Study On Henan Operas In The Late Qing Dynasty And The Republic Of China

This paper takes the Henan local opera reform and opera ecology as the object of investigation during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.Combined with abundant historical data,this paper probes into the background of the development and transformation,the general situation of the opera circle,the development trend and the overall trend of the Henan local operas from 1840 to 1949.It also has comprehensive reviews for and interpretations of the troupes,entertainers,theatres,writers(works)and other aspects of this period.The late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China(1840-1949)is a historical period of great development and prosperity for the Henan local operas.It is also an important opportunity period in the history of the development of the Henan local operas.It is a historical period in which the Henan local operas realized comprehensive innovation.It not only echoed with the flow of the traditional culture,but also gave birth to many new changes under the rendering of the ethos of the times.On the whole,the development of the Henan local operas in the past 100 years was divided into two periods by the event of "the struggle between Shi and Li" in 1914.During the period of 1840-1914,the main area in which Henan local opera appeared and developed was in the countryside,which was closely combined with the rural life and folk culture.It was thus the rural era of the Henan local operas.After 1914,the Henan local operas gradually migrated from the countryside to the cities.Instead of only being the acrobatics and wandering arts in the countryside and the temple fairs,the works gradually evolved into an independent artistic style performed in commercial and professional theatres.The Henan local operas,which developed and evolved in cities,represented the highest achievement in this period.It was thus called the urban era of the Henan local operas.The changes of social formation,economic system and the trend of thought since 1840 constituted the era background of the development and evolution of the Henan local operas in this period.The movement of opera improvement since the late Qing Dynasty and the thought trend and practices for the improvement of the Henan operas under its influence had become the era opportunity of the development of the Henan local operas.In the new era context,the opera was endowed with the era mission of enlightening the people and saving the nation from perils.The Henan local operas were also a symbol of the culture of the new era and a sharp weapon to save the nation and the people,which had been widely praised by all walks of the society in Henan.Since 1907,three major opera reform practices,including the drama improvement thought trend in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China,the opera improvement movement led by Feng Yuxiang,and the Henan Bangzi innovation practice led by Fan Cuiting,had changed the prejudice of the people of the time for the Henan local operas,formed a trend of social thought to take watching operas as fashion,reshaped the concept of operas in the Henan society in the first half of the twentieth century,and revolutionized the Henan local operas in the aspects of repertoire,stage,voice and so on.It had also comprehensively promoted the cultural character of the Henan local operas,and established a new opera form that fit the era background and met the aesthetic needs of the urban people,having set an example for the development and innovation of the Henan local operas in later generations.The variety of operas and the prosperity of folk operas constituted the two characteristics of the Henan opera circle in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.Based on Henan's time-honored and profound opera culture,location in central China and connecting the South and the North,and richness in humanistic geography,there were more than 40 kinds of operas that survived and multiplied in the Henan opera circle during this period,among which 30 were Henan local operas in Henan and at least 15 external operas.They competed in the land of the Central China,with collision,fusion and competition,having formed a prosperous scene in which a variety of singing methods vying against each other like hundreds of blooming flowers.Before 1949,nine of the ten residents in Henan were farmers,with most of the areas still shrouded in the afterglow of the agricultural civilization.The strong agricultural genes and the huge rural population provided abundant soil and sufficient nutrients for the prosperity and development of the Henan folk operas in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.To be exact,most of the opera activities in Henan occurred in the countryside during this period.The folk operas were the absolute main body of the drama activities in this period,both in terms of quantity and types of operas.Throughout the year,villagers gather either in the streets,or temples,or other sites in the villages to invite troupes perform opera,in which they blew,pulled,plucked musical instruments and sang to give song and dance performances or village playlets,entertaining both the gods and the people.The main contents of the Henan folk operas during this period were mainly constituted by spring prayers,autumn sacrifices,temple fair operas,festival operas,sage-honoring operas,market operas,and industrial operas,operas for joyful or sad events.Troupes,theaters,entertainers and writers(works)are the basic compositional elements of the Henan local operas,the basic organizational units for the survival and development of the Henan local operas,and the main body and direct embodiment of the evolution and transformation of the Henan local operas during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.In the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China,the Henan local opera troupes were similar in organization and operation with other cities and operas in the country.They were mostly similar to each other.They were divided into four troupes,namely,Ke Ban(Old-type Professional Troupe),Jianghu Ban(Professional Troupe),Wanhui Ban(Amateur Troupe),Longhu Ban(Semi-professional Troupe).In the1920 s,during his two times of supervision over Henan,Feng Yuxiang established a training institution for artists in Henan Province under the direct organization and management by the government,which opened the way for the official cultivation of opera entertainers in the Henan Province.Under its influence,a large number of new folk intellectuals also actively engaged in the cause of opera education,with a number of new talent training institutions named as "societies","opera clubs","schools",“troupes".Although these institutions have not completely abandoned the stereotypes of the old troupes,there have been changes in the training patterns,regulations,training methods,etc.,which were more reasonable and scientific.Besides,they were not confined to the opinions of their respective school and actively absorbing the artistic essence of the Beijing Opera and other brotherly operas,to be integrated into the improvement and innovation of the talent training mode of the Henan local operas,and to train a large number of talents for the Henan local opera in this period.In the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China,the Henan local opera theatres absorbed from both the old and the new and both the East and the West.They were not only great in quantity but also rich in types.There were both economic temporary theatrical venues able to be set up anywhere and large-scale and beautifully shaped professional theatres;there were new theatres built to imitate Shanghai's "new stage" and ancient theatres that had extended throughout Henan for over a thousand year.In the thirty years from the late 19 th century to the early 20 th century,the Tea House Theatres ushered in their last glory,having witnessed the rise of the Henan local operas represented by Henan Bangzi in the cities.The "Fengyue Garden” theater completed in 1909 marked the beginning of a new style of theaters in Henan.In 1927,Feng Yuxiang led the construction of the "People's Hall" with both political and cultural implications,which resulted in the large-scale construction of theaters in Henan.The "Bangxi Opera Cultural Circle around the Xiangguo Temple",formed by seven theatres,such as Yongan,Yongle,Guomin and others,for the first time,made the Bangxi Opera Theater stand firm in the Henan opera circle and have long and steady development,which created the conditions for the deep reform of the Henan local operas.The "Yusheng Theater" guided by Fan Cuiting became the epitome of Henan's new-style theaters.According to incomplete statistics,up to 1949,there were 225 new-style theatres and 26 tea house theatres spreading in the central cities of all regions in Henan.In the more remote villages,there are many simple theatres which are difficult to count.The entertainers have always been the most active element of the Henan local operas.They are not only the inheritors and guardians,but also the creators of the Henan local operas.They not only preserved the tinder for the survival and development and promoted the artistic level of the Henan local operas,but also created new operas,such as Quju operas,Siping tunes and so on.The late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China was a historical era in which the Henan local opera entertainers,both ordinary and famous,emerged in large numbers.A group of entertainers represented by "Five Yu-surnamed Master in Kaifeng” sounded the horn of the Henan local opera entering the city from the countryside and opened the way for its innovation and development in the city.Moreover,the revival and rise of the Kun Roles(Female Roles)became one of the most noteworthy phenomena in the developmental history of the Henan local operas during this period.They have promoted the innovation of the singing style and the transformation of aesthetic paradigm for the Henan local operas,accelerated the integration of the Henan local opera schools,having completely changed the industrial system of the Henan local operas.The study of the Henan local opera writers(works)has always been a difficult point in the researches on the Henan local operas.Except for Fan Cuiting,few Henan local opera writers have been mentioned.Broadly speaking,the extant traditional repertoire of the Henan local operas have gone through the processing and re-creation by the folk artists.Therefore,all of them are within the scope of creations by the artists.In addition to the folk entertainers,a group of writers engaged in the creation of the Henan local operas also appeared during this period.Due to the reasons of the times,they either deliberately concealed their whereabouts,or had an unrevealed reputation.Also,as most of their plays were lost,it is very difficult to describe and summarize them in detail.In the period of the Republic of China,some people,such as Fan Cuiting,Wang Zhennan,Jiang Xinhui,and so on,threw themselves into the creation of the Henan local operas one after another,whose works represented the highest achievement of the Henan local operas in this period,demonstrating the height and depth of the Henan local operas.This paper excavates and collates 36 Henan local opera writers and their works in the period of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China,and makes a brief textual research and exposition on 19 of them who have more detailed information,in order to make up for the inadequacies of today's research.