Qi Opera is one of the local operas of the Han nationality in Hunan Province. It is also known as Qiyang Opera. In the early years of the Republic of China, it was called "Qiyang Opera". It was named Qi Opera because it was formed in Qiyang. In the late Qing Dynasty, it was also called "Chunan Opera". After the founding of New China, it was called Qi Opera. In 2008, Qi Opera was selected into the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. Qi Opera originated from Yiyang Opera. It was introduced to Qiyang in the early Ming Dynasty and integrated with local art. It gradually evolved over a long period of time. It is said that during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty (1403-1424), Yiyang Opera was introduced to Qiyang with immigrants from Jiangxi and gradually spread. During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty (about 1465 to 1487 AD), Yiyang Opera was combined with the rich local folk art and gradually became localized, forming the high-pitched opera in Qiyang. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Kunshan Opera became popular throughout the country, and the opera in Qiyang absorbed Kun Opera and Kun Opera repertoires. After Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, Qi Opera successively integrated Hui Opera, Han Opera and Qin Opera to form Dan Opera (North-South Road). With the increase of vocal styles, the repertoire and performance art of Qi Opera have become increasingly rich, and gradually developed into a multi-vocal style with Danqiang as the main style. During the reigns of Kangxi and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, the society was peaceful, the economy was prosperous, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. Officials selected prostitutes and songs, and folk plays for gods became a social fashion. In the late Qing Dynasty, Jiangxi, Fujian and other places called Qiyang Opera "Chunan Opera". During the Republic of China, it was called "Qiyang Opera", named after the development in Qiyang area. After the founding of New China, it was named "Qi Opera", with three types of vocal styles: Gaoqiang, Kunqiang and Danqiang, divided into two major schools of Yonghe and Baohe. The artistic characteristics are high-pitched and rough, with a strong mountain flavor. However, the stage language is unified in the standardized Qiyang Mandarin. Qi Opera has rich music, with thousands of Gaoqiang and Kunqiang singing styles, accompaniments and tunes. Generally, it can be divided into three types of singing styles: Gaoqiang, Danqiang and Kunqiang, with high and passionate tones. Gaoqiang is the oldest and most distinctive vocal style in Qi Opera performances, and it still retains ancient accompaniment instruments such as hat-shaped noise drums. When singing, drums are used to beat the beat, and the tunes are accompanied by gongs, drums, and suona to create an atmosphere. It has the characteristics of Yiyang Opera, "its rhythm is drums, and its tunes are noisy." Its tunes can be divided into southern, northern, regular, and miscellaneous categories. The difference between southern and northern tunes is mainly in the melody and mood of the music. Generally, southern tunes are more lyrical, while northern tunes are more tragic. Danqiang can be divided into southern and northern routes. The southern route is equivalent to Erhuang, including Yiban, Anchun, Yinpi, etc., which was once influenced by Hui Opera and Yihuang Opera during its development. The northern route is equivalent to Xipi, and has tunes such as Yiban (Siping) and Anchun (Chuiqiang). The melodies of the southern and northern routes are mixed and applied, which is called "South to North, North to South". Kun Opera retains many tunes, and the tune formats can be roughly divided into three types: regular, green, and hanging sentences. Among them, the Zhengban is a four-beat with one beat and three eyes; the Qingban is a style with one beat and one eye and a beat without eyes, which is mostly suitable for scenes with fast rhythm and large emotional changes; the Diao Juju is mostly a free rhythm style, suitable for scenes with passionate emotions. The singing style of Qi Opera is high-spirited and passionate. In the traditional singing style, except for Fudan and Choujiao, other roles all pay attention to the use of "sleet" (a combination of true and false voices). Strict singing requirements, the pronunciation should focus on the expression of single, double, empty and real, and the sound should pay attention to depression, rise, pause and frustration, so as to achieve correct words, clear sound and round voice. The current roles of Qi Opera can be divided into seven lines: Shengjiao, Xiaosheng, Hualian, Choujiao, Zhengdan, Xiaodan and Laodan. Except that Laodan is less in the main play, other roles are divided into several lines because of the different types of roles they play. Among them, Zhengsheng includes Baixu, Huaxu and Qingxu; Hualian includes all Jingxing roles; Choujiao is divided into Wenchou and Wuchou. Each troupe has only one Zhengdan and Laodan, and there are many people in other lines. Qi Opera has the characteristics of roughness, exaggeration and simplicity in performance art. The movements pay attention to the coordination and symmetry of the eyes, nose, chest, fingers and toes, and must meet certain specifications, which is called "returning to Ziwu". Qi Opera has a set of strict procedures unique to this type of opera: for example, "appearance" is required to be performed after lifting sleeves, shaking sleeves, adjusting crowns or adjusting hair; "opening the cardigan" can be divided into full cardigan and half cardigan; to express the preparations for the battle of the generals, officers, gatekeepers and military generals before going to war, the movements are complicated, the specifications are strict, and the difficulty is very high. There are more than a thousand traditional repertoires of Qi Opera, and one or two hundred repertoires have been lost. According to statistics in 1982, there are 941 repertoires, including 272 full-length and 669 scattered repertoires. Qi Opera music is high-pitched and exciting, and the tunes are very rich. According to statistics from Shaoyang, there are as many as 1,079. Among them, the "Mulian Opera", which is regarded by Qi Opera artists as the ancestor of Gaoqiang, can be performed for seven consecutive days without repetition. The existing traditional performance version of "Mulian Biography" has 124 folds. According to the different vocal styles, the repertoires of Qi Opera can be roughly divided into three categories. First, Gaoqiang repertoire. The earliest repertoire of Qi Opera Gaoqiang is "Mulian Biography", and the existing traditional performance version of "Mulian Biography" has 124 folds. Other Gaoqiang performances include "Pipa Record", "Jingchai Record", "White Rabbit Record", "Worship Moon Record", etc. Second, Kunqiang repertoire. The main ones are "Heavenly Official Blessing", "Eight Immortals Celebrating Birthday", "Unarmoring the King", "Six Kingdoms Conferring Prime Ministers", etc. Third, Danqiang repertoire. Danqiang is divided into southern and northern routes, and the themes of the repertoires are mostly from historical novels. Mainly Spring and Autumn Period, Qin, Han and Three Kingdoms, Xue Family Generals, Yang Family Generals, Yue Family Generals, Water Margin Stories, Bao Gong Opera, Anyuan Opera. Such as "Huang Feihu Rebellion", "Xiangjiang Meeting", "Wu Han Kills His Wife", etc. There are also many plays that depict faithful love and beautiful myths, such as Picking Up the Jade Bracelet and The Legend of the White Snake. Liu Dengxiong (Qi Opera) Liu Dengxiong, male, born in March 1961, from Xinhua, Hunan, was specially recruited into the Qi Opera Troupe in 1975. He is a member of the Communist Party of China, a member of the Shaoyang Municipal CPPCC, a member of the Provincial Drama Association, a national first-class actor, and the Party Branch Secretary and President of the Hunan Qi Opera Theater. After Liu Dengxiong was specially recruited into the troupe, he became a student of He Shaolian and Yan Liwen, two famous Qi Opera performing artists, and learned the roles of Wenwu Xiaosheng. Under the careful cultivation of famous teachers, he was diligent and studious, studied hard, persevered, and fought tenaciously. Through more than 30 years of artistic practice,...more>>>Zhang Shaojun Zhang Shaojun Qi Opera Hunan Province's second batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage projects inheritor Comrade Zhang Shaojun, female, born in October 1964, Han nationality, member of the Communist Party of China, with secondary technical school education, joined the Hengyang Qi Opera Troupe as an actor in December 1978 and has been working there ever since. Advanced individual in the provincial cultural system, deputy to the 9th People's Congress of Hengyang City, outstanding young actor of Hunan Province, and the title of "First Batch of Youth Cultural Celebrities Nomination Award" of Hunan Province, currently deputy director of the Hengyang Qi Opera Troupe, director of the Hunan Dramatists Association. National first-class actor. Comrade Zhang Shaojun participated in the party's literary and artistic work......more>>>Liu DengxiongLiu Dengxiong (Qi Opera) The third batch of "national intangible cultural heritage project inheritors" in Hunan Province Liu Dengxiong, male, born in March 1961, from Xinhua, Hunan, was specially recruited into the Qi Opera Troupe in 1975, a member of the Communist Party of China, a member of the Shaoyang Municipal CPPCC, a member of the Provincial Drama Association, a national first-class actor, and the party branch secretary and dean of the Hunan Qi Opera Theater. After Liu Dengxiong was specially recruited into the troupe, he worshipped the famous Qi Opera performing artists He Shaolian and Yan Liwen as his teachers, and learned the Wenwu Xiaosheng. Under the careful cultivation of the famous teachers, he was diligent and studious, studied hard, persevered, and fought tenaciously. Through more than 30 years of artistic practice,...more>>>Zhang ShaojunZhang ShaojunQi OperaThe second batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage project inheritors in Hunan Province Comrade Zhang Shaojun, female, born in October 1964, Han nationality, member of the Communist Party of China, with secondary technical school education, joined the Hengyang Qi Opera Troupe in December 1978 as an actor and has been working since then. Advanced individual in the provincial cultural system, deputy to the 9th People's Congress of Hengyang City, outstanding young actor of Hunan Province, and the title of "First Batch of Youth Cultural Celebrities Nomination Award" of Hunan Province. Currently, he is the deputy director of Hengyang Qi Opera Troupe and the director of Hunan Dramatists Association. National first-class actor. Comrade Zhang Shaojun participated in the party's literary and artistic work... more>>> Liu Dengxiong (Qi Opera) Liu Dengxiong, male, born in March 1961, from Xinhua, Hunan Province, was specially recruited into Qi Opera Troupe in 1975. He is a member of the Communist Party of China, a member of Shaoyang CPPCC, a member of the Provincial Dramatists Association, a national first-class actor, and the party branch secretary and dean of Hunan Qi Opera Theater. After Liu Dengxiong was specially recruited into the troupe, he became a student of He Shaolian and Yan Liwen, two famous Qi Opera performing artists, and learned the roles of Wenwu Xiaosheng. Under the careful cultivation of famous teachers, he was diligent and studious, studied hard, persevered, and fought tenaciously. Through more than 30 years of artistic practice,...more>>>Zhang Shaojun Zhang Shaojun Qi Opera Hunan Province's second batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage projects inheritor Comrade Zhang Shaojun, female, born in October 1964, Han nationality, member of the Communist Party of China, with secondary technical school education, joined the Hengyang Qi Opera Troupe as an actor in December 1978 and has been working there ever since. Advanced individual in the provincial cultural system, deputy to the 9th People's Congress of Hengyang City, outstanding young actor of Hunan Province, and the title of "First Batch of Youth Cultural Celebrities Nomination Award" of Hunan Province, currently deputy director of the Hengyang Qi Opera Troupe, director of the Hunan Dramatists Association. National first-class actor. Comrade Zhang Shaojun participated in the party's literary and artistic work......more>>>Zhang Shaojun Qi Opera Hunan Province's second batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage project inheritor Comrade Zhang Shaojun, female, born in October 1964, Han nationality, member of the Communist Party of China, technical secondary school education, joined the Hengyang Qi Opera Troupe in December 1978 as an actor and has been working there ever since. Advanced individual in the provincial cultural system, representative of the 9th Hengyang Municipal People's Congress, outstanding young actor in Hunan Province, and the title of "First Batch of Youth Cultural Celebrities Nomination Award" in Hunan Province. Currently, she is the deputy director of the Hengyang Qi Opera Troupe and a director of the Hunan Dramatists Association. National first-class actor. Comrade Zhang Shaojun participated in the party's literary and artistic work......more>>>