Study Of The Qing Dynasty Zezhou Shangdang-bangzi Troupes

The root of the Shangdang-bangzi is in Zezhou, and it is an ancient operatype and popular in Shangdang area. The Beilu-bangzi, the Zhonglu-bangziand the Puzhou-bangzi with the Shangdang-bangzi are called as “Four Bangziin Shanxi”. In the process of development of the Shangdang-bangzi, there aremany opera troupes. However, owning to the specialty of the opera troupesand artist career, there are a few materials about the Shangdang-bangzihanded down from zezhou in Qing Dynasty. We learn the three hundred-yeardevelopment history of the Shangdang-bangzi merely from the existed stagesteles and the oral information told by the citizen artists. After the ThirdSession of the Eleventh Congress, the study on the Shangdang-bangzibecame much more than before. Li Jinyi’s Draft on the history of ZezhouOpera and Li Shoutian’s Shangdang-bangzi record the most comprehensiveinformation on the Shangdang-bangzi.The present thesis mainly studies the Shangdang-bangzi opera troupes inzezhou, in Qing Dynasty from four aspects: opera troupes overview, operatroupes operation, belief and performance, opera artists. The development ofthe Shangdang-bangzi is the gradual process of the absorbing, integrating andinnovating. Both the ancient song-dance performance and the latter Yuehuteam play, Bayin meeting, Yuansheng-Bangzi, and they all slowly influencethe form and development of the Shangdang-bangzi. The writer mainlydiscusses the opera troupes of the Shangdang-bangzi in Zezhou from the Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty to1930s, and takes the Shangwu troupe inJincheng as the example. In the opera troupes operation part, the writeranalyzes the problems existed in the process of development ofShangdang-bangzi troupes from two aspects, which are the inner operationand management and the outer social relations of the opera troupes.Shangdang-bangzi is affected by the Yuehu operas both from therepertoire, theme and style. Yuehu has existed for many years. It is the mainbody of the welcoming the gods and holding splendid activities, includingperforming the team play, Yuanben, Za Opera. After the form of theShangdang-bangzi, its typical attraction absorbs in a lot of audience. It hasbecome the indispensable part in the sacrifice activities and partly replacesthe role of the Yuehu Opera. Yanhou god firstly is the protection god forYuehu, since Yanhou god protects and blesses the throats, the artists of theShangdang-bangzi and ordinary people sacrifice the Yanhou god. There aremany stories about Laolang god, but most people take the Emperor Tang, LiLongji, as the Laolang god. Artists of the Shangdang-bangzi belive theEmperor Tang as the Yanhou god. Both Opera club “Wuju Hall” andWangChengtou “Kaiyuan Palace” worship the Emperor Tang.Artists of the Shangdang-bangzi who persist in endeavoring and makeefforts in creating push and help the form and development of theShangdang-bangzi opera troupes. There are numerous artists of theShangdang-bangzi in Qing Dynasty, including “The Opera King ofShangdang” Zhao Qinghai, Duan Farong, Liu Yadou, Shen Yindong and soforth, and they all make great contribution to the inheriting and developmentof the Shangdang-bangzi. It is these great figures who accomplish theglorious history of the Shangdang-bangzi.