Huaguxi
Encyclopedia
Huaguxi is a form of Chinese opera
originating in Hunan
province. It is known in China for its earthy quality, and is often referred to as the "spicy" form of Chinese opera. Huaguxi is known to have existed as early as 1695, during the Qing Dynasty
. Unlike other forms of Chinese opera, Huaguxi originally had only two roles. These including the xiao chou, a small male clown, and the xiao dan, a vivacious young girl. The female role was played by men until women entered Chinese opera in the early 20th century. In the mid-18th century, a xiao shen role was added. This role refers to handsome young males.
Most Huaguxi plays were originally xiao xi, short plays lasting an hour or less. These plays often dealt with everyday rural life. With the rise of professional Huaguxi performers and performances in the capital city of Changsha, longer plays, daxi began to be performed. These plays dealt with grander themes of social satire and class struggle. Like other forms of Chinese opera, Huaguxi is staged with very few props. Music accompanying Huaguxi reflects the Changsha dialect
spoken in Hunan. It is played with instruments like the datong
(fiddle), yueqin
(moon lute), dizi (bamboo flute), and suona
(oboe). Percussion instruments provide the basic tempo for the performance.
Throughout much of its history, Huaguxi could not be performed legally because of the perception that it was an obscene form of opera. It was officially recognized by the People's Republic of China
in 1952, but restrictions were placed on the type of material that could be performed.
Chinese opera
Chinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back as far as the third century CE...
originating in Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
province. It is known in China for its earthy quality, and is often referred to as the "spicy" form of Chinese opera. Huaguxi is known to have existed as early as 1695, during the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. Unlike other forms of Chinese opera, Huaguxi originally had only two roles. These including the xiao chou, a small male clown, and the xiao dan, a vivacious young girl. The female role was played by men until women entered Chinese opera in the early 20th century. In the mid-18th century, a xiao shen role was added. This role refers to handsome young males.
Most Huaguxi plays were originally xiao xi, short plays lasting an hour or less. These plays often dealt with everyday rural life. With the rise of professional Huaguxi performers and performances in the capital city of Changsha, longer plays, daxi began to be performed. These plays dealt with grander themes of social satire and class struggle. Like other forms of Chinese opera, Huaguxi is staged with very few props. Music accompanying Huaguxi reflects the Changsha dialect
Changsha dialect
Changsha dialect is a dialect of Xiang Chinese, which is one of the Sinitic languages. It is spoken predominantly in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province. It is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin, the official language of China.-Classification:...
spoken in Hunan. It is played with instruments like the datong
Datong (instrument)
The datong is a bowed string instrument in the huqin family, and is used as an accompanying instrument in the huaguxi opera tradition of Hunan, China. Referring to this role, the instrument is also referred to huagu datong ....
(fiddle), yueqin
Yueqin
This article is about the Chinese Yuequin. The Vietnamese Đàn nguyệt is also often referred to as a 'moon guitar'.The yueqin is a traditional Chinese string instrument...
(moon lute), dizi (bamboo flute), and suona
Suona
The suona ; also called laba or haidi is a Han Chinese shawm . It has a distinctively loud and high-pitched sound, and is used frequently in Chinese traditional music ensembles, particularly those that perform outdoors...
(oboe). Percussion instruments provide the basic tempo for the performance.
Throughout much of its history, Huaguxi could not be performed legally because of the perception that it was an obscene form of opera. It was officially recognized by the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1952, but restrictions were placed on the type of material that could be performed.