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thumb|right|200px|Map showing location of Shaanxi province in China

Qinqiang () is a genre of folk Chinese opera originated in Shaanxi Province of Qing China in 1807 and soon took over other genres to be the representative genre of the province. It plays a key role in Chinese traditional culture as its birth and development process is the result of the development of Chinese local opera since ancient times.

History

Terminology

Qinqiang originated in Shaanxi Province (abbreviated as Qín) of Qing China in 1807 and soon took over other genres to be the representative genre of the province.

Historically, there were two separate genres both referring themselves as Qinqiang, the one with a longer history was later renamed as Handiao Erhuang (). Earlier scholars lumped various genres in Shaanxi Province ("Qin"), including but not restricted to Handiao Erhuang, as Qinqiang; hence, mistakenly they traced such Qinqiang to Qin dynasty (221BC - 206 BC).

Development

Music style

Qinqiang has four forms of performance: singing, narration, dance, and martial arts. During performances the combination of singing and narrative is used to express other scenes and characters, such as general combat or soldiers attacking enemies on the stage. Supporters of Qiniang state that this creates a unique charm and atmosphere.

Musical work

In 1958, Zhao, Zhenxiao and Lu Rilong, professors of Xi'an Conservatory of Music, created the “Capriccio on a Qinqiang Theme”, which is inspired by Shaanxi Opera, in order to promote the development of national music. The “Capriccio on Qinqiang Theme” is a representative work of the Qingqiang style. This music work is written for Erhu, which is called Chinese violin.

References

  • China Qinqiang Website (Chinese)