Kunqu Opera in Hexi Village, Gaoyang

Hebei
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Kunqu Opera in Hexi Village, Gaoyang, has a history of more than 400 years and occupies an important position in the history of Chinese opera and Chinese art. It has experienced the initial period in the late Ming Dynasty, the prosperity period in the late Qing Dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China, the decline period during the Japanese puppet rule, and the transition period after the founding of New China. After several generations of ups and downs, it has shown the tenacious vitality of the traditional Chinese opera art and the wisdom of the people of Gaoyang. As an important part of the traditional Chinese opera art, the development of Kunqu Opera in Hexi Village, Gaoyang is in sync with the times, constantly absorbing and integrating the nutrients of foreign opera art, and using it for our own purposes, forming its own artistic characteristics of rigorous procedures, elegant recitation and taking into account the characteristics of the northern language, singing and dancing, beautiful singing, especially the relatively developed male voice art of Shengjiao. Kunqu Opera in Hexi Village, Gaoyang has played a foundational role in the formation and dissemination of Kunqu Opera in the north, and has contributed master-level opera performance artists and educators such as Han Shichang, Hou Yilong, Hou Yushan, and Ma Xianglin to Kunqu Opera in the north. Kunqu Opera Children's Association of Hexi Village, Qingchang, Rongqing Kunqu Opera Society, Gaoyang County Northern Kunqu Opera Art School, and even China Northern Kunqu Opera Theater and other Kunqu Opera art groups all originated from Kunqu Opera of Hexi Village, Gaoyang. Kunqu Opera of Hexi Village, Gaoyang can be said to be a dazzling flower in the garden of Chinese opera. In the 1920s and 1930s, Kunqu Opera children of Hexi Village such as Han Shichang and Ma Xianglin went to Japan to perform Kunqu Opera of Hexi Village, opening a new chapter in the exchange of Chinese and foreign opera art. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, when China Northern Kunqu Opera Theater was established, the main artistic creation forces including leading actors, directors, and civil and military scenes were all Kunqu Opera artists of Hexi Village, Gaoyang. This phenomenon of a type of opera being born and multiplied from a village can be called a wonder in the history of art in ancient and modern China and foreign countries. After some performing artists left after becoming successful, Kunqu Opera of Hexi Village, Gaoyang still maintained its consistent local characteristics and reserved repertoires as well as the performance group Hexi Village Kunqu Opera Children's Association. In the 1940s and 1950s, the Kunqu Opera Troupe was organized to perform in rural areas, winning the support of the masses and opera fans. The Hexi Village Children's Association's old Kunqu Opera artists volunteered to teach singing and performing, and their influence spread throughout the surrounding villages. There is a local saying: Even the barking of dogs in Hexi Village has a bit of Kunqu Opera flavor! After entering the market economy society, opera has gradually declined, and the elegant Kunqu Opera art has become more and more unpopular. It is urgently needed to inherit and promote it to preserve the ancient Kunqu Opera art.

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