Wennan Ci

The opera is popular in Susong, Dongzhi and other places in Anqing, Anhui. It was originally a fishing drum tune in Huangmei, Hubei. It was introduced to Anhui by singers who fled from famine in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. In the development of Wennan Ci, it was influenced by "Raohe Diao" and absorbed and integrated Wannan folk songs, folk songs, and Shifan gongs and drums. From the street stall to the stage, it has a history of nearly a hundred years. There are dozens of singing styles, including Nanci, Wenci, Zhengban, Pingban, Siban, Allegro, etc. Therefore, "Nanci and Wenci" are combined into one, collectively called "Wennan Ci". The accompaniment is mainly Sihu. There is no professional troupe, but Huangmei troupes in Dongzhi and Susong counties also perform Wennan Ci. There are more than 30 repertoires including "Fireworks Woman Complains" and "Su Wenbiao Borrows Clothes".

The collection of folk songs "Nishang Xupu" published in 1795 (the 60th year of Qianlong's reign) included "Spring Tune" and "Nanci Spring Tune", which is one of the main tones of Wennan Ci. Around 1850, lantern songs and lantern dances appeared in Susong, which later evolved into lantern opera. The lantern opera was the initial prototype of Wennan Ci opera. Wennan Ci was developed on the basis of the combination of this folk art and local lantern opera. of.

According to records, Xie Jingren, a scholar from Yangjiaqiao, Dongzhi County in the late Qing Dynasty, wrote a poem in "Nanxiang Shicao·Occasionally Meeting Provincial Relatives" (Nanxiang is now Qingshan Township, Dongzhi County): "Weng Under the osmanthus tree, Shu plays the fishing drum and sings "Thinking of Marriage". Women and children are lost in Wennan's poems, and the moon sets on the west mountain and they don't go home." This poem describes the performance form of Wennan Ci at that time, the accompaniment of musical instruments and the degree to which the audience enjoyed it.

In 1947, Hu Jinshan, a blind artist from Huangmei County, Hubei Province, lived in Meitang, Qingshan, formerly Zhide County. He first made a living by telling fortunes, and then by herding cattle. He taught a group of local young people how to sing and sing in the cattle pasture. Part of the drama. Later, Hu Zhiyuan, a member of the Jinfeng Amateur Literary Drama Troupe of Yangzi Township, Jiangxi Province, came to Meitang to preach and premiered a large-scale ancient costume literary drama "Su Wenbiao Borrowing Clothes". In its development, Wennan Ci was influenced by "Raohe Diao", absorbing and integrating Wannan folk songs, folk songs, and Shifan gongs and drums. From the street stall to the stage, there are dozens of singing styles including Nanci, Wenci, Zhengban, Flat, Siban, Allegro, etc. Therefore, "Nanci and Wenci" are combined into one, collectively called "Wennan Ci". In 1958, an amateur literary and literary drama troupe was formally established in Meitang Village, Qingshan Township, Zhide County. It has staged a number of traditional literary and literary dramas such as "Three Qi Zhou Yu" and "The Legend of White Snake". In 1959, Qian Yihe, an opera and music worker of the county theater troupe, According to the information provided by Qingshan Commune folk artist Liu Rumin and others, from the perspective of music, we further excavated and sorted out "Wen Ci" and "Southern Ci", and rehearsed the traditional opera excerpts "Fireworks Woman Complains" and "Three Peony Plays" to participate in provincial and local professional and amateur performances. Will perform. In 1978, the modern dramas "Happy Event" and "Seal" won awards for music composition, performance, and direction at the Anqing Opera Performance. In 1982, the modern drama "Robbing the Carpenter" participated in provincial and local performances and won music awards and performance awards, and the play was called "Wennan Ci".

Peking Opera, once known as Ping Opera, is one of the five major Chinese opera types [1]. Its tune is mainly Xipi and Erhuang, and it is accompanied by Huqin, gongs and drums. It is regarded as the quintessence of China and the three major elements of Chinese opera. A "top of the list".

Anhui Opera is the predecessor of Peking Opera. Starting from the 55th year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1790), the four major Anhui troupes, namely Sanqing, Sixi, Chuntai and Hechun, which originally performed in the south, entered Beijing one after another. They cooperated with Han opera artists from Hubei and at the same time It accepted some repertoires, tunes and performance methods of Kun Opera and Qin Opera, and absorbed some local folk tunes. Through continuous exchange and integration, Peking Opera was finally formed. After its formation, Peking Opera began to develop rapidly in the Qing court until the Republic of China achieved unprecedented prosperity.