Folk cultural resources are one of the important tourism resources. Heyang County, located in the central prefecture of Guandong Province, has a long history, rich cultural heritage, and folk customs with obvious regional characteristics. The ancient dancing opera is known as "living fossil for studying the development history of Chinese opera"; string puppet show (commonly known as "thread opera") is a unique type of opera in the country; the colorful dough and rich folk connotations make Heyang known as " "Hometown of Noodle Flowers"; paper-plastic window grilles are a unique variety of window grilles in Heyang; the gongs and drums are bold and bold, with a masculine beauty; the celadon boats are similar to land boats, but unique; the gongs and five-round drums have vigorous and neat movements, and the picture is beautiful ;The large-scale bloody story is thrilling and exciting.
The folk customs of Heyang are very representative in Guandong Prefecture. Heyang is only 180 kilometers away from Xi'an, the provincial capital, and 120 kilometers away from Weinan City. It has convenient transportation and obvious location advantages. Heyang has a long history. Emperor Ku, one of the five emperors recorded in the history of the Chinese nation, is buried here. As early as 4,200 years ago, Xia Qi sealed one of his branches here and called it "Youxin Kingdom" ; Qiachuan on the Yellow River is the hometown of Princess Taisi of Zhou Wen. my country's first love poem "The Book of Songs·Guan Ju" was written here; Qiachuan's Quai Spring is rare in the world, especially the Virgin Spring. Qiachuan Scenic Area has become an important tourist attraction on the east line of our province.
It can be said that Heyang’s folk cultural tourism resources are not inferior to those of natural scenery resources and historical and cultural resources. There are both ornamental ones, such as the dancing opera, which is known as "a living fossil in the study of the development history of Chinese opera"; the string puppet show with its own special voice; the gongs and drums, which are rough and bold and have the masculine beauty of Weibei farmers; and the flashing lights Celadon boats with celadon and celadon colliding with each other like fairy music; five-round drums with strong and neat movements and graceful forms; grand scenes and thrilling blood stories; ingenious core rods; mighty lion figures and dragon dance lanterns, etc. There are also various festive folk customs represented by the Spring Festival that are highly participatory, as well as collectible dough flowers, paper-cuts, paper-plastic window grilles, and date brands made of Qiachuan bell dates. 1. Heyang Dancing Opera Dancing Opera, also known as "Tiāo Diao" or "Gong and Drum Zaju", is popular in Heyang County along the Yellow River. According to Mr. Li Jingci (a native of Xingjiazhuang, Heyang County), the former director of the Shaanxi Provincial Repertory Studio and a scholar who has done extensive research on opera, there are three theories about the origin of dance opera: 1. The evolution of the "Nuo opera" in ancient folk gods-welcoming games ; 2. The evolution of "team dance" in the Song Dynasty; 3. The legacy of gong and drum dramas in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. However, due to the lack of written materials and physical evidence, it is difficult to determine specifically and needs further research. In recent years, experts believe that dance opera is one of the few surviving types of Nuo opera in northern my country. Although it is still accompanied by gongs and drums, it has a complete script with separate roles. It is a "living fossil for studying the development history of Chinese opera." In the Spring Festival of 1984, The China National Academy of Arts made a special trip to Heyang to shoot the documentary; in the spring of 1992, Mr. David He, an Australian scholar who specializes in oriental drama, also made a special trip to Heyang to learn about dancing opera.
In Heyang, dancing opera has always appeared in the form of social opera. The actors and actresses are regardless of their status or status. From officials in the Imperial Academy to craftsmen and farmers, anyone can share the stage as long as they are interested. Rehearsals begin every year in the twelfth lunar month to train novices. Starting from the first day of the Lunar New Year, various communities (organizations in the village divided by surname or region) begin to beat gongs and drums in the lanes to create an atmosphere. The dance officially starts on the fifth day of the lunar month, the Lantern Festival reaches its climax, and usually stops on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. First, a "dumb dance" was performed in the square, with only movements and no words spoken. Dozens or even hundreds of people performed at the same time, with neat movements and a spectacular scene. During the Lantern Festival, the opera is performed in the square, or "dances on stage" are performed by Baoshi, who performs his signature plays.
Before the performance of the dance opera, the "Chunguan" is first introduced, which is a relic of the "deputy opening" in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. There are no fixed rules for spring official poems. They are improvised and self-composed. They may describe local scenery, describe the hardships of farmers, or praise the performance lineup. The language is humorous and humorous. Next is "Gongs and Drums on the Stage", with rich changes in drum beats to create a lively atmosphere, and then the show begins.
The most obvious difference between dance opera performances and other types of opera is that all types of martial arts actors need to be "on the stage" on stage, with powerful and majestic movements and strong danceability. The literary and female roles are called "stepping on the field" and have a light gait. Wujiao's upward movement is the artistic essence of dance opera. It is divided into two categories: "flat posture" and "concave posture". The eighteen postures can be flexibly matched to show the personality characteristics of different characters. Together with the accompaniment of gongs, drums and suona, it is very Ornamental. The characters in the dance drama perform chanting instead of singing after taking the stage. Any place marked with "speaking" in the script is equivalent to the "singing" in other dramas. The lyrics are concise, usually four to eight sentences. The repertoire is rich, mostly martial arts dramas with content from "Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin", "Generals of the Yang Family", and "The Romance of the Gods". There are as many as five to six hundred kinds. 2. String Puppetry in a String Style The String Puppetry in a String Style is a unique folk opera in Heyang, referred to as "Xian Opera", and is also called "Xian Hu Opera", "Thread Monkey Show" or "Xiao Opera" among the people. Among the three major categories of puppets in China: stick, bag and string, string puppet manipulation techniques are the most difficult. According to what the author learned when he attended the "National Small Puppet and Shadow Puppet Art Symposium" held by the Ministry of Culture in Yangzhou in 1991, statistics from the first national puppet and shadow puppet viewing and performance conference held in 1955 showed that at that time there were more than fifty string puppet troupes across the country. , after more than thirty years, only three are left, namely the Fujian Quanzhou Puppet Troupe and the Guangdong Meizhou Puppet Troupe. To the north of the Yangtze River, the only professional puppet troupe left is the Heyang String Puppet Troupe, which has become a key protection target. Heyang string puppets have their own special vocal cavity (also called "combined cavity"). From this point of view, Heyang string puppets are unique in the country. In the autumn of 2002, the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Culture reported to the National Ministry of Culture to name Heyang the "Hometown of Thread Opera Art".
Line opera has a very long history. It is said that it "began in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty, and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties." During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, there were 72 thread opera troupes in the county. Even Shejiayuan, a small village with only about 20 households at the foot of Liangshan Mountain, also had its own thread opera troupe. During the Qianlong, Jiaqing and Tongzhi years of the Qing Dynasty, line opera artists not only traveled to Guanzhong and northern Shaanxi, but also performed in Suzhou, Yangzhou and Beijing. Lifting the thread is the main performance method of Heyang thread opera. The artists skillfully use methods such as lifting, plucking, hooking, picking, twisting, swinging, flashing, and shaking to give the puppets artistic life and lifelike movements. They can also remove hats, move chairs, take off clothes, swing poles, and perform single and double flashes. Difficult moves such as hat wings and so on.
In the past, when line operas were performed, a person sitting on the drums and playing with hands (commonly known as "the opera talker") directed the audience. He would also sing all the main characters' scenes in a play, and most of them could be familiar with it. The most famous "Liu Ba'er" (Wang Wuhan) can recite more than 100 plays, and his apprentice Wang Xiaoqian (stage name "Shisanwa") can also recite more than 60 plays. They paid great attention to their voice, and their voice and emotion were both eloquent. Even though they have been dead for many years, they are still talked about by the public. The singing of the line opera is performed in the intervals of music, which sounds pleasant to the ears.
There are rich repertoires of online dramas. There are more than 500 copies of legends about old artists. In 1961, more than 200 copies were collected during the provincial census and are now in the Shaanxi Provincial Art Research Institute. The most popular ones are the "Three Boxes" ("Treasure Box", "Nangzai Packing" and "The Romance of the West Chamber"), the second floor ("The Immortal Tower", "Yuanyang Tower") and the two-story hairpin ("Golden Bowl Hairpin", "Double Hairpin"). "Phoenix Hairpin") and "Butterfly Cup", etc. There are also some improvisational plays (commonly known as "Xiaoxi"), which are popular among the masses because of their catchy language, lively and realistic content, and rich flavor of life. It has been performed for a long time. 3. Shang Luo and Drum
Shang Luo and Drum is an ancient folk custom preserved in Donglei Village, Heyang County. It is a folk art that is rough, bold, passionate, and highly danceable. It has a strong sacrificial color and simple local characteristics. According to the information currently available to the author, there is only one such type of gong and drum in the country.
There are about 200 households in Donglei Village, with horses and drums. The two surnames of Qin are divided into northern and southern societies when gongs and drums are played. The specific time for gongs and drums is the Lantern Festival.
If there was a social fire in the village that year (the village's core pole is also famous), the gongs and drums would start when the social fire was about to end in the afternoon and last until midnight; if there was no social fire that year, the gongs and drums would start at midnight. , withdrawing troops near midnight.
When the gongs and drums begin, the gongs and drums of the two communities compete with each other in the village square. The big drums in this village are slightly smaller than those in other villages, with a drum head diameter of about 60 centimeters, while the cymbals are specially made, about 40 centimeters in diameter, weighing about 5 to 7 kilograms, and have a loud sound when struck. The drumming is divided into four stages. The first is "pai gong", which has a slower rhythm and plays a role in convening people; the next is called "flowing water", which has a faster rhythm and many tricks. It shows the drummer's percussion level and is very meaningful to challenge the opponent. Obviously; next comes "Shanggu", the drummer is in high spirits, the drummer is riding a horse and squatting on his crotch, while the gong player jumps up from a distance, runs to the drum, steps on the drum with one foot and the ground with the other, and draws an arc around the head with the gong hammer. , beat the drum first, then the gong, and at the same time circle around the drum with the drummer; the cymbal player also raises the cymbal to the top of his head, vigorous and powerful. As the atmosphere matures, the drum beat becomes "a random blowing wind", with gongs, drums, and cymbals sounding in unison without any obvious rhythm. It's like the wind blowing in the forest, the roaring of the pines, or the rising tide of the sea of ??people and the emptying of the turbid waves. Hearing a sharp and long whistle from the leader, a tall and thick young man suddenly squatted down, grabbed the drum ring, swung the drum onto his back, and ran away, followed by the drummers. At this time, the other family saw this and ran away carrying the drum. When they caught up, they wanted to stack the drum on top of the other person's drum. The one running ahead was unwilling to give way, and he even wanted to turn around and stack the drum on top of his drum. You fight for it, it's hard to tell. At this time, a bright moon shines high in the sky, countless lanterns compete with each other on the ground, torches made of reeds are raised high, fires made of dry wood are burning, firecrackers shake the sky, smoke fills the air, and whistles come and go. Horse bells buzzing and shouts burst out, you want to beat my drum, I want to beat your gong. The drums and gongs are flying, and the gongs are swaying wildly, making people feel like they are in the "Iron Cavalry with the sound of swords and guns" in the battle formation. When the fight reached a certain point, the two families repositioned themselves, beat each other neatly for a while, and then returned to camp. If there is no social fire, the gong and drum team from one community will go to the alleyway of another community to challenge, and the two families will go back and forth several times. The crowd chased each other in the alley, like two "fire dragons" swimming in the village. Because the village is located on the bank of the plateau, even people in Shanxi on the other side of the Yellow River can see the swimming "fire dragons", and many people specially take boats to cross Come to the river to see the fun.
The people who perform the gongs and drums are all bare-chested, with a string of horse bells slung across their bodies, and only a pair of shorts on their lower bodies, showing the masculine beauty of Weibei farmers. Although it was cold winter, no one had ever caught a cold. On the contrary, everyone was sweating profusely. 4. Blood Story
In the middle section of Jinshuigou in Heyang, there are two villages facing each other across the ditch. The one to the east of the ditch is called Punan Village, and the one to the west of the ditch is called Daibao Village. Both villages have a unique form of folk social fire - blood stories. The reason why it is called a blood story is that firstly, the content of the story all involves killing, such as "The Case of the Beauty", "Shi Xiu Kills His Wife", etc.; secondly, the costumed characters in the story bloodyly perform axe-cutting, knife-cutting, etc. The shape of the spear stabbing is quite thrilling to the viewer. To achieve the effect of showing blood, in addition to using pig suet, fat, and intestines, there is also a set of secret stunts. Outsiders are not allowed to enter the place where the story is staged, not even leaders or reporters who have unimpeded access everywhere.
The blood story is spectacular. A wooden cart with wooden wheels used in rural areas is put on wooden planks, and five or six or even a dozen story characters stand on it, marching in the lane. The most attractive thing is the "change on the spot". When the cart drives into a crowd of people, more than ten firecrackers are fired all around. Black smoke rises from the gunpowder baskets at the four corners of the cart. Firecrackers explode and the smoke fills the air. When the smoke dissipated, there was another scene in the car. Either Chen Shimei's head had rolled to the side, or Pan Qiaoyun's intestines had been pulled out, and the sharp blade in Shi Xiu's hand was still bleeding. The scene is quite stimulating, especially in line with the psychology of contemporary young people pursuing novelty, mystery, excitement and adventure. Blood Story was banned during the "Cultural Revolution" for "promoting terror", but resumed in 1987.
5. Gong playing and five round drums
Gong playing is popular in Xizhonglei and Nanwuren villages on the Yellow River plateau in Heyang County. It is also a wonder in the Yellow River culture.
The gong players walked in an orderly manner, and followed the rhythm of the drums to the same drum beat. Dozens of gongs fly high into the sky together, with golden lights and lingering sounds. The scene is very spectacular.
The gong is performed while marching. The Shehuo team stops to perform, which is commonly known as "luoqianzi". Xizhong Leicun plays "five-round drums" when they play. Four big drums are placed in a circle, and two small drums are placed between every two big drums. In this way, each drummer has a big drum in front and four small drums on both sides. The four drummers move in unison, pitching, opening and closing, and changing their postures. They may sweep the edge with a single hammer, strike continuously with double hammers, strike diagonally, or strike one by one with a rotating ring. The drummer's posture is graceful, and the big and small drums are arranged in a pattern, like a blooming plum blossom. The drum beats are rich and the sound is shocking, creating a strong artistic appeal. 6. Celadon Boat The appearance of the Celadon Boat is similar to that of an ordinary land boat, but it is unique in that it is "celadon". There are several skilled craftsmen in making celadon boats in villages such as Wangshanzhuang, Jiasi and Beiwang in Heyang. They master a technique of making "fire glue". The main raw materials are clear oil and rosin, and several ingredients and cooking methods are never disclosed to outsiders. Use fire glue to "weld" hundreds of celadon dishes of different sizes like a pagoda ("welding" is a common name among the people, but it is actually glued together with fire glue) into several piles, with big ones at the bottom and small ones at the top. There are about six or seven in each pile. a plate. Put a spring between the plates, "weld" a wine cup into the top small plate, then "weld" a few egg shells with only a small hole on the celadon plate, and insert a small candle into the egg shell to make into a small lamp. Finally, the piles of celadon plates were tied firmly to the hull according to the pre-designed design, and then decorated with paper flowers, cloth curtains, etc. Because it has to bear the weight of the celadon dish, the boat frame must be made of strong locust wood. The dish weighs more than 100 kilograms, so the "fisherwoman" driving the boat is a young man disguised as a woman. During the performance, when the hull of the boat shakes, the celadon plates will hit each other, making the sound of gold and stone, just like fairy music floating from the sky. At this time, the bright moon is shining brightly in the sky, the lanterns on the ground are glowing, and fairy music is heard in the ears, making people feel like they are in a fairyland, and feel that this Lantern Festival is a bit interesting. 7. Paper-plastic window grilles
Paper-plastic window grilles are a unique folk art derived from the Heyang string puppet show and are known as the "puppet show on the window panes." Among the people, it is called "Chuhua", which means "the window grille that sticks out on the paper"; and because the content is mostly opera characters, it is also called "human appearance". It belongs to the art of paper-cutting, but it is completely different from ordinary paper-cutting. In addition to colored paper, the raw materials also include gold and silver foil, silk cloth, cotton, etc., and the production method is more complicated, including melting, wrapping, cutting and pasting, spot dyeing, plastic piling and other processes. After one furnace, a window grille similar to a relief is formed, which is attached to the window and dances in the wind, making the characters seem to be alive. Paper-plastic window grilles are excellent collectibles in folk culture tourism. After being carefully packaged, whether they are hung on the wall or placed on the desk, they seem to be facing a small puppet show stage, with the lifelike opera characters performing. Touching story. 8. Heyang Noodles
Noodles are called "Hua Bun" or "Hua Mantou" among the people in Heyang. They are exquisitely made and are both ornamental and practical. Folk handicrafts with high artistic quality. Heyang noodle flowers have long been famous, so Heyang is known as the "hometown of noodle flowers". In 1998, Ganjing Town in Heyang County was named the "Hometown of Chinese Folk Art (Noodle Flowers)" by the Ministry of Culture.
In the long-term development process, Heyang noodle flowers have formed their own style characteristics of vivid and exaggerated shapes, bright colors, rich folk flavor, and exquisite and delicate production.
From the appearance point of view, Heyang flowers can be divided into three categories. The first is the simple and vivid decal type, which is similar to the relief; the second is the exaggerated variant type, which selects natural objects such as flowers, birds, insects, fish, melons, fruits, vegetables, etc. to highlight the characteristics and wonderful Between similarity and dissimilarity; the third is the magnificent flower arrangement type, which is three-dimensional, and some are even made into several floors, which is very spectacular. Spot dyeing is a major feature of Heyang noodle flowers. It must be dyed to make it colorful without losing its true appearance. Noodle flowers are closely connected with folk customs. They are not only necessary for weddings and weddings, but also a precious gift for relatives and friends during the four seasons and eight festivals. Almost every type of folk custom has corresponding noodle flowers. As soon as people see the noodle flower, they can tell what it is going to be used for from its appearance. For example, when her grandson turns one year old, his grandma will give him an "ox yoke", hoping that the child will be as tough and endurance as an ox, able to withstand the ups and downs of the world, and be able to shoulder the burden of life when he grows up. And if the baby is a girl, grandma will steam a big fish with flowers all over it. In Heyang dialect, "fish" and "female" have the same pronunciation, and I wish the child to be as lively and cute as a fish. Heyang noodle flowers are exquisitely made, such as the "Tiger Wonton" for married women. The "King of Beasts" is covered with colorful flowers, and there are small and cute butterflies on the forehead, eyebrows and ears, which are powerful and majestic. A bit gentle. In the center of the birthday peach is a big word "Shou", surrounded by flowers such as music, chess, calligraphy and painting, cranes, deer and spring, and three stars of happiness, prosperity and longevity are inserted to express people's good wishes for the birthday star. Heyang is divided into four large areas by three major ditches. "Ten miles have nine different local customs." The noodles and flowers in each place have their own characteristics, which makes them even more diverse and beautiful. The noodle flowers west of Jinshuigou are more delicate, and seventy, eighty or even hundreds of small noodle flowers can be put on a big steamed bun; in Qiachuan on the bank of the Yellow River, the noodle flowers are so large that a "baby girl" for Qingming Festival can steam them. It is one foot to one foot five tall and weighs seven or eight kilograms. In the villages at the foot of Liangshan Mountain, the dough flowers highlight their features and omit details, fully demonstrating the frank and bold character of the local people.