Shaoxing Xuanjuan

Shaoxing Xuanjuan

Shaoxing Xuanjuan is a traditional rap art with religious color, which is mainly used to worship gods and pray for blessings. Since Tang Dynasty, it has developed into folk art in Qing Dynasty. The Song Book of Xuanjuan, or volume book, is commonly known as "Baojuan". When singing, artists put volumes on the table and sing according to the volumes, so they are called volumes.

On June 7, 2008, Shaoxing Xuanjuan, declared by Shaoxing County, Zhejiang Province, was approved by the State Council to be included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.

historical origin

Shaoxing Xuanjuan is one of the local folk arts in Shaoxing. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, Shaoxing Xuanjuan Ban was very active in Shaoxing City. Its singing was related to the custom of worshipping gods. The Chinese Encyclopedia of Opera Art Volume (Xuan Volume) contains: "In the Qing Dynasty, Guangxu Period and the early years of the Republic of China, Xuan Volume was extended to the south of the Yangtze River. Although it still serves as a sermon in a vast area centered around Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shaoxing and Ningbo, it has developed into a folk rap art", which basically conforms to the situation of Shaoxing Xuan Volume.

Although Xuanjuan sings in different roles, it has no professional skills and male and female accents. It mainly uses different timbres to express various characters. When one of them "played a role" in singing, the other two helped to sing "There is no Amitabha Buddha in the South".

In the old days, Xuanjuan artists had low social status and were not professionals. They had the habit of "father does not pass on sons". is concise and fluent, easy to read, when singing, you can read the book, read according to the book, without memorizing and reciting the work, fans can be invited to perform on a slight basis, therefore, Xuanjuan artists do not have strict teacher-acceptance relationship. The Xuanjuan class, headed by "Fish Position", is composed of many voluntary groups. It sings during the celebration of God's Birthday, birthday celebration, migration celebration and memorial service. Since 1950, Xuanjuan classes have been separated from time to time, and singing activities have been in fashion. Most of them are in the countryside.

Inheritance Significance

As one of the five major types of Shaoxing opera, Shaoxing Xuanjuan has won its own living space with its popular identity, people-friendly posture, popular language and simple performance, and maintained a relatively pure grassroots nature and original ecology. This makes Shaoxing Xuanjuan develop to a new height. This art form is gradually going out of the folk and expanding into the mainstream cultural field. This is indeed a good thing, but there are also many problems.