What are the artistic features of Sichuan Opera? What are the historical origins of Sichuan Opera?

Sichuan Opera is popular in all parts of Sichuan, parts of Guizhou and other provinces in Yunnan. It is a kind of opera that combines five vocal arts: Gaoqiang, Kunqu Opera, Huqin (that is, Pihuang), Tanxi (that is, Bangzi) and Sichuan Folk Lantern Opera. Sichuan Opera is one of the traditional operas in China, which is popular in eastern and central Sichuan, Chongqing and parts of Guizhou and Yunnan. The facial makeup of Sichuan Opera is an important part of the performing arts of Sichuan Opera, and it is an artistic treasure created and inherited by Sichuan Opera artists in past dynasties. Sichuan Opera consists of Kunqu Opera, Gaoqiang Opera, Huqin Opera, Tanxi Opera and Dengdiao.

There are five trades in Sichuan Opera, namely, doing nothing, supporting feet, supporting feet, Hualien and clown. All walks of life have their own achievement program system, especially the performances of Wensheng, Clown and Dan Jiao, which have many outstanding creations in dramatic expression techniques and performance techniques, and can fully reflect the aesthetic characteristics of China's traditional operas. On May 20th, 2006, Sichuan Opera was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

1. The origin of the name of Sichuan Opera

The name of Sichuan Opera first appeared in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, then it was called Sichuan Opera, and later it was collectively called Sichuan Opera. Although this is only more than 80 years, as early as the Ming Dynasty, there were troupes performing all over the province. Historians and artists of Sichuan Opera have talked about the origin and evolution of Sichuan Opera, some of which can be traced back to "Zaju" in the late Tang Dynasty and "Sichuan Zaju" in the Southern Song Dynasty. There are even different opinions that the high-pitched tune of Sichuan Opera is earlier than the Yiyang tune in Jiangxi, and the Qin tune sung by Shu Changsheng in Qing Dynasty is the "Qin tune" in Sichuan. It shows that the history of Sichuan Opera is still an academic problem with no complete conclusion, which needs further study and discussion. But as far as a traditional opera is concerned, whether it originated from the local area or was bred by local cultural customs, this can be clearly seen from all her traditional plays and art programs.

Basically, it is the inheritance, development and creation of the whole China opera and its high-pitched art such as tenor, Kunqu opera, Hu and Dan.

Second, the development history of Sichuan Opera

1. Origin of Tang Dynasty

Sichuan Opera was once called "Sichuan Opera" in the Tang Dynasty. According to records, in the first year of Yuanhe in Tang Xianzong (AD 806), an absurd political event happened in Sichuan. At that time, there was a man named Liu Pi in Shu, who was a big corrupt official. He collected exorbitant taxes and levies in Shu without restraint, which made the people miserable. As a result, local outstanding people (opera actors) made Liu Pi's works into a drama, which is the famous Sichuan opera "Liu Pi's Buying Responsibility" in history, and prepared to make a voice for the people. However, although the opera was rehearsed skillfully, it never got a chance to perform.

It was not until Liu Pi rebelled against the Tang Dynasty that outstanding people thought that the time had come and began to perform in public. Who knows that the imperial court is fatuous and thinks that this play involves attacking the imperial court, not only sending troops to destroy the theater, but also catching actors to lash out and banish the army. The grievances of these actors made people angry, which laid a deep foundation for the later anti-Tang uprising.

This incident also reflects the important influence of Sichuan Opera. History also records the great influence of Sichuan Opera in China in the Tang Dynasty, and even the situation that "Sichuan Opera is the best in the world" appeared in the whole country. At that time, a famous troupe composed of Gan Manchuan, Bai Jia, Ye Si, Zhang Mei and Zhang Ao appeared in Sichuan, which was also the earliest troupe in the history of China opera. At this time, famous Sichuan opera tracks such as Liu Pi's The Responsibility to Buy, The Inconsistency of Maixiu, The God of Guankou, etc. are popular all over the country.

A man appeared in the Five Dynasties, who pushed Sichuan Opera to the peak in the history of China. At the same time, he is also an emperor who makes future generations laugh and cry-Li (Xu), the emperor of the later Tang Dynasty.

In 923 AD, Li unified the north and established the post-Tang regime, which was called post-Tang Zhuang in history. He loves Sichuan opera very much and his acting skills are good. He has improved a lot in Sichuan opera skills and became one of the two "grandfathers" of Sichuan opera. In the old society, Sichuan Opera Troupe always had the habit of worshipping the "ancestor". Before the actor enters the arena, he must pay homage to the portrait of "grandpa" hanging in the background and pray for success. There are two "grandfathers" who are worshipped: a painting with a black and white face and three stripes must wear a dragon robe; The white face of the other painting doesn't need to wear a dragon robe-the former is a famous Tang man who calls himself "the head of the pear garden"; The latter, however, was the late Tang Emperor Li.

Li's life is rich and colorful because of traditional Chinese opera, but his ending is regrettable. Shortly after Li proclaimed himself emperor, he was immersed in various operas such as Sichuan Opera, and even gave himself a stage name "Li Tianxia", and often appeared in black powder with the actors.

It is precisely because of this relationship that the status of players in the later Tang Dynasty has been improved unprecedentedly. They can not only go in and out of the imperial court at any time, but also intervene in state affairs in the end. Therefore, the whole later Tang Dynasty became a stage for the actors, while the ministers became spectators. The consequences are self-evident: In March, 926, Li Siyuan, a general of the later Tang Dynasty, launched a rebellion, and Li led a group of players to resist desperately. In the chaos, they were shot at each other by arrows, and their arrows shot into the sky. Li, who has no medical knowledge, drank another bowl of human milk at this time-when people come into contact with milk slurry in the case of excessive blood loss, it will promote blood circulation and accelerate death. In the end, Li died, leaving only a tragic story of "dying because of the play" spread around the world.

It was born in the Qing Dynasty and flourished in the Republic of China. After War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, it suddenly became extinct.

2. Development in Ming and Qing Dynasties

Sichuan Opera is very popular in Sichuan Province and parts of Yunnan and Guizhou. Originally, five vocal arts imported from other provinces, namely, Kunqu Opera, Gaoqiang Opera, Huqin Opera (Pihuang Opera), Tanxi Opera and Sichuan Folk Lantern Opera, have been performed all over Sichuan. During the Qing Dynasty (1736- 1795), these five vocal arts often performed on the same stage, and gradually formed the same style over time, collectively known as * * *. [6]

When Sichuan Opera originated, there were many ambiguities and differences, but it was formed in the Qing Dynasty, but there was no understanding. Chongqing Sichuan Opera was cultivated by Chongqing's broad temperament, casting an inclusive mind.

In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, due to the immigrants from all over the country and the establishment of local guildhall, many kinds of North-South tune operas have spread all over Sichuan, and in the long-term development and evolution, they have merged with Sichuan dialect, folk customs, folk music, dance, rap and folk songs, and gradually formed the tune art with Sichuan characteristics, thus promoting the development of Sichuan local opera-Sichuan Opera.

During the reign of Yongzheng and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, with the prosperity of "Flower Department", singing classes such as Gaoqiang, Kunqu, Huqin and Bangzi, which came from other provinces and were popular all over Sichuan, gradually combined with Sichuan pronunciation and customs and adapted to the people's appreciation habits. At the beginning of this century, due to the development of industry and commerce, popular theatrical troupes from all over Sichuan flooded into cities.

In order to expand the influence, expand the cast and win more audiences, it is gradually moving towards the business model of performing with various voices on the same stage. In this process, in order to improve the performing arts and enhance their competitiveness, artists of various troupes absorb and learn from each other in art. Excellent artists pay more attention to high performance ability, and both civil and military can sing and do, which provides conditions for the formation of the artistic style of Sichuan opera. The earliest use of Sichuan Opera was the "Three Celebrations", a famous class association composed of Kang and others under the influence of the Revolution of 1911. Sichuan opera is deeply loved by the world and spread all over the world. The famous Sichuan opera The Legend of the White Snake. Jinshan Temple is widely circulated at home and abroad.