Hebei Banzi


Hebei Bangzi is one of the major forms of local opera in Hebei Province. Formerly known as Jing Bangzi, Zhili Bangzi and Wei Bangzi, it adopted the official name of Hebei Bangzi in 1952. It is very popular in Beijing, Tianjin and some regions of Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and Shandong provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Hebei Bangzi is derived from Qinqiang and Shanxi Bangzi operas, which were introduced to Hebei Province in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. Singing in Beijin dialect, its division of roles and its performance style are similar to Peking Opera. Xusheng, a man with whiskers, plays the leading male role and his tune is forceful and solemn. The Qingyi female role emphasizes loud, clear singing, and the Huadan female role stresses acting and dialogue. The tunes sung by Hualian a male role with painted face, is rustic and vigorous. Hebei Bangzi has a special acting role, the Jingsheng, which combines Sheng costumes, Jing tunes and the performance style of both Jing and Sheng. Musical patterns of Hebei Bangzi includes five types of rhythmic structures. The accompanying instruments are the banhu, two-stringed Chinese fiddle: dizi, horizontal bamboo flute: sheng, mouth organ, and percussion. The repertoire of Hebei Bangzi has more than 500 traditional and 200 contemporary plays.

The following is a list of famous synopses:

Butterfly Cup, The(Hudie Bei)
: Tian Yuchuana, son of a county magistrate, accidentally kills the governor's son who beat a fisherman to death. The fisherman's daughter, Hu Fenglian, immediately hides Tian from the police in the ship's hold. Tian falls in love with Hu and gives her a butterfly cup as a keepsake. Then Hu goes to the county officials to charge the governor's son for killing her father. the county magistrate also argues on her behalf. In the end the case is left unsettled.
Magic Lotus Lantern, The(Baoliandeng)
: The Goddess of Mount Hua, who helps people with her magic Lotus Lantern, falls in love with a mortal Liu Yanchang. They get married and have a son named Chen Xiang. But the goddess's brother cannot bear to see his sister marry a mortal. He orders his heavenly dog to steal away the Lotus Lantern and hide the goddess in Mount Hua. Later an immortal teaches Chen Xiang martial arts so he can split Mount Hua open and saves his mother.
Unwilling Concubine, The(Chen Sanliang)
: Chen Sanliang, a prostitute, is sold to a rich merchant as a concubine. Because Chen refuses to go with him, the merchant charges her in Cangzhou court, where the corrupt governor cruelly tortures her. It so happens that the emperor command Chen Kui, the Number One Scholar, to inspect Cangzhou. Chen Kui saves Chen Sanliang and punishes the governor.

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