Chapter 14 Section 2 South and North Tubes with Different Styles

Taiwan is not only the hometown of drama, but also the island of music.In Taiwanese folk, two music genres with very different styles are popular: Nanguan and Beiguan. Nanguan is the abbreviation of "Nanqu Orchestra".It was originally an ancient music spread in Quanzhou, southern Fujian. It was introduced to Taiwan with immigrants from southern Fujian in the Qing Dynasty. Taiwanese people called it "Nanguan" in order to distinguish this kind of music from the music of the northern system.The instruments used mainly include pipa, two-stringed strings, three-stringed strings, hole flute, flute and clappers.The most important of these is "clapper" (composed of five black sandalwood boards). When the singer sings, he sings down the pitch word by word according to the clapper board. The lyrics are not many and the rhythm is soothing, such as Trickles and streams, the official performance is divided into three parts: "Zhi" (a song with words), "Qu" (a song with words), and "Pu" (a song without words).The music is elegant and beautiful, melodious and melodious, which makes people intoxicated and obsessed.

Nanguan music originated in the south of the Yangtze River at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. It is a kind of folk music that accompanies the development of the southern economy and culture.According to legend, in the fifty-second year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1713), coincident with the emperor's 60th birthday, the Qing Palace held a grand longevity ceremony, and musicians from all over the world gathered in the capital to perform their skills.At that time, there was a scholar named Li Guangdi from Anxi, Fujian. He thought that the Nanle in his hometown was elegant, beautiful, and unique, and would surely win the favor of the emperor. So he selected Wu Zhi, Chen Ning, Fu Yan, Hong Song, Li Yi, etc. Five famous teachers came to Beijing to perform.After Kangxi listened to it, he was really "Dragon's Heart Joy". He specially awarded Nanguan Music "Yuqian Qingqu" and five musicians with official positions, but they were homesick and had no intention of being officials. "Guests", admiring colorful umbrellas, palace lanterns and other honored pets, reluctantly let them go back to their hometowns.To this day, Nanguan clubs all over Taiwan still hang palace lanterns and put colorful umbrellas on the stage when they perform, taking pride in this.

Originally, in the practice of playing Nanguan, the pipa master was the chief.But nowadays, in Nanguan music performances, the leading instrument is often Dongxiao, and the Dongxiao master sits at the head.It is said that this change is also related to Kangxi: After listening to Nanguan music, Kangxi was very fond of it, and couldn't help picking up the hole flute to add to the fun and participate in the ensemble.Since then, Dongxiao has doubled its value in Nanguan music and has been "promoted" as a leading instrument. After Nanguan music was introduced to Taiwan, it soon spread widely in urban and rural areas, and integrated into the daily life of Taiwanese people. It occupies an important position.Every wedding, funeral or temple fair, the amateur "children's troupe" composed of Nanguan enthusiasts must be invited to perform at the venue, which is indispensable.At the beginning of Taiwan's recovery, there were nearly 100 non-government Nanguan organizations in Taiwan. Among them, the "Juying Society" in Lukang is said to have a history of more than 200 years.They rehearse at Longshan Temple every night, all day long.The "Nansheng Society", which was established in Tainan around 1900, is currently the most skilled and well-organized Nanguan amateur performance group in Taiwan.They have traveled to Southeast Asia and Western European countries to perform and spread Chinese culture, and were warmly welcomed.

On the basis of Nanguan music, a kind of "Nanguan opera" has been developed, that is, with the accompaniment of Nanguan instruments, the singing is mainly performed on stage, instead of the simple performance and a cappella of Nanguan music.The operas are fresh and elegant, with exquisite workmanship, and pay attention to stage performance skills; in order to express the needs of the drama, the musical instruments used have increased such as big blows, opera drums, gongs and drums.Nanguan opera only sings literary operas, and the repertoire mainly includes "Chen Sanwuniang", "Meng Jiangnu", "Wang Zhaojun", etc., most of which are themes such as love and persuasion, and have been circulated in Taiwan for more than 200 years. .

At present in Taiwan, all kinds of western "pop music" and jazz are flooding urban bars and dance halls, and folk music is declining day by day. .Whenever the agricultural slack season, after dinner and tea, people will spontaneously gather in the "leisure room" of the temple before the flowers and the moon, pluck the strings, knock on the clapper, and sing with relish, reveling in the melodious and euphemistic music kingdom. Complacent, it wasn't until late at night that people were quiet that they returned home with all their heart's content. "Beiguan" specifically refers to the opera music of the northern language family in mainland China.Because of its bright and strong rhythm and high-pitched and exciting tunes, it is a kind of folk music that can exaggerate the atmosphere and inspire people's hearts in weddings, funerals, festivals, and god-welcoming ceremonies.

Beiguan originated in the north of the Yangtze River. It is said that it was introduced to Taiwan from Anhui during the Qian and Jia years of the Qing Dynasty; Diaoguizi"), Yehu (Guzai strings), Xiao, Zheng, flute, etc.; it mainly plays music composed by famous masters in Han, Tang and Song dynasties.From these instruments alone, one can imagine that the northern wind music must be earth-shattering when played, and it is much more lively than the southern wind music.The styles of Nanguan and Beiguan are completely different. The former embodies the delicacy and tranquility of the southerners, while the latter expresses the bold and hearty character of the northern man.

The drama sung with the accompaniment of Beiguan musical instruments is called "Beiguan Opera". Because most Beiguan opera troupes are amateur troupes composed of children from rich families in the countryside, they are also called "Zidi Opera".In addition, it is also called "Luantanxi".The origin of this name comes from the singing of Huabu in the Qianlong era.Li Dou's "Yangzhou Huafang Lu" in the Qing Dynasty said: "The flower department is Jingqiang, Qinqiang, Yiyangqiang, Bangziqiang, Luoluoqiang, and Erhuangqiang, collectively called Luantan."

Beiguan's singing and speaking, except for the clown who has to use Taiwanese dialect in order to better achieve the artistic effect of humor and laughter, the rest of the characters mostly use "Mandarin" (that is, "Huguang dialect") with a southern Hokkien accent. Professional Beiguan Troupe uses orthodox Hokkien in dialogue. Beiguan opera is divided into two types: "Fulu" and "Xipi".The former belongs to the old school, dominated by Qin opera, and Yehu is its main instrument, with a deep and deep tone, dedicated to the "West Qin Prince".There are different opinions about the legend of the "West Qin Prince". Some say it is Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, and others say it is Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty. However, these two emperors happen to be the most opera-loving emperors in Chinese history.The latter belongs to the new school. The opera is mainly based on the Pihuang system, and the Jinghu is its main instrument, with a high-pitched and passionate tone, dedicated to "Marshal Tiandu".According to legend, "Marshal Tiandu" was Lei Haiqing, a musician in the Tang Dynasty. His mother gave birth to infertility, which was suspected to be a bad omen, so he was abandoned in the paddy field after birth. Thanks to the blue crabs in the field feeding him with foam, he survived. .Therefore, later on, the statues of Marshal Tiandu must have a small blue crab painted on their faces. Artists of the Xipi School also avoided eating blue crabs, in order to repay their great kindness and virtue for saving Marshal Tiandu.

The origin of the names "Xipi" and "Fulu" is also quite interesting.It is said that when they were introduced to Taiwan, Taiwanese people were very unfamiliar. When people saw that the bamboo tube of Jinghu was wrapped with a layer of snake skin, they called this opera "snake skin", which was later mispronounced as "Xipi"; It is because the shape of Yehu is like a gourd, so it is called "Gourd", and later it was falsely pronounced as "Fulu" or "Fulu". Since the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Beiguan opera has been popular in Taiwan for a long time, and it has lasted for a long time. A Taiwanese proverb says: "Eat three layers of pork (that is, "pork belly"), and watch operas and watch Luantan", which shows that Taiwan compatriots love Beiguan opera.At the beginning of Taiwan's recovery, Beiguan disciple groups sprung up like mushrooms after rain, with a total of thousands of groups.They are active in festive occasions of various folk activities, either singing on stage, or setting up a cappella, or performing operas in parades, satisfying people's spiritual needs and spiritual sustenance, entertaining themselves and others, and playing folk opera music. important functions.