Chinese opera, from the Song and Yuan southern opera to the Jin Yuanben, Yuan miscellaneous opera, gradually advancing, diffusion. At the end of the Yuan peasant revolt, overthrew the feudal rule of the Mongolian aristocracy, the vast number of people of all ethnic groups in the south, politically free from the yoke of ethnic discrimination, production has been restored, and the gradual development of commerce. At this time, China's theater has undergone great changes accordingly, the formation of the "northern drama" (Yuan miscellaneous plays) decline, "southern opera" revival of the phenomenon.
Then the main script of the southern opera is the "legend", singing the legend of the voice of many, the oldest of which originated in Haiyan, Zhejiang Province, the voice, which is popular in Jiaxing, Huzhou, Wenzhou, Taizhou, the Wanli re-transmission of people in Jiangxi, the popular area of a wider range of Yiyang腔, which is located in Jiangxi, north and south of the two capitals, Hunan, Fujian, It is popular in Jiangxi, North and South Beijing, Hunan, Fujian, Anhui, Guangdong, Yunnan, Guizhou and other places, more combined with the language and music of each place and some derivation, Yuyao cavity is popular in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, as well as Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, Anhui Province, Guizhi, Taihu Lake, etc. In addition, there are Siping cavity, Yiwu cavity and other popular music. In addition, there are Siping accent, Yiwu accent, Leiping accent, etc., all have little influence.
The revival of the southern opera also has a process, the early Ming aristocrats and scholars of the upper class to the northern music for the elegant music sound, as for the general public of the folk hobby of the word popular, the story of the twists and turns and the complete southern opera. Waiting for the " Jing (Jing Hairpin), Liu (Liu Zhiyuan White Rabbit), Bay (Wang Ruilan girl's complaint Bay Moon Pavilion), kill (kill the dog record) "four major sagas and Gao Ming (Zecheng) "Pipa" from the words on the basis of popularity of the various aspects of the field have been improved considerably after the attention of the scholarly class, the South by the square on the high hall of the Chinese feast!
The Pipa Tale was a popular favorite among the scholarly class.
"The flow of beautiful and far-reaching, out of the three cavities above" Kunshan cavity, referred to as Kun Cavity, which began in the late Yuan Dynasty in Kunshan, is a branch of the southern opera. According to the Ming - Yufeng (Kunshan) Zhang Guangde's "true record of the day" volume two in the text of the record has "the Yuan Dynasty, there are Gu Jian, although away from the Kunshan thirty miles, living in a thousand duns, good at the South, good at making ancient fugue. Expansion Gou Timur heard its good song, repeatedly recruited unyielding. With Yang Tiedi, Gu A Ying, Ni Yuanzhen as friends, self-proclaimed moon and wind scatterer. His work has "Tao Zhen elegant collection" ten volumes, "wind and moon scattering people music" eight volumes in the world, good hair of the South Song of the Olympic, so the beginning of the country is called Kunshan cavity."
Kunshan cavity in the Ming Dynasty before the Wanli, but also popular in Wuzhong "small set of southern singing" of the Qingqu. This "soft and clear fold" of the Kunshan cavity of the change and development, is in the middle of the Ming Dynasty later. In the years of Jiajing (1522-1566) and Longqing (1567-1572), Wei Liangfu, a native of Yuchang (Nanchang), Jiangxi Province (the word Shangquan, the word Shangquan), lived in Nanguan, Taicang (under the jurisdiction of Kunshan in the Yuan Dynasty). Wei Liangfu was originally a northern opera singer, and after he came to Wuzhong, he devoted himself to southern opera. He thought that some of the southern opera singing at that time "rate of flat and straight without intention" (simple, or rhythmic drag), so the original Kunshan cavity as the basis for reference to the advantages of Haiyan, Yuyao and other cavities, and absorbed some of the northern opera in the singing method (should be that "rhythmic and staccato, rope fibers and knots, stopping the sound, stealing blowing, according to the cavity, The singing techniques of the Northern Quartet (i.e. "rhythm and intonation, soliloquy, stopping, stealing, blowing, following the cadence, sticking to the tune", etc.), as well as the singing techniques of shaping the characters' character and emotions with different tones, and with Zhang Meigu, who was good at blowing the cave Xiao, Xie Linquan, who was good at working on the pipe, as well as Zhang Xiaochuan, Zhou Monshan, Ji Jingpo, Dai Meichuan, and Bao Langrang, all of them formed a creative collective that had the same opinions and ideals on the art and made great reforms and development of the Kunshan Caviar. The Kunshan accent was greatly reformed and developed. Wei Liangfu is very concerned about the singing style of the spitting, over the cavity, the collection of sound, every gain must go to the south of the Guan old singer Dakurado Hou over the cloud suitable place to ask for advice, to get the approval, many times over and over again to modify not tired of. At the same time, Hebei's Beiqiu strings and strings of famous Zhang Yutang, sent to Taicang Wei for the crime, was Wei Liangfu good song of the daughter recruited as a son-in-law, he assisted Wei "more string syllables, so that similar to the southern sound. And change the three strings (shape) type, body slightly thin and its drum round, to the text of the wood system, the name is strings (i.e., kunqu and play lyrics used in the "south string"). It is the characteristic accompaniment instrument of Kunqu, together with the flute, the drum and the fiddle (a national stringed instrument). This new accent is characterized by its soft and gentle sound, "Calling the water mill, and patting the cold board. The sound is flat and goes up into the Wanxie, the word is the head and belly of the end of the sound of the Bi even, ...... open the mouth light round, the sound is pure and fine." Become a set of north and south of the song of the new sound, "cavity said 'Kun cavity'", "the song name 'time song'". But at this time the kunqu is still singing, has not yet been able to reflect the script, the shape of the stage.
Kunqu was put on the stage from oratorio and became a drama, which was started by Liang Chenyu's "The Story of Raccoon". Liang Chenyu of Kunshan (1519-1591), known as Shaobai and Qiu Jiwai Shi, was a famous opera writer who was skilled in poetry and metre. He was encouraged by Wei Liangfu's achievement in changing his voice, and he often set up a large sitting couch and table, seated himself westward, teaching songs, with scholars listed on both sides. Famous singers and dancers did not get Liang's personal instruction, they thought it was ominous. But he also felt that such a new cavity should not be limited to the song, must be extended to the stage to occupy a wider world, so with Zheng Sikasa, Chen Meiquan, Tang Xiaoyu and others who are proficient in the sound theory, "review of the Yuan dynasty opera, a new work", and to play the literary advantages of the writing of the "Raccoon Tale" legend with Xishi as the main character, from the music aspect It made up for the lack of "cold singing" in Shuimo tune, and at the same time synthesized the legendary literature with the new voice and performing art. At the same time, it synthesized the legendary literature with the new vocal style and performing art, and brought the Kunqu Opera to the stage for the first time by means of the momentum of gongs and drums and the form of the stage scenes. This kind of development from the original Kunshan cavity into Kunqu, and then further on the stage, that is, the process of stereotyping and maturation of the voice. Since the early years of the Wanli reign, Kunqu quickly expanded to all parts of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, becoming the type of opera that overwhelmed other southern opera voices. Then it was brought into Beijing by the general public, and Yiyang cavity and for the Yuxi Palace opera, then known as the "official cavity". From then on, Kunqu has become an ally of the theater, over the centuries, many kinds of stage art, has had a profound impact.