Ming And Qing Shanxi Stage And Middle Road, Clapper Study

Shanxi is a big province for operas, with more than 50 kinds of local operas. The province has a large quantity of stage structures for drama performance, ranking first in the country. Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Bangzi opera (Chinese local operas performed to the accompaniment of wooden clappers) developed eastward and southward to form different kinds. In the Shanxi formed the famous "Four Shanxi Bangzi", i.e. "Puzhou Bangzi", "Zhonglu Bangzi", "Beilu Bangzi", "Shangdang Bangzi". The "Zhonglu Bangzi" popular the central region of Shanxi developed itself into the representative opera in Shanxi Province, also known as "Shanxi Bangzi" or "Jin Opera".In Shanxi province, many stages were built in the temples, and drama activities were conducted for the purpose of worshipping and entertaining Gods, but in reality for "entertaining people". Content-rich activities of offering sacrifice to gods were conducted across the whole Shanxi region, Zhonglu Bangzi with local characteristics gradually formed in the central Shanxi province. In the mid-Qing Dynasty, the businessmen in central Shanxi region reached their peaks; they not only built stages and found troupes in private houses, but also constructed the stages in assembly halls throughout the country, thus enlarging the impact of Zhonglu Bangzi. The stages accommodated a range of opera performances, and are an important part of the opera art. This paper takes the stages in the Ming and Qing Dynasties as the study object, and gives an overview of the types, functions and roles of stages in Shanxi in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It focuses on analyzing the origin of Zhonglu Bangzi and the characteristics of stages in central Shanxi. This paper explores what role stages play during the formation and generation of Zhonglu Bangzi. The author makes field survey on the thank-god drama activities on the Jin Temple "Water Mirror Stage"—a typical stage in the central Shanxi area during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and strives to show the status quo of Shanxi folk operas.