Sichuan Opera

Sichuan Opera, commonly known as Sichuan Opera, is mainly popular in the Han nationality areas of Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces and cities in Southwest China. It is a traditional opera that combines five kinds of tonal Arts: Gaoqiang, Kunqu Opera, huqin (PI Huang), Tanxi (Bangzi) and Sichuan Folk Lantern opera.

Sichuan Opera is one of the Han operas, popular in eastern and central Sichuan, Chongqing and parts of Guizhou and Yunnan. Sichuan Opera facial makeup is an important part of the performing arts of Sichuan Opera. It is an art treasure created and inherited by the artists of Sichuan Opera of all ages. Sichuan Opera consists of Kunqiang, Gaoqiang, huqin, Tanxi and dengdiao. Sichuan Opera is divided into five trades: Xiaosheng, Xusheng, Dan, Hualian and clown. Each of them has its own system of skills and procedures. The performances of "three Xiaos", namely clown, Xiaosheng and Xiaodan, are the most distinctive. They have many outstanding creations in dramatic expression techniques and performance techniques, which can fully embody the aesthetic characteristics of Chinese opera. On May 20, 2006, Sichuan opera was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list with the approval of the State Council.

The origin of the name

The name of Sichuan Opera first appeared in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. At that time, it was called Sichuan Opera, and later it was collectively referred to as Sichuan Opera. Although it was only more than 80 years ago, as early as the Ming Dynasty, troupes performed all over the province. Sichuan Opera historians and artists talk about the origin and evolution of Sichuan Opera, as well as the "Zaju" in the late Tang Dynasty and the "Sichuan Zaju" in the Southern Song Dynasty. There are even different opinions that the high tune of Sichuan Opera is earlier than the "Yiyang tune" in Jiangxi Province, and the qin tune sung by Wei Changsheng, a Shu Ling in the Qing Dynasty, is the "qin tune" in Sichuan Province. It can be seen that the history of Sichuan Opera is still an academic issue that has not been completely settled and needs further study.

Development history

The origin of Tang Dynasty

Sichuan opera was once known as "Sichuan Opera" in Tang Dynasty. Some data show that in the first year of Yuanhe (806 A.D.) of emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty, a political event happened in Sichuan, which made people unable to laugh or cry. At that time, Liu Bi, who was then the governor of Zhongfang town (equivalent to the governor of Sichuan Province), was a big corrupt official. He collected exorbitant taxes and levies in Sichuan without any fear, which made the people hard to live. As a result, the local elite (opera actors) compiled Liu Bi's works into a drama, that is, the famous Sichuan Opera "Liu Bi is responsible for buying" in history, and prepared to cry out for the people through it. However, although the opera has been skillfully rehearsed, it has not been given the opportunity to perform.

It was not until Liu PI rebelled against the Tang Dynasty that the actors thought it was time to perform in public. However, the imperial court was fatuous and thought that the play involved attacking the imperial court. It not only sent soldiers to smash the stage of the troupe, but also caught and whipped the actors to fill the army. The injustice of these actors made people resentful, which laid a deep foreshadowing for the subsequent anti Tang uprising.

This incident also reflects the important influence of Sichuan Opera. History also records that the influence of Sichuan Opera in the Tang Dynasty was very large in China, and even the situation of "Shu opera was the best in the world" appeared in the whole country. At that time, a famous troupe composed of ganmanchuan, Baijia, Yesi, zhangmei and ZHANGAO also appeared in Sichuan, which was also the earliest troupe in the history of Chinese opera. At this time, famous Sichuan Opera repertoire, such as Liu bishimai, maixiuliangqi and guankoushen, became popular all over the country.