Guilin’s culture is rich and colorful, with profound connotations, which always makes people linger. Wenchang is also a part of Guilin culture. Wenchang has rich traditional repertoire, elegant lyrics and music, and a simple and deep style. It is a fusion of Guilin dialect and folk music. Wenchang has local characteristics and is a unique cultural heritage. So, let’s take a look below.
Guangxi Wenchang, also known as Guilin Wenchang, is an oratorio-type folk art form, referred to as Wenchang, also known as "Wenwanzi". It is popular in the Guangxi Mandarin area of ??northern Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, especially in Guilin, Liuzhou, Yishan, Pingle, Lipu and other places. "Wenchang" is named opposite to the "Wuchang" of Gui opera or cappella.
The singing forms of Guangxi Wenchang include sitting singing with several people performing together and playing accompaniment instruments; standing singing, which is mainly about singing and performed by one or several people; and walking singing, which combines singing and dancing. In addition, on this basis, there are also Wenchang operas that are performed according to the makeup and costumes of the characters, also called Wenchang hanging clothes.
Since its inception, Guangxi Wenchang has a history of more than 200 years and has formed the following basic characteristics: (1) Wenchang has a long history. It originated from palace music, so its singing style and lyrics Elegant, gorgeous, with "royal style" and "palace charm".
(2) Wenjian has been circulated among the people for a long time, and most of it is passed down orally among wandering artists. These artists (many of them blind) are limited by their own conditions, which restricts physical performance and can only perform "Sitting on the ground to express feelings" impresses the audience with her voice; and because the literary field has been circulated in Guilin's landscape for a long time, her tunes are very fresh and graceful, smooth, beautiful and delicate and lyrical.
(3) The development of Guangxi literary theater absorbed rich materials from folk songs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a series of folk songs and folk music from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and local operas, and combined them with local dialects and music, giving it unique aesthetic value , and at the same time has the richness of the repertoire.
(4) There are many large skipping intervals in music singing. Since both real and fake voices are used in singing, and the vocalization method is relatively scientific, the connection between the vocal areas can still be consistent and smooth.
(5) Use authentic Huguang accent in singing and reading. This language not only has a pure local flavor, but more importantly, it is an extremely artistic language that makes people feel friendly and very interesting.
Guangxi Literary Theater is rich in content and is good at expressing delicate and lyrical stories. Its lyrics are neat and elegant and pay attention to rhythm. Some lyrics should be excellent poetry, catchy, easy to remember and easy to sing.
Due to the extremely rich repertoire and wide distribution area of ??Guangxi Wenchang, different singers have different singing styles. Generally speaking, professional actors have gorgeous and colorful voices, while amateur actors have a simple and rough style.
Main value
(1) Academic value. Guangxi Wenchang has important academic value in the history of Chinese music. It has always been known as "a pearl in the treasure house of folk arts". Its long historical accumulation and rich cultural connotation have always attracted the attention of musicians, scholars and experts.
Li Ling, the former vice president of the Chinese Musicians Association and a famous musician, once wrote an inscription: "Guangdong opera is greatly influenced by Guangxi Wenchang music, and Hunan opera also has a deep blood relationship with it. These precious materials The publication will be of great significance to the study of my country's national folk music." He Luting, honorary president of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and a famous musician, once wrote: "Guangxi Wenchang is the most precious specialty of Guilin. International tourists want to buy local specialties, such as Being able to buy its audio tape or CD is better than any souvenir. "This shows that discovering, rescuing, inheriting and developing this precious cultural heritage of Guangxi Wenchang has great historical and practical significance for enriching Chinese music.
(2) Practical value. Develop and protect Guangxi literary centers to serve tourism in Guilin and even the entire Guangxi Autonomous Region. Through the operation of the cultural industry, we can show the unique artistic charm of Guangxi literary centers and Guangxi ethnic folk art to Chinese and foreign tourists, attract tourists, promote national culture, and enrich the culture of the people. It will play an important role in promoting the quality of people's lives, improving the quality of the people, and building a harmonious socialist society.