The Development of Xinjiang Quzi Opera

Xinjiang Quzi Opera is the only local opera in Xinjiang recognized by the Ministry of Culture of the State Council. Although it is a kind of small drama, it has gloriously become a member of the Chinese Opera Group and has been included in the Encyclopedia of China and Xinjiang Volume of Chinese Opera.

Xinjiang Quzi Opera, commonly known as Xiaozi, is mainly composed of Shaanxi Hu Mei (Yuediao), Lanzhou Guzi (Xiaozi) and Qinghai Pingxian (also known as Confucius). After singing practice, reform and integration along the way, it spread to Hami, Qitai, Dihua (Urumqi) and other places in Xinjiang, and then interacted with the folk songs and rap art of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. In the early 1920s, two brothers, Xu Jianxin and Xu Jianshan, artists of Dunhuang Quzi Opera, fled to Hami to avoid the mutiny disaster and became the first generation of descendants of Quzi Opera in Hami. They formed a song and dance troupe and performed in Hami urban and rural areas. Because the minor is mainly sitting and walking, the performance form is simple, and often one person has many angles. Accompaniment instruments are mainly Sanxian and Hu Si, as well as Banhu, Shuaizi, Wazi, flute, drums and cymbals. , depending on the instrument and performer, with or without. Plays include Smoke Lamp, Dabao Media, Du Shiniang's Angry Treasure Box, Li Yaxian's Advice, Zhou Wen's Search for Father, and other minor works, such as Meng Jiangnv and Little Cowherd.

Later, after Quzi Opera entered Xinjiang, the first eight-part drama "Xiasantong" appeared, thus making China local opera in Xinjiang-Quzi Opera, as a comprehensive art of literature, music, dance and art, take shape initially.

The Xu Shi brothers participated in the troupe's "The Next Three Links" and performed in Qitai, which caused a great sensation. Cao Dagu, Gu Zhanyuan and others in Hami have re-established their own music teams and become the second generation descendants of Hami Quzi Opera. In the early 1930s, two folk artists, Ma Yuqing and Ma Yuchuan, came to Hami from Dunhuang to join the second-generation self-entertainment team. Ma Yuchuan also taught to sing Quzi Opera in Qin Cheng, Hami, and formed Qin Cheng's own band. The joining of the Ma brothers greatly promoted the development of Hami Quzi Opera. Xinjiang Quzi Opera is a kind of local opera with Xinjiang characteristics, which is developed on the basis of integrating Shaanxi Meihua Opera and Lanzhou Quzi Opera. Xinjiang qu

As early as the end of Qing Dynasty, Ziju became an independent drama, but it only circulated among the people for a long time. It was not until the late 1920s and early 1930s that Fang Zaidi set up the first troupe mainly singing Xinjiang songs. Yuanxin Theater opened earlier. In laojunmiao (formerly Hongchunyuan Hotel), Wang Fu sang Shaanxi Opera and Xinjiang Quzi Opera with his class. Wang Fu is not an actor, but a small boss who runs a teahouse. In order to attract business for his teahouse, he is also a foreman himself. By the mid-Kloc-0/930s, the troupe had been slightly expanded, with Liu Zuoquan as its head and moved from "laojunmiao" to "Zuogong Temple" (formerly Hunan Ancient Painting Theatre).

Under the auspices of Liu Zuoquan and Zhang Quan, Xinjiang Quzi Opera in Yuanxin Theater really flourished. At this time, a famous actor named He Laoliu came from another county. After He Laoliu joined Yuanxin Theatre, he organized classes and apprentices, and trained a group of young opera actors, among whom Hou Liming (Hunming Meiwa), Wei Guihong and Ma Xiuzhen were famous.

Compared with other operas, the Xinjiang Quzi class in Yuanxin Theatre is much smaller, and it can only sing some shorter operas, such as Selling Water, Duihua, Selling Cloth in Sean and Shuangguan Newspaper. Many of them are obscene dramas that cater to the low tastes of ordinary citizens. The actors in the troupe are very complicated, including well-trained artists, ruined children, and even prostitutes, prostitutes and so on, with a poor reputation. As a result, the lyrics are getting more and more obscene and the movements are extremely obscene, so as to improve the box office rate. The equipment of the theater is also extremely simple, the light is dim, the stage is narrow, and the seats are long wooden stools, twisted and worn. The stage lights are just a few oil lamps. 1around noon in 945, Yuanxin Theater collapsed due to disrepair and could not be rebuilt. Most of the actors in the troupe moved to Qitai. So Qitai's Xinjiang songs have been popular for a long time and have been performed so far.

Dihua also has an old Uighur folk artist whose real name is unknown, who was born at the end of19th century. He is good at playing Xinjiang music with suona and can sing the beautiful face of Qin opera, and is known as the "winding net". It is also unique in the singing of Xinjiang Quzi Opera. A person can sing a variety of occupations such as health, Dan, cleanliness and ugliness, and his pronunciation is clear, his tone is accurate, his movements are elegant and natural, and he is not artificial. Sometimes the troupe performs in the open air, and he sings with suona under the stage, all of which cooperate tacitly. The audience who didn't know the situation thought it was the troupe that accompanied him under the stage.

Xinjiang Quzi Opera is deeply loved by people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. First of all, it's a local opera that was born and bred. Secondly, it has the characteristics of simple accompaniment, bright tunes, easy to understand, easy to learn and sing, and is not limited by the stage, so it has a broad mass base in rural areas of Xinjiang.

As the first batch of intangible cultural heritages in China, Xinjiang Quzi is the only China local opera recognized by the state in Xinjiang. In the first year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu left the army to supervise the expedition to the west, and a large number of Shaanxi and Gansu officers and men entered Xinjiang, and mainland vendors and folk artists also entered Xinjiang one after another. In the north and south of Tianshan Mountain and Ili Valley, people casually sang the tunes of their hometown, playing and playing. Shaanxi minor, Lanzhou drum, Qinghai pingxian and folk anecdotes, accompanied by the mellow milk tea and the sweetness of melons and fruits, have merged into foreign life-Xinjiang minor has emerged. Xinjiang Quzi Daobai uses Lanyin Mandarin, a Chinese dialect in Xinjiang. Lyrics and tunes are a mixture of many national languages and musical modes. A beautiful girl was thrown out of the sleeve and a good boy was pulled out of the somersault. She is best at singing and playing. She is Xinjiang Quzi Troupe in Changji Prefecture. Changji Xinjiang Quzi Troupe is the only regular troupe in Xinjiang Quzi. Since the establishment of 1980, the troupe has also undertaken the folk arrangement and actor training of Xinjiang songs. The troupe has collected 126 tracks, 172 tunes, rehearsed more than 100 performances and toured more than 3,000 times, and was awarded the glorious title of "persisting in going to the countryside for a long time and making outstanding contributions to the construction of socialist spiritual civilization" by the Ministry of Culture. However, like most intangible cultural heritages, Xinjiang Quzi is also facing a crisis of survival: it is impacted by modern culture, carved up by inheritors, and lack of protection funds. For Changji Xinjiang Quzi Troupe, which was rated as "the first troupe in the world" by the Ministry of Culture, the rise and fall of the troupe is related to the fate of Xinjiang Quzi. Zhang Shiyong, head of the Art Troupe, said: "Our Art Troupe is like a red willow on the Gobi Desert, growing tenaciously." .