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The "Huangmei Drama" in Southwest Hunan Province: Wugang Silk Strings
Lin Rixin
"Silk willow, to the butterfly, the ancient city of shuangju old swallow." Thousand years of Wugang multi-victory, singing silk strings from generation to generation..."
Many years ago, when I first heard "Wugang is a Good Place" in Wugang City, I was a little surprised: this is the famous song of Wugang Silk String, how can it have a strong Jiangsu and Zhejiang Wuyin soft language legacy? Wugang is located in the southwest of Hunan Province, which should be Chu Yan Chu Chu Feng. In order to find out this problem, I specially searched for information about Wugang silk strings from the Internet, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a book in the "Shaoyang Library" series of books dedicated to wugang silk strings, and if I got the most precious treasure, I would immediately place an order.
"Shaoyang Wenku Wugang Silk Strings" is written by Deng Xingai, the non-hereditary inheritor of Wugang Silk Strings, and Xiong Ye, deputy director of the Propaganda Department of the Wugang Municipal Party Committee, and the whole book is divided into two parts: "Introduction to Silk Strings" and "Silk String Repertoire". The first part, "Introduction to Silk Strings", from the origin, development and prosperity of Wugang silk strings to today's protection, excavation and inheritance... A more detailed discussion is given. The second part, "Silk String Repertoire", collects 156 songs of traditional brands, 42 songs of new cavity, and more than 300,000 words of Foreign Language. This book systematically explores, collects, summarizes and sorts out the history and achievements of the origin, development and creation of Wugang silk strings, which has important practical significance and far-reaching historical significance for the excavation, protection and inheritance of Wugang silk strings.
Why is Wugang silk string known as the "Huangmei Opera" in southwest Hunan Province?
According to the "Chronicle of Wugang Prefecture", in the twenty-second year of Ming Yongle (1424), Zhu Yu, the eighteenth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the ming emperor, was named the King of Min and moved to Wugang. The Min King is arrogant and extravagant, good voice dog and horse, and happy silk bamboo song. When he migrated to Wugang, he brought a group of miscellaneous opera artists and female music singers and prostitutes, and later sent people to the Suzhou and Hangzhou areas to collect female musicians and singers, so that in Wugang City, "singing and dancing, all night long". Since then, the soft language of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Wuyin has spread throughout the small imperial city of Wugang. After the death of the Ming Dynasty, these female musicians who had earlier sung and danced in the min palace had to live in the homes of ordinary people and perform in the tea houses and liquor stores. At that time, Wugang was densely populated, prosperous in commerce, more developed in culture, and full of arts, and different styles of folk music and rap forms competed to compete. These foreign tunes merged with the local music of Wugang, gradually making the silk string minor key self-contained, and then becoming the prototype of the Wugang silk string. After being inherited by dozens of generations of artists, the unique musical style of Wugang Silk String has been formed, and it has become a major drama that coexists with Qi opera, flower drum opera and Yang opera. Wugang silk strings are beautiful and graceful, whether it is dance or music, it is full of local characteristics, and has won the reputation of "Xianle".
At the beginning of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, silk strings were widely circulated in the streets and alleys of Wugang, which had a greater impact on society. Wealthy families have festive events, and merchants often invite silk string teams to play in order to attract merchants. At that time, the silk strings not only sang all over Wugang City, but also flowed far away in Longhui, Dongkou, Xinning and Shaoyang Counties, which belonged to Wugang Prefecture. For example, Mr. Li Zhenhua, a silk string singer and pipa expert, often preached silk strings in baoqing and Longhui areas. By the early 1920s, silk string artists spontaneously organized and established the Wugang "Silk String Association", with Li Guozhen as the president. The Republic of China poet Deng Lang once wrote a poem about it: "Qing song arouses higher Hua, and the song score Yang Chun is not enough to exaggerate." For the rest of his life, he relied on silk bamboo, and he paid the lute with resentment. ”
In 1953, the Wugang County Cultural Center set up the Wugang Silk String Performance Team to process and transform or re-create the traditional silk string repertoire and programs, and traditional songs such as "Double Descent" and "Autumn River Boat Rush" were put on the stage in new forms. In 1956, the Shaoyang District Administration of Culture and Education organized a census team to excavate and rectify traditional music and art, and compiled and printed "Wugang Silk String Music". In 2010, Wugang Silk String's work "Robbing village officials" won the silver medal of the Hunan Provincial Quyi Competition. In 2011, Wugang Silk String successfully applied for entry into the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List... It is worth mentioning that in November 2021, the Wugang silk string singing program "Long Copper Coin in the Eyes of Radishes" represented Shaoyang City in the 7th Hunan Arts Festival and won the grand prize.
In the past two decades, Wugang Silk Strings have also encountered various difficulties like local opera small dramas across the country. To this end, Wugang has increased capital investment, vigorously supported talents, and held the "Wugang Silk String Everyone Singing" competition and the collection of excellent Wugang silk string works... Cultural volunteers such as wugang silk string inheritors are also allowed to enter the campus, so that young people can be influenced by traditional characteristic culture.
With the vigorous development of Wugang silk strings, more and more people are involved in the singing and transformation of this folk music. It can be said that the sound of silk and bamboo is endless, and folk learning and singing have become the norm. Wugang silk strings, known as the "Huangmei Opera" of southwest Hunan Province, are thriving with their unique charm.
(Lin Rixin, Vice Chairman of Wugang Writers Association)
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