The famous theater troupe with haha tune
Qingyuan County Haha Tune Troupe
The local opera Haha Tune was among the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage announced by the State Council in 2006. In the 21st century, Haha Tune in Qingyuan County, Hebei Province The Qiang Opera Troupe is the only professional performance group of Haha Qiang in the country.
Qingyuan County was established in the first year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty and has a history of more than 1,530 years. People in Qingyuan have always valued culture. In the Yuan Dynasty, Jia Fu built the Wanjuan Tower in the old city with the richest collection of books in history. "Zhang Sheng Cooks the Sea" written by Li Haogu, a Yuan Za playwright from the county, is known as a masterpiece handed down from generation to generation.
Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Qingyuan County has been located in an important area of Jifu, with relatively developed transportation. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the situation in Qingyuan Old City was stable and peaceful. The Lianchi Academy established in the old city gathered famous scholars from all over the country and became the first institution of higher learning in Yanzhao. Due to this historical background and cultural situation, folk art spread rapidly in Qingyuan. With the vigorous rise of local operas across the country, Haha tune developed from the native Yangko. Its performance venues were initially urban and rural temple fairs, and by the beginning of the 20th century it began to enter teahouses and theaters in big cities such as Ping and Tianjin.
Haha tune has always been the most influential folk art in Qingyuan. It is not only the main object of art appreciation for Qingyuan people, but also penetrates into people's lives. The rich and colorful haha opera repertoire has played an irreplaceable role in popularizing historical and cultural knowledge, disseminating traditional moral concepts, and advocating patriotism and national spirit. Therefore, Haha tune is recognized as a representative of Qingyuan culture and a symbol of Qingyuan’s humanistic spirit.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the People's Government of Qingyuan County attached great importance to the rescue and protection of the art of Haha Tune. Especially in the 1950s and 1960s, when the "Haha Tune" was carried out On the basis of "renovating people, renovating plays, and reorganizing systems", supporting projects such as excavation, arrangement, adaptation, and staging have been implemented, as well as the revitalization projects implemented since the 1980s under the eight-character policy of "rescue, inheritance, reform, and development" The strategy of Hahaqiang has made a historic contribution to the rescue and protection of Hahaqiang heritage.
In terms of discovering and sorting out the traditional repertoire of Haha Tune, through two censuses in the 1950s and 1980s, more than 100 traditional repertoires of Haha Tune were collected. In terms of rescuing and protecting the Ha-ha tune performing arts, since the 1980s, some famous and veteran artists with profound artistic attainments have been systematically gathered together, and their best singing parts have been preserved through recording and text recording methods.
In terms of accumulating and protecting Haha Tune art materials, professional musicians have been arranged to go to Baoding, Cangzhou, Hengshui, Shijiazhuang, Langfang, Hebei Province, and Dezhou and Huimin, Shandong Province. In areas where ha-ha tune is popular, a large amount of traditional music materials have been collected and sorted out; from the 1980s to the 1990s, relevant work on ha-ha tune in the national art discipline key scientific research projects "Chinese Opera Chronicles" and "Chinese Opera Music Integration" were also completed. Descriptions of opera types, haha tune repertoire, haha tune performances, and haha tune music. The music collection also includes representative arias and performance scores of haha tune.
Qingyuan County Haha Opera Troupe was officially established in 1955. In 1958, screenwriters, directors, composers, stage art creators and many outstanding young actors were recruited from provincial and municipal professional art groups to enrich the team. On September 25, 1959, Chairman Mao Zedong passed by Baoding on his way back from his inspection tour in the south. Accompanied by Lin Tie, then Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, he watched "Little King Fighting Birds" performed by the Qingyuan Haha Tune Troupe in the Hebei Auditorium. From 1958 to 1960, a ha-ha tune class was established among the student team of Hebei Bangzi Theater in Tianjin, cultivating a group of outstanding talents for the Qingyuan County Ha-ha tune troupe. Later, the Hebei Provincial Opera School, Baoding District Opera School, and Qingyuan County Opera School continued to send young actors to the troupe, making the county theater troupe stronger and more complete.
Since the late 1950s, Qingyuan County Haha Opera Troupe has organized and performed traditional plays "Wang Xiao Fighting Birds", "Poems on the Flower Wall", "Moving the Kiln", "Three Worships to the Flower Hall" ", "Zaopao Ji", "Going to Chenzhou", "Wudang Mountain", "Baiyun Mountain", "Baima Complaint", "Tang Zhixian Judgment", etc. Among them, "Wang Xiao Bird Fighting", "Poems on the Flower Wall", "Moving the Kiln" and "Three Worships to the Flower Hall" have participated in provincial and local drama performances. The drama "Wang Xiaodao Bird" was recorded by China Central Radio and videotaped by Hebei TV Station. In addition, the troupe has also created and performed large-scale modern plays such as "Crossing the Barrier" and "Authentic Battle Hymn". It has also participated in the self-written short plays "Pick Up the Girl", "Looking at the Melon", "The Female Captain", and "The Storm at the Banquet". Provincial and local performances. The drama "Picking Up the Girl" has been played many times by China Central Radio. In 1963, the troupe was invited to perform "Hujiazhuang" and "Wudang Mountain" by the Chinese Opera Research Institute, and went to Beijing TV Station to perform "The Story of the Saopao", which was praised by experts and audiences.
In 1961 and 1963, Zhou Yang and other leading comrades from the Central Propaganda Department met with all the actors of the troupe twice in Tianjin and Beijing. In 1964, the troupe was rated as one of the "Three Best" Theater Troupes in Hebei Province, and its performances were deeply loved by the local people. During the ten years of turmoil, the Ha-ha tune genre once faced extinction. After the "Gang of Four" was crushed, the spring of literature and art brought new buds to the Ha-ha tune rooted in the folk. In 1979, the troupe compiled and performed "Shadow Reunion" based on the traditional play "Havoc in the Garden". It was recorded and videotaped on Hebei Radio and Television Stations and broadcast by China Central Television, which expanded the influence of the Ha-ha tune genre.
In 1981, the troupe adapted and performed "Baiyun Fairy" based on the traditional play "Baiyun Mountain", which was also recorded and broadcast by Hebei TV Station and published by Hebei Audio and Video Publishing House. After 1983, the troupe also created and performed the large-scale modern dramas "Wind and Rain Red Apricots" and "The Strange Injustice"; adapted and performed the historical dramas "The Hate of the Subjugation of the Country", "Poetry and Prose", and "Luzhou Zhuang Farewell" As well as traditional plays "Yang Ershe Begging for Alms", "Sun Jigao Selling Water", "Xiao Yin Selling a Tile House", etc. The play "Wind and Rain Red Apricot" won an award at the Hebei Provincial Drama Performance. In 1983, the troupe was rated as one of the "Four Best" theater troupes in Baoding. In 1985, it was awarded the title of "Advanced Troupe in the Construction of Spiritual Civilization" by the Baoding Regional Cultural Bureau. In 1995, the troupe created and performed the large-scale costume drama "Royal Wine and Burial of Fragrance", which won many awards including the first prize for leading role, supporting role, and music vocal design at the 4th Hebei Provincial Drama Festival. In 1999, the large-scale modern drama "Field of Hope" created and performed by the troupe won the "Five One Project Award" of Baoding City. In 2000, the costume drama "Mulan Chooses a Son-in-law" created and performed by the troupe was recorded and broadcast by Hebei TV Station. In 2001, the modern drama "The Bells" created and performed by the troupe won the silver medal of the National "Stars Award" issued by the Ministry of Culture. In 2005, the singing excerpts from the modern drama "Tunnel War" created and performed by the troupe were recorded and broadcast by CCTV. In 2009, the troupe's re-arrangement of the traditional play "Shadows Reunion" won many awards including the Drama Award, Outstanding Music Singing Design Award, Outstanding Performance Award, and Outstanding Accompaniment Award at the 8th Hebei Drama Festival.