Qin qiang in Xi'an

2013-04-07 posted in [Persons] with tags: [Culture and Drama]

As we known, Xi’an is a city with great history, so does the culture. I don’t want to talk literature, drawing, or china, “Qin qiang” is what I want to talk about today.

“Qin qiang”, as the name states – “Qin” is the name of the 1st dynasty in China, whose creator chose Xi’an(Xianyang exactly) as the capital; “qiang” means singing, a special kind of opera singing method. “Qin qiang” is not only popular in Xi’an(Shaanxi), but also in other provinces in Northwest China, incl. Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai. In one sentence, “Qin qiang” is the specific opera in Northwest China, esp. in Xi’an.

“Qin qiang” has several characters to make it stand out in China’s several dramas.

First, “It’s not performed by singing but howling”, which means it always requires the performer to howl the lines out in a high volume, whichever it’s the actor or actress. This makes “Qin qiang” very impressive when you listen to it for the 1st time.

Second, “It’s accompanied by China’s famous instruments, incl. Erhu, bamboo, gong, etc, esp. Erhu”. Erhu makes the whole opera performance more like a tragedy for its special timbre. And it’s true most of “Qin qiang” are tragedies, e.g husbands abandoned wife and children after winning the imperial exam, wife waits for her husband for 13 years in a humble cave, mother accuses herself after her son was eaten by a wolf, etc.

Third, “It’s very popular in people over 40s in age”, it is very easy to find the senior men and women gather, circle around the instruments performers(always male), and a simple speaker in the center of the crowd where a female is howling the “Qin qiang”, and others watch and enjoy the howling with smile in their faces. Nowadays, rural males and females have time to gather to do what they like, esp. after Xi’an’s starting of expanding and real estate boost, lots of lands have been reclaimed by government with a very small compensation. The rural people without land will have a lot free time, and they are always very saving, so “Qin qiang” becomes the good choice to eat their free time.

Forth, “It’s very easy to set it up and get started”, the people who like “Qin qiang” and wants to perform in public, are always very kind and open to let every stranger to get involed. So if you are a fan of “Qin qiang”, you’ll feel very comfortable and easygoing when you involve in the process. People will find a small place in a square, and set it up with instruments, speaker, etc, once the performers(singer and instrument player) are ready, the activity will get started, and more people will be attracted, so the circle will be bigger and bigger and will reach to 100~ finally.

So if you want to listen to the original and pure “Qin qiang”, it’s better to find some places with the real “Qin qiang” fans, not the ones in opera for money. The places are very easy to find by searching “Chang’an square” in Baidu Map or Google Map, where there’re always a bunch of groups to howl “Qin qiang” each day. Get close to them and pick a place to sit, listen to what they are performing will impress you greatly with no doubt.

Hope you’ll enjoy this kind of art.