Introduction to Qin Opera in China Qin Opera Festival

Qin Opera is the oldest local opera in my country. It began in the Western Zhou Dynasty and matured in the Qin Dynasty. Qin Opera, also known as Luantan, is popular in Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang and other places in northwest China. Among them, the Xifu Qin Opera accent in Baoji is the oldest and retains many ancient pronunciations. It is also called "Bangzi Tune" because it uses jujube wooden bangzi as the percussion instrument. On May 20, 2006, it was approved by the State Council and included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.

The artistic features of Qinqiang include singing, stage performances, musical accompaniment, costumes and facial makeup, etc. It is named after its duet singing, such as the crying sound of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty in "Baibi Palace", which requires more than fifty lines to be sung. It pays attention to singing in a natural, graceful and beautiful way. It is called "Suban Luantan" among the people. The forty-eight cries of "Down to the East of the River" require forty-eight lines to be sung; the seventy-two lines of "Beheading Li Guang" are no longer possible, and seventy-two lines have to be sung. The Hua Lian singing style pays attention to the "Jiang sound" and "Ao sound". It is difficult to sing in high pitch, but those who can become famous will become famous. The Qinqiang tunes are divided into six categories: strings, suona, sea flute, shengguan, Kunqu, and suites, with the main ones being string and suona tunes. The musical accompaniment of Qin Opera has always been called the four major pieces, with the two strings as the main accompaniment. It is known as the "boldness" of Qin Opera. The piano player plays an important role in the Qin Opera troupe and often sits in the middle of the front and back of the stage. The accompaniment music is good at playing old tunes, and the pitch is "Sanyan tune". After the 1930s, Chu Tiao (i.e., the lower pull method) was used instead. The singing tune consists of two parts: "Banlu" and "Colorful tune", each part has happy and bitter sounds. The bitter tune best represents the characteristics of Qin Opera, which is deep, sad, impassioned, and suitable for expressing feelings of grief, indignation, nostalgia, and sadness; the happy tune is joyful, bright, vigorous, and powerful, and is good at expressing joy, cheerfulness, and hearty emotions. For all singing styles that belong to the banquet style, the real voice is used; for all singing styles that belong to the color style, the false voice is used. Xusheng, Qingyi, Laosheng, Laodan and Hua Lian of Qin Opera all sing in duet, which is called singing Luantan. There is a saying among the people that "Don'an and Anxi have a slow tempo, but Xi'an sings and plays well".

The performance of Qin Opera is unique. The role system has four major roles: Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou. Each role is divided into many types, collectively known as the "Thirteen Heads Net". Generally speaking, theater troupes must establish a three-way role system with "four beams and four pillars" as the backbone according to the industry. The first-level roles include the first-level Xusheng, Zhengdan, Hualian and Xiaodan. The second-level roles include the Xiaosheng, the second-level Xusheng, the second-level Hualian and the Harlequin. The other roles such as Laodan and Laosheng are all third-level roles. The best in each role can play the leading role, while the others are supporting roles. Theater troupes with favorable conditions often spend large sums of money to invite famous actors. He is capable of all walks of life, including literature, martial arts, Kun, and chaos. He is an all-rounder and good at all kinds of moves. He is also known as "the burden of drama" or "full belly".

The performance skills of Qin Opera are very rich, including all kinds of body postures and stunts. Commonly used ones include horse riding, pulling airs, spitting fire, throwing down, sweeping lanterns, playing with fire sticks, gun backs, overhead lights, teeth grinding, swivel chairs, etc. The performance skills of mythological dramas are even more unique and colorful. For example, when performing "Yellow River Formation", five kinds of magic weapons and props are used. The Heaven-Measuring Ruler, the Heaven-turning Seal, can cast long strings of fireworks, and the golden scissors can fly out butterflies. In addition, Hua Lian pays attention to the art of showing off his majestic and heroic spirit, and the masses call him "Jia Jia'er".

The China Qinqiang Art Festival is a performance event of northwest operas co-sponsored by the Chinese Dramatists Association, the Cultural Departments of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Xinjiang, the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and the Dramatists Association. It is held every two years to review and summarize the development achievements of Qin Opera art, to present high-level and high-grade quality plays, and to introduce outstanding opera talents. In addition to the performances of the opera and excerpts, the period also includes activities such as a cappella singing, Liyuan calligraphy and painting exhibition, drama facial makeup exhibition, Qin Opera art education achievement exhibition, Qin Opera celebrity style photography award, and theory seminars on drama and Qin Opera art.