Northern Shaanxi Daoqing is one of the Han operas in the northern Shaanxi region. In 2008, it was selected into the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list in my country. In the development of Daoqing, the opera has a close connection with Taoism, so the artistic characteristics of Daoqing in northern Shaanxi are also inseparable from Taoism. So, what is the origin and history of Northern Shaanxi Daoqing?
The origin of Daoqing in northern Shaanxi:
Daoqing in northern Shaanxi first appeared in Xuanwu Village in Dongjiejiagou, Qingjian County. According to the oral account of Wang Rulun, a Taoist artist in the village, during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty (1821-1850), a group of Taoist artists from Xinzhou, Shanxi Province came to perform in this village and nearby Zhaigou, which began to introduce Shanxi Taoist sentiments to Qingjian. Later, it was combined with local folk songs and absorbed the artistic elements of Meihu and Yangko to form Qingjian Taoism. The first person to form a troupe to perform was Wang Rulun's grandfather, who was called the Wang Family Troupe and performed in the form of seated singing. From the Guangxu period to the 1930s, Taoist groups appeared in Qingjian County in Shijiahe, Yantou, Yuanjiahe, Letangbao and other villages. They often went out to perform, which spread Daoqing opera to Zizhou, Zichang, Zhidan, Hengshan, Suide and other places, and a prosperous situation emerged where every village and community had a team. The form of performance has developed from sitting singing to stage performance, and has become the main entertainment variety in temple fairs and operas in various places. Taoist dramas are often performed during the day, and Yangko performances are held at night. Every year during the Spring Festival, Daoqing and Yangko troupes from each village also invite each other to perform in the form of posting and returning, which is called Naohonghuo locally.
In the twenty-fourth year of the Republic of China (1935), the Red Army’s Long March arrived in northern Shaanxi, and the situation in northern Shaanxi entered a new stage of development. Daoqing artists have created a new kind of Daoqing in Hengshan and other places on the basis of traditional Daoqing. Because they often perform modern plays that reflect the revolutionary struggle life of the people in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, they are called "Qingshan Daoqing" by the masses. The artistic style is completely different from that of the old Taoist sentiments. The old Taoist sentiments are deep and tragic, while the new Taoist sentiments are joyful, bold and lively. They are full of characteristics of the new era and are generally welcomed. As a result, the old Taoist sentiments are declining day by day, and classes in both urban and rural areas have switched to new Taoist sentiments, such as the Qingjian Xiawucun Troupe, the Caojiata Troupe, the Chenjiaping Troupe, the Pojiagou Troupe, the Badoucha Troupe, the Huaijiawan Troupe, and the Hengshan Po Troupe. Luocun class, Chaixinliang class, Zizhou Peijiawan class, Qiangjiagou class, Liujiachuan class, Zichang Qiangjiagou class, Yulin Zhenchuanbao class, Yanchuan Baijiahe class, etc.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the new situation in northern Shaanxi has further developed. The folk troupe societies in each village continued to expand, and some troupe societies also purchased new boxes, trained a new generation of actors, and created and performed a large number of modern plays.
The story of the historical origin of Taoism in northern Shaanxi:
Taoism was named after ancient Taoist priests chanting sutras, singing, and reciting the principles of Taoism. According to "Tangshu·Liyuezhi" "In the second year of Tiaolu (AD 679), Gaozong ordered musicians to make Taoist tunes and worship Laozi" and Zhi'an's "Taoists sing about emotions, Buddhists sing about nature, and Confucians sing about principles, so it is said Singing Tao Qing, or Dao Qing, is the Tao Qing tune, which has a different name but the same reality as Dharma music." It can be seen that Tao Qing originated in the Tang Dynasty, and was the earliest "Jingyun" sung in Taoist temples. Praise for poetry. Later, it absorbed the lyrics, tunes and tunes, and evolved into the "Xin Jing Yun" sung during folk sermons, also known as "Tao Song".
In the Tang Dynasty, the imperial power had a close relationship with Taoism, and Taoism was regarded as the state religion. In order to maintain the status of Taoism and win over believers, Taoist priests sang Taoist stories in Taoist temples. In order to attract more audiences, folk tales and historical legends were used to sing, and the rap in Taoist temples was gradually spread to the people. Later, through the creation and development of artists, a simple and earliest form of Taoist a cappella singing and rap was formed. This is how Taoism arose with the rise of Taoism.
In the Song Dynasty, Taoism was regarded as the orthodox religion and Taoism was vigorously promoted. Zhenzong respected Laozi as the "Tai Shang Laojun Hunyuan Shangde Emperor" and built the extremely magnificent Zhaoying Palace and Huiling Temple. Later, Huizong was even more obsessed with Taoism than Zhenzong, and he built Taoist temples all over the country, which greatly increased the number of Taoist academies and Taoist priests. This resulted in the expansion and development of Tao Qing, which was popular among the people at that time. This is mainly reflected in the following: on the basis of the use of pipa, drums, bells, chimes and other accompaniment instruments in the Tang Dynasty, the main Tao Qing still used to this day was added. Musical instruments—fishing drums and simple wooden boards—promoted the establishment of the music form and style of Daoqing singing tunes.
In the Yuan Dynasty, Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, both turned to Taoism for help in unifying China.
They banned operas that promoted the rule of the Han people, but rarely interfered with the dramas about the transformation of immortals into Taoism. Therefore, Yuan Za dramatists wrote dramas about the transformation of immortals into eight caves, which accounted for more than a quarter of the Yuan operas. At this time, Daoqing, which had been widely popular among the people, also entered a new period of development. It developed from a cappella singing in a class to a square performance. On the original basis, shadow puppets were added to become a duet performance with characters and plots. As a type of opera, it has already taken its prototype.
The Qing Dynasty placed more emphasis on Lamaism and Taoism gradually declined. However, because Cixi dreamed of immortality, the Taoist priest Gao Yunxi "bewitched Cixi with the magic of gods, and would not leave the palace for several days" and secretly participated in court affairs. Therefore, Taoism continued to exist, and Taoism continued to develop at this time. . Some literati have followed the old tunes and created new ones, enriching the content of Taoism. Daoqing takes "Playing with Children", "Qingjiang Yin", "Mao Luo Pao" as its main arias, and also absorbs and adopts some gongs and drums, singing tunes, performances, repertoires and folk songs from Qin Opera and other Bangzi operas, gradually forming a mature Taoist drama.
To sum up: Taoism not only originates from Taoism, but also has been closely related to Taoism during its formation and development. It is an opera art form that cannot be separated from Taoism.