Chapter 33 Section 2 Continued Development of Rap and Opera Music

The emergence of new types of rap music and new tunes of local operas is another major feature of the overall composition of music in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are many types of rap music in Ming and Qing Dynasties, with different titles, all over the country. After a comprehensive summary, they can be roughly divided into several categories: Tanci, Guci, Paiziqu, Daoqing, and Qinshu. Tanci rap art is named for the use of stringed instruments such as pipa and sanxian as specific accompaniment instruments. It is mainly spread in various provinces in southern China, among which Suzhou Tanci is the most representative and has the greatest influence.Mingtian Rucheng's "West Lake Tour Records" (written in 1547) records that "men and women who are blind [gu drums] learn pipa, sing ancient and modern novels and Pinghua in order to find food and clothing" in the Hangzhou area. They are the early Tanci. artist.By the Qing Dynasty, the art of Tanci had developed greatly, outstanding artists emerged in an endless stream, and their singing skills reached a high level. When Emperor Qianlong visited Suzhou in 1762, after listening to the famous Tanci master Wang Zhoushi's singing, he appreciated his skills and named him a seventh-rank Beijing official.Others such as Chen Yuqian, Yu Xiushan, Ma Rufei, etc. are also recognized as the founders of representative singing schools such as "Chen Tiao", "Yu Tiao" and "Ma Tiao" because of their outstanding skills and innovative tunes.Qingguan Keshouzhai's "Pictures of Famous Places in Shenjiang" (AD 1844) published a scene of "Shufangguan Suqing Geyu Diao" (Fig. 38). In the picture, three female artists playing lutes are holding lutes and three strings for the audience play and sing.An explanation is attached: "The Shufang Pavilion has been in operation for the longest time, and Zhu Suqing is the most famous one among them. Suqing Su is good at "Yu Diao", and her voice is melodious, like listening to the low-pitched warblers in the valley. "It can be seen that the singing art of "Yu Diao" had a great influence at that time.

Drum rap art got its name from the use of drums as the main instrument to master the rhythm and exaggerate the atmosphere. Later, it was also called "big drum", and it was mainly spread in the northern provinces.By the Qing Dynasty, there were dozens of different styles of music such as "Jingyun Drum", "Leting Drum", "Xihe Drum" and "Pear Blossom Drum", and the singing skills had reached a high level.During the reign of Emperor Guangxu, in Licheng (today's Jinan, Shandong Province), there were sisters Hei Niu and Bai Niu, drum ci artists, who once performed in Minghuju Grand Theater, and became famous for a time.The name of Bai Niu is Wang Xiaoyu. Liu E of the Qing Dynasty (1857-1909 A.D.) gave a very vivid and detailed description of her singing art. A steel wire is thrown into the sky"; when the melody is tuned up, the singing voice is "like the scene of climbing Mount Tai from the west of Aolai Peak", "the more difficult it is, the more dangerous it is", "the more dangerous it is, the more strange"; "Like a flying snake circling and interspersing in the middle of the thirty-six peaks of Huangshan Mountain"; when the emotion entered the delicate moment, the voice became "lower and thinner", "gradually inaudible...", but the singing stopped for a while, but there was no emotion Relaxed, people held their breath and waited for the singing to start again; suddenly the sound seemed to "sound from the ground", "suddenly rose again", "infinite sounds came and went", even the ears of the audience were too busy, "no I know which one to listen to as the right one", "When I was in a state of confusion, I suddenly heard a sudden sound, and the crowd was completely silent. At this time, the applause from the audience was thunderous."This popular narrative makes people feel how superb Bai Niu's rap art is!What a wonderful artistic enjoyment to listen to her singing!There is a picture of "Ci Yan Yu Changsha" in Yangliu Qingnian painting in Qing Dynasty, which shows the singing situation of northern Guci artists (Fig. 39).

During the development of Ming and Qing opera music combined with local folk music, many new tunes gradually formed.The emergence of these new tunes has promoted the continuous emergence of new local operas.Zaju, which is famous for its Kunqu tune, turned from prosperity to decline in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, and various new dramas with distinctive regional characteristics gradually replaced its original status. The new voices of various local operas that emerged in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties can be roughly summarized by the phrase "Nankun, Beiyi, Dongliu, and Xibang". "Nankun" refers to the "Kun tune" developed on the basis of the northern and southern operas and developed in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province in the south. Today's Kunqu opera and Kun tunes integrated into various local operas are descendants of this tune.Kunqiang mostly uses the combination of tunes and cards to sing, with lingering and melodious tones, and the main accompaniment instrument is the soft-toned Qudi. "Northern Yi" refers to the "Yiyang Tune" popular in Jiangxi, Anhui, Zhejiang, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and other places in the Yangtze River Basin and spread to the north (Beijing). This kind of tone is used as the main tune in other operas.This kind of vocal singing is not accompanied by orchestral instruments but only percussion instruments; It is characterized by one person opening the mouth and everyone helping each other". "Dongliu" refers to the "Liuzi tune" popular in Shandong and Jiangsu in the east. Today, Liuzi Opera, Liuqin Opera, Huaihai Opera and other operas use this accent.The vocal cavity is mainly composed of popular minor tunes and Liuzi tune.The folk tunes are very complex, and there is a folk saying that "nine tunes and eighteen tunes, seventy-two ai ai".Singing accompaniment is composed of orchestral instruments, mainly sanxian, liuqin, flute, sheng and so on. "Xibang" refers to the "Bangzi Opera" that originated in Shaanxi in the west, also known as "Qin Opera". Today, Qin Opera, Hebei Bangzi, Henan Opera, Jin Opera and other operas use this tone.Bangzi tune mainly relies on a certain basic tune (original tune) to change the beat and rhythm of singing, so as to express the dramatic plot and the emotions of the characters through various tune styles.The main accompaniment instruments are the percussion instrument Bangzi and the stringed instrument Banhu. The music is generally characterized by excitement, heartiness and heartiness.After the mid-Qing Dynasty, due to the excessive pursuit of elegance and refinement in the creation and performance of Kunqu opera, which broke away from the secular artistic aesthetic requirements, it gradually declined and gave way to a thriving local opera that was deeply loved by the masses.There is a "Picture of Acting Operas" painted by Liu Lang (lang Lang) in the Qing Dynasty. The picture depicts the situation of performing local operas on "grass platforms" in rural areas. The bustling and lively scenes vividly express the scene that folk operas are popular with the masses.