of folk collective creation. Here, I can't help asking people a thoughtful question. Why are there two completely different historical trends between China opera and European opera? If the two are related in different social backgrounds, people will naturally think of the interaction between the superstructure (politics, culture, law, etc.). ) and economic base. Before the 20th century, European society experienced two industrial revolutions: one was the first industrial revolution in18th century (1760), which was based on Newton's mechanical principles in England and characterized by "mechanization"; Second,/kloc-The second industrial revolution in the 9th century was based on the theory of electromagnetism and characterized by "electrification". When Europe entered the industrial society, culture and art, as a superstructure, gradually entered a new stage of historical development characterized by modern art from the historical stage of classical art, and as a European opera in the music field, it entered a new stage characterized by modern opera from classical opera. Its musical structure has developed to include overture, interlude, chorus, duet and solo; The solo of the main characters can be divided into recitation and lyric. The former is like recitation, and the accompaniment is extremely simple, while the latter expresses feelings, which are all ingenious works. The accompaniment of symphony orchestra has become an important part of opera. There are various forms of its traditional operas, but there are two main forms: drama (all singing but not singing) and light drama (some singing and some singing). Before the 20th century, the social background of China opera was still in a long-term agricultural social state. After the middle of Ming Dynasty, successive governments of Ming and Qing Dynasty ignored the new cultural changes brought by industrial revolution in europe. This policy avoids the adaptive changes at the cultural level and cannot achieve mutual linkage and communication in time. In particular, the Qing government not only refused to communicate with western culture, but also regarded it as a scourge. This closed-door cultural policy will inevitably lead to further shrinkage of cultural adaptability and aesthetics. One of the main reasons for this cultural policy is that the development of China traditional opera has returned from professionalism to folk.

The spread and spread of European opera is not limited to a certain region or country, but breaks national boundaries and goes to various western countries. Italy, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and other countries all use different national languages to sing operas. The national operas are manifested in adaptability, forming mutual communication, mutual penetration, mutual enrichment and mutual improvement, and reaching * * * knowledge on aesthetic level. Since the mid-Qing Dynasty, the evolution of China opera tune and many operas derived from it are mainly caused by many factors, such as inconvenient transportation, economic self-sufficiency, less cultural exchanges, great differences in dialects, different folk customs and so on, which also constitute the social conditions for many operas to survive. In addition, the professionalism of European opera is mainly reflected in the fact that many composers have different musical creation personalities and musical styles. The folk nature of China's traditional operas is reflected in the group creation centered on actors. From their different historical trends, it is not difficult to see that European opera is a development road from amateur to professional, with the characteristics of openness; China's traditional operas, from folk to professional and then back to folk, are characterized by being closed. Of course, the differences between the two are still manifested in the differences between the traditional cultures of the East and the West and in many techniques, so I won't go into details here.

Fourthly, China opera is facing the challenge of the times.

1949 after the founding of new China, China opera entered a new period of development. Under the guidance of the Party's literary and artistic policies, a number of professionals from various professional literary and artistic groups have been transferred from various localities to state-supported opera troupes (academies), including screenwriters, composers, directors and stage artists, to engage in the work of "drama reform". Since then, many ancient operas have gained new life in Germany, among which the successful performance of Kunqu Opera {15 Pass} is the forerunner, and the old trees have opened new branches. Local operas adapt to the requirements of the times and have made new progress in music and script creation, such as Pingju Opera in the north, Yue Opera in the south, Huangmei Opera, Henan Opera and Sichuan Opera, which have become influential operas throughout the country. During the seventeen years from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s, most of the music reform practices and theoretical research achievements of operas have accumulated a lot of valuable experience. The development of China's traditional operas has greatly stepped out of the trough, and there is a trend of upward breakthrough. In the mid-1960s, Peking Opera's successful exploration of modern opera music was a representative achievement of the music practice and theoretical research of "Opera Reform" in this period.

1966- 1976 the ten-year catastrophe of the "cultural revolution" brought the excellent situation of the development of traditional Chinese opera to a standstill. After the downfall of the Gang of Four, with the implementation of the "reform and opening up" policy by the Party and the government, China society entered a new stage of building a Socialism with Chinese characteristics. Facing the great situation of reform and opening-up, China traditional opera is weak and lags behind the development of the times. The reason is that the management system of the troupe is rigid. From the early 1950s, according to the model of the former Soviet Union, the cultural authorities changed most traditional Chinese opera troupes from mobile troupes to fixed troupes, and from private troupes to state-run troupes. The original flexible management mechanism oriented by market demand has been transformed into a Chinese opera troupe under the planned economy system. This change has left a hidden danger for the development and revitalization of traditional operas in China today. Take Jilin Traditional Opera Troupe as an example. 1985 There are eight kinds of operas: Peking Opera, Pingju Opera, Jiju Opera, Tui Opera, Huanglong Opera, Xincheng Opera, Luxi Opera and Singing Opera (North Korea). Except for Tui Opera (one of the duets), it has stagnated so far. In 2007 10, the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward the strategic plan of "great cultural development and prosperity", which reflected the Party's foresight and insight in realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. From the macro perspective of "Scientific Outlook on Development", China opera is a subsystem of the literary and artistic system, and the operation of the literary and artistic system is restricted by the macro-cultural system, which determines its coordination with the economic system. Therefore, the development of the times is not only "the external cause of the decline and fall of opera", but also the driving force of the revival of opera, which is a very precious historical opportunity.

The comprehensiveness of traditional Chinese opera art covers literature, music, performance, director, band (civil and military field) and stage art, and there is a bond between these categories, which can be closely linked. This bond is music; Only through the function of music can the above categories be integrated. Therefore, the development trend of opera tunes and music is an important symbol to judge the future trend of China opera. As one of the cultural forms of the superstructure, how to inherit and carry forward the essence of traditional culture, how to have distinctive characteristics of the times, and how to cultivate and develop a harmonious culture with China characteristics are the most important propositions faced by people in the theater industry. First of all, we should emancipate our minds, cultivate the spirit of innovation and break the rigid concept of traditional Chinese opera. The rise and fall of Yuan Zaju in the history of China opera is a good example. In the legendary stage of Ming Dynasty, there were ups and downs in the four major vocal cavities; Huizhou tune was an influential tune in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and was finally replaced by New Leather Spring (Peking Opera). Historical experience shows that it is necessary to break the rigid h2 concept about the invariability of traditional opera and establish the theory of variation and evolution of traditional opera. Secondly, the differentiation, merger and reorganization of traditional Chinese opera is the inherent law of the development of traditional Chinese opera art and the irresistible trend of the evolution of vocal cavity. More than 300 kinds of operas in China are not at the same level. Among them, there are both Kunqu Opera and Peking Opera with elegant artistic attributes, as well as operas that appeal to both refined and popular tastes. Such as Yue Opera, Huangmei Opera and Sichuan Opera in the Yangtze River Basin; Henan Opera, Shanxi Opera, Pingju Opera and Shandong Opera in the northern part of the Yellow River Basin; There are not only popular local operas, such as Northeast Errenzhuan, Inner Mongolia Errentai and Shaanxi Miyi. In addition, there are some newly created operas, such as Ji Opera and Longjiang Opera. The future development trend is different, but it will be repositioned through differentiation and mergers and acquisitions. "There are as many as 300 kinds of operas in China, but by analyzing and summarizing their origins, they can be roughly divided into four major vocal systems; One is the Kunqu opera system; Second, the high cavity system; The third is the bangzi system; The fourth is the leather spring system. There are two kinds of big tunes: one is mainly folk songs and dances; The second type is mainly folk rap. The above classification and induction are of great reference significance to the evolution of opera tune in the future. Third, theoretical preparation before the arrival of the drama peak. In the history of China opera development, opera practice and theoretical research always complement each other and develop together. During the prosperous period of Yuan Zaju, Yan Nanzhi's singing theory and Zhong Sicheng's Ghost Book appeared. At the peak of Southern Opera, Xu Wei's narration of Southern Ci appeared. In the mid-Ming Dynasty, during the heyday of the four major tunes, Wei Liangfu's melody, Wang Jide's melody, Lv Tiancheng's melody and Qi Biaojia's melody appeared. At the beginning of Qing Dynasty, the development of Kunqu Opera reached its peak, and Xu Dachun's Yuefu Biography and Li Yu's Random Thoughts appeared. In the mid-Qing Dynasty, with the rise of "Random Thoughts" by Hua Bu, Jiao Xun's "Hua Bu Nong Tan" came into being. During the hundred years from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China to the founding of New China in 1949, there were many works on the history, theory and music of China's operas. Since the reform and opening up in the late 1970s, the compilation of the national key scientific research project "Ten Art Integrations in China" has attracted the world's attention. Like other integrations, China Opera Records and China Opera Music Integration were divided into 30 volumes (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) according to the administrative divisions of China at that time. Its rich content, wide range, high quality requirements and numerous projects are unprecedented feats in the cultural history of China, and it is known as the "Great Cultural Great Wall Project". This theoretical preparation provides detailed and sufficient research historical materials for the revival of China traditional opera and its peak. Finally, the cultivation of opera talents and the overall improvement of their quality have accumulated reserve forces for the future development of opera. With the arrival of the new upsurge of socialist cultural construction, I believe there will be a number of Chinese opera writers, musicians, experts and stars who are comparable to clocks and directors in history.

To sum up, the 2 1 century is an era full of challenges, and it is the unshirkable historical mission of the opera community to meet the arrival of a new climax under new opportunities. Here, I would like to quote a famous drama theorist, Mr. Zhang Geng: "I wouldn't be surprised if there are only 50 operas left over 300 years." Although there were fewer varieties of operas at that time, the artistic form and content would be more abundant and perfect. China's traditional opera music is varied, and if it can be used casually-but the common people won't admit it at present-once it is used casually, it will be extremely rich. Therefore, we must have a long-term ideal. " He also said: "The similarities and differences in China's traditional operas will gradually come together. "Mr. Zhang Geng made a far-sighted inference about the rise and fall of China traditional opera, which was very profound and thought-provoking. The Chinese nation is a nation with a long history. The reason why Chinese culture can continue to prosper after thousands of years is that our ancestors created a continuous core value system that conforms to the social development trend. Easy-to-understand, easy-to-understand, optimistic, and with the pulse of the times, Chinese opera will definitely come to the broad masses of the people!