Zhangjiajie Yangxi Opera: Emerging from Shamanic and Chu Traditions
Zhangjiajie Yangxi Opera, commonly known as 'Yanghualiu,' arose in a region that was once a key junction of the ancient Xiang-E-Chuan-Qian trade route. Since the Western Han, migrants and garrison troops brought diverse cultures that coexisted and blended here. For centuries, shamanic and Chu traditions flourished along the Lishui River. Nourished by this environment, Yangxi Opera gradually transformed through Nuo rituals and Nuo drama, emerging as a distinct form and reaching maturity by the mid-Qing Dynasty.
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Zhangjiajie Yang Opera is commonly known as "Yanghua Liu."
Zhangjiajie was formerly a hub on the ancient road between Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou. Since the Western Han Dynasty, migrants and garrison troops settled here, and multiple cultures coexisted and blended. For thousands of years, the shamanic customs and Chu sounds on both banks of the Lishui River multiplied and spread, forming a grand spectacle. Yang Opera was nurtured under this influence, gradually transformed amid the performance of Nuo sacrifices and Nuo opera, and emerged, reaching maturity in the mid-Qing Dynasty, with a history of more than two hundred years to date. Yang Opera, this treasure of local opera, has now become a rare opera genre in the province and even the whole country, and a representative work of Zhangjiajie's ethnic culture.
Its stage dialect is based on the Zhangjiajie dialect. Its characteristics are clear distinctions between level and oblique tones, many erhua rhymes, and the complete presence of the five tones: yinping, yangping, shang, qu, and ru. The vocal music of Yang Opera belongs to a folk-song-style structure and is divided into two major categories: "Zhengdiao" and "Xiaodiao." "Zhengdiao" is mainly based on the (Zhenggong Diao), and also includes (Hama Gan Diao), (Jinqian Diao), (Yue Diao), (Tongguan Diao), (Xiaochou Diao), (Yin Diao), (Cibei Diao), (Beihe Diao), (Qizi Diao), and others. Men and women do not differentiate vocal registers, and plate-style variations such as "Daoban," "Gunban," "Sanban," "Jiaohan," and "Aizi" have already formed. Its characteristic is the singing method of "combining true and false voice."
The "Golden Thread Hanging a Gourd" vocal style is what distinguishes Zhangjiajie Yang Opera from other local Yang operas. This is a product of the Tujia people combining mountain chants with drama, novel and peculiar, with extremely penetrating musical charm. Its singing method must combine true and false voice: the lyrics are sung in true voice, and the prolonged tune is sung in false voice raised by an octave, which is absolutely unique among all types of opera nationwide. This singing method evolved from the flavor of Tujia folk songs. After the Tujia mountain song is finished, one must give a shout in a small voice; this shout is sung melodiously and gracefully, intense and high-pitched, and men and women do not differentiate vocal registers. The singing of the three xiao roles of Yang Opera (xiaosheng, xiaochou, and xiaodan) precisely draws on and artistically preserves this special technique. The vocal style of "Golden Thread Hanging a Gourd" has a unique style and endless charm, and has been praised by experts as "a unique wonder of the three Xiang and a rare flower of the five streams."
Yang Opera is an encyclopedia of Tujia traditional culture and has irreplaceable value in anthropology, ethnology, folklore, history, sociology, and art. It has been included in the first batch of the province's intangible cultural heritage protection list.
Zhangjiajie Yang Opera has a long history and distant origins, spanning fifteen generations vertically! It spans western Hunan and Hubei horizontally, its fame spreads across the nine Li, and its reputation fills the three Xiang! Because this place, Zhangjiajie, has different customs every ten li! And different customs every hundred li! Although Zhangjiajie Yang Opera belongs to the Northern Route Yang Opera, it has distinctions between the Shanghe Diao and Xiahe Diao! There is not much difference in repertoire performance! But in music, each has its own style and forms its own system!
Yang Opera is a native ethnic folk art born and raised in Zhangjiajie! It is a local opera loved by the masses! It is a rare opera genre in the province and even the whole country! It is a defining feature of Zhangjiajie's regional culture!
The stage dialect of Zhangjiajie Yang Opera is based on the Zhangjiajie dialect. Its characteristics are clear distinctions between level and oblique tones, many erhua rhymes, and the complete presence of the five tones: yinping, yangping, shang, qu, and ru!
The vocal music of Yang Opera belongs to a folk-song-style structure and is divided into two major categories: "Zhengdiao" and "Xiaodiao"! "Zhengdiao" is mainly based on {Zhenggong Diao}! It also includes {Hama Gan Diao}, {Jinqian Diao}, {Yue Diao}, {Tongguan Diao}, {Xiaochou Diao}, {Yin Diao}, {Cibei Diao}, {Beihe Diao}, {Qizi Diao}, and others! Men and women do not differentiate vocal registers, and plate-style variations such as "Daoban," "Gunban," "Sanban," "Jiaohan," "Aizi," "Yiliu," "Erliu," "Sanliu," and "Liushui" have already formed. Its characteristic is the singing method of "combining true and false voice"!
"Golden Thread Hanging a Gourd" is the key point that distinguishes Zhangjiajie Yang Opera from other local Yang operas. This is the most unique singing method by which the Tujia people integrate mountain chants into drama! Novel and peculiar! Extremely penetrating in musical charm, it is one of the wonders of Chinese drama! Its singing method must combine true and false voice! The lyrics are sung in true voice, and the prolonged tune is sung in false voice raised by an octave! It is absolutely unique among all types of opera nationwide! This singing method evolved from the flavor of Tujia folk songs! After the Tujia mountain song is finished, one must give a shout in a small voice; this shout is sung melodiously and gracefully, intense and high-pitched, and men and women do not differentiate vocal registers! The singing of the three xiao roles of Yang Opera (xiaosheng, xiaochou, and xiaodan) precisely draws on and artistically preserves this special technique!
This ingenious combination and use of true and false voice! It not only embodies the rough and bold character of the Tujia people, but also displays the unique style and endless charm of Yang Opera singing! Tujia men and women, old and young, can hum a few lines in production and daily life! However, outsiders find it very difficult to imitate and very difficult to sing out this unique charm! The vocal music of Yang Opera constructs a special local flavor!
The performance characteristics of Zhangjiajie Yang Opera are emphasis on acting and little martial fighting, with more performances of civil plays, family plays, and tragedies, and a strong flavor of daily life. The dan role occupies the first place among all role types in Yang Opera. The vocal music of Yang Opera is composed of two parts, Zhengdiao and Xiaodiao, with a total of 17 qupai. The vocal music of the Zhengdiao part is all sung with a combination of true and false voice, and the tail tune suddenly rises by an octave, called "narrow voice" in professional jargon; the flavor and characteristics of Dayong Yang Opera lie precisely in the narrow voice. As for the "yang" in "Yang Opera," one theory says Zhangjiajie is located on the yang side of the Lishui River, a second says the opera was inherited and developed by yangchun people, and a third says "Yanghua Liu" is homophonous with "yang," while "Yanghua Liu" carries a suggestion of lewdness, so it was named "Yang Opera."
Zhangjiajie Yang Opera differs considerably from Yang operas in other places. The greatest difference is the combination of true and false voice: the first half of the sentence uses the natural voice, and the second half goes up an octave, which everyone calls "Golden Thread Hanging a Gourd," and it is quite difficult. Nationwide, only Zhangjiajie's Yang Opera is sung this way. The special vocal style of "Golden Thread Hanging a Gourd" in Dayong Yang Opera has been praised by experts as "a unique wonder of the three Xiang and a rare flower of the five streams," and as able to "compare with Huangmei Opera." However, for the performers to sing it well is also not an easy matter.
The Historical Origins of Zhangjiajie Yang Opera
The specific date of the formation of Yang Opera cannot be verified in the classics; it is said that Yang Opera was formed between the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns of the Qing Dynasty.
Developing from folk song and dance into an opera genre, Yang Opera went through stages such as "two xiao," "three xiao," and "multi-role plays." In the course of development, it was influenced by artistic forms such as folk flower lanterns, Nuo opera, and Chenhe opera. Among the traditional short plays of Yang Opera, there are quite a few pieces with singing and dancing, all possessing the characteristics of folk flower lantern performance, while pieces such as "Pan Hua," "Picking Mushrooms," and "Pinching Cabbage Shoots" come directly from flower lanterns. Many Yang Opera artists also performed flower lanterns; in the Xupu area, they even sang flower lanterns by day and Yang Opera by night.
Nuo Hall Opera often performed on the same stage as Yang Opera, and the two also influenced each other artistically. Yang Opera transplanted Nuo opera repertoires and absorbed Nuo opera vocal music; Nuo opera borrowed Yang Opera facial makeup and did away with masks; some old Yang Opera artists could perform Nuo opera pieces such as "Begging for Wealth" and "Carrying Lord Yang," and the "three women's plays" of Nuo Hall Opera, "Meng Jiangnu," "Dragon King's Daughter," and "Madame Pang," were also staged by Yang Opera troupes in various places.
The influence of Chenhe Opera on the development of Yang Opera is also relatively obvious. Early Yang Opera mainly performed short plays; later it moved from street stalls to the stage, and from rural areas into cities, gradually staging large plays. The role types became increasingly rich, and some role types were taken directly from Chenhe Opera. In music, it adopted some transitional music labels from Chenhe Opera, transplanted some Chenhe Opera repertoires, and introduced some of Chenhe Opera's artistic expression methods and performance conventions.
Yang Opera was formed in ethnic minority areas, and many of its artists also came from ethnic minorities. Some artistic forms of ethnic minorities also brought influence to the artistic development of Yang Opera. The Tujia "Daliuzi," Miao song and dance, and the folk songs, love songs, and folk tales of other ethnic minorities all added special local color and ethnic flavor to Yang Opera repertoires.
Early Yang Opera was mainly active in the mountains and fields. Although it entered the cities in the late Qing and early Republic, its performance activities were still mostly seasonal, and troupes were mostly temporary combinations. Artists were half farmers and half artists, or half workers and half artists, and performance venues were mainly temporary stages, ancestral halls, temple stages, and main halls. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the art of Yang Opera received the support and fostering of the government.
In the early 1950s, amateur Yang Opera troupes developed to more than 100. Around 1957, Dayong, Fenghuang, Huaihua, Jishou, and other counties and cities successively established professional Yang Opera troupes, with more than 200 professional performers and staff. A large number of Yang Opera repertoires were excavated, organized, adapted, and created, and the art of Yang Opera presented a thriving new situation.
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