Today we are going to introduce you to Qinqiang opera, which is the main opera of Shaanxi Province.Qinqiang operas are said to especially resemble the characteristics of the local people in that both are persistent, straightforward and unrestrained. In northern China, QinQiang opera is one of the three major styles of opera, with the other two being Peking opera and Yuju opera.

Dating back thousands of years to the Warring States period, Shaanxi was home to the Qin Kingdom, which united the whole nation under the reign of Yingzheng, later known as the First Emperor Qinshihuang. Having taken root in a vast geographic area hundreds of years ago, the opera has produced an abundance of plays and occupies an important position in the annals of Chinese opera. Qinqiang operas are said to especially resemble the characteristics of the local people in that both are persistent, straightforward and unrestrained. In northern China, QinQiang opera is one of the three major styles of opera, with the other two being Peking opera and Yuju opera.

Let's now have a listen to an extract from Loyal Warriors, a typical and popular story of Qinqiang opera. In Ming Dynasty, a court official named Du Luan was framed by his treacherous colleague Yan Song. Du Wenxue, the victim's son, had to flee, leaving his wife in the care of Zhou Ren, his sworn brother. However Zhou Ren is forced to give up Du Wenxue's wife by the chamberlain of that treacherous official Yan Song. By agreeing to the marriage with the chamberlain, the wife hatched an assassination plan. Unfortunately the plan failed and the faithful wife killed herself. At the end of the story, Du Wenxue is promoted to a key position in the court and revenges the death of his father and wife.

That was an extract from Loyal Warriors as performed by Ren Zhezhong, a famous performer of Qinqiang opera. As you may have noticed, compared to other opera styles in southern China, Qinqiang is somewhat crude and lacking in refinement, with a style of singing that could almost be described as hoarse in tone. But the singer has a wide vocal range and is extremely adept at pitching prolonged notes, which are often interwoven with skillful nasal sounds.
The music we're now listening to is a section of the story adapted from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the most popular historical novels of China, concerning the stuggles of the various warring kingdoms.

There are in fact more than ten kinds of opera from Shaanxi province, all of which are characterized by impassioned, sonorous and forceful melodies. Of these operatic forms, Qinqiang is the most popular with the general population of Shaanxi, who find listening to Qinqiang opera a most enjoyable form of relaxation after a hard day's work in the fields. There is a local saying in Shaanxi that goes, "Meat and wine are not that inviting after you have listened to Qinqiang opera."

The music we've just heard has the gruesome name "The Son's Beheading," and is a classic story that can be found in many operas. In this story, General Yang Liulang's son is sent out on patrol, but during a battle with outlaws led by the beautiful heroine Mu Guiying, the son is defeated and surrenders. Later this heroine and captured son fall in love and get married. The couple return together to the outlaws' headquarters (OR General's headquarters?) driving General Yang Liulang into a state of extreme fury. As a punishment, the son is to be beheaded, but he is saved by his wife. The extract we heard was sung by Liu Ruhui, who began studying opera performance at the age of ten, and who played mainly male roles during the early stages of her career..

Famous Shaanxi writer Jia Pingwa once wrote about a scene of Qinqiang performance in his essay. The curtain rises and the players appear on the stage. But they all cover their faces and only leave their backs to the audience. The actress slowly minces up to the audience, like leaves floating on the water. The audience would yell: look at her waist and shoulders—perfect for the play! As the actor sways, the tail feathers on his hat stream in every direction and every manner. The audience would applaud: What wonderful stunts! Then the player finally turns around, raises his head and utters a resonant cry. The sound is like thunderstorm rolling over and above the heads of the audience, who would tingle and shiver all over.

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