Singing folk opera's praises
Qinqiang is a traditional opera from Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, which was named Qin in ancient times. It is performed all over Northwest China, but is most popular in central Shaanxi, and the city of Xi'an is its epicenter.
Qinqiang was first developed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), famous Qinqiang singer Wei Changsheng (1744-1802) created a sensation when he performed in Beijing. Wei exhausted himself during his last performance and died onstage at the age of 58.
The instrumentalism of Qinqiang deeply influenced many other traditional operatic genres in China, including Peking Opera. Most characteristic are its "happy tunes" (huan yin) and "bitter tunes" (ku yin), which are used to depict states of joy and despair. The instruments used in Qinqiang include banhu (two-stringed fiddle), yueqin (four-stringed plucked instrument), di (bamboo flute), drum, gong and clapper.
There are four general roles in Qinqiang: sheng (male role), dan (female role), jing (painted face role representative of a man of virile or rough character) and chou (clown). These four general categories are divided into 13 subcategories.
Qinqiang has one of the richest repertoires among Chinese operas, with more than 2,000 extant plays. Most Qinqiang plays are historical tragedies, such as those adapted from Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Generals of the Yang's Family.
(China Daily 10/11/2007 page18)
