Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-03T19:04:01.790Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An Unorthodox Voice: The Rise of Female Qinshi, Their Challenges, and Their Pursuits

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2022

LI HUAN
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract (english/chinese)

Jinghu is the lead accompaniment instrument in the Peking opera ensemble. Qinshi are the accompanists who play jinghu. Traditionally, jinghu was regarded as a male instrument; female qinshi first appeared in educational institutions subsidised by the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s. Nevertheless, till now, the-all-male jinghu performance history and standards influenced by the virile ethos have deeply influenced contemporary female qinshi’s performances and recognition of their musicality and contributions to jinghu performance. In this article, I explore the rise of female qinshi, their challenges to jinghu performance conventions, and their contributions to contemporary jinghu performance.

京胡在其演奏传统上是一件男性的乐器, 女琴师直到1950 年代才首次出现在由政府资助的戏曲学校。本文以女琴师为研究对象, 对她们的出现, 演奏中的创新, 以及其女性身份所带来的演奏争议进行研究。作者认为, 女琴师的出现与毛泽东提出的“男女平等”社会性别观有关, 但这一时期女琴师在演奏姿势、音色、音量等方面, 仍恪守着由男琴师创立的京胡演奏传统。1980 年代至今, 女琴师开始更多地根据自身条件和市场需求对京胡演奏传统进行革新。与此同时, 男性更具京胡演奏优势的观念仍持续在京剧圈中流行, 并由此影响女琴师的职业发展。

Type
Articles
Information
Yearbook for Traditional Music , Volume 53 , December 2021 , pp. 71 - 101
Copyright
© International Council for Traditional Music 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References

Baranovitch, Nimrod. 2003. China’s New Voices: Popular Music, Ethnicity, Gender, and Politics. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Chen, Jie. 2004. “12 Girls Major Move or Minor Mode?” China Daily, 17 March. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-03/17/content_315576.htm (accessed 15 December 2020).Google Scholar
Cheng, Weikun. 1996. “The Challenge of the Actresses: Female Performers and Cultural Alternatives in Early Twentieth Century Beijing and Tianjin.” Modern China 22(2):197–233.Google Scholar
Chou, Hui-ling. 1997. “Striking Their Own Poses: The History of Crossing-Dressing on the Chinese Stage.” TDR 41(2):130–152.Google Scholar
Cusick, Suzanne G. 1994. “Feminist Theory, Music Theory, and the Mind/Body Problem.” Perspectives of New Music 32(1):8–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeCoste, Kyle. 2017. “Street Queens: New Orleans Brass Bands and the Problem of Intersectionality.” Ethnomusicology 61(2):181–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doubleday, Veronica. 2008. “Sounds of Power: An Overview of Musical Instruments and Gender.” Ethnomusicology Forum 17(1):3–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Du, Benling. 2019. “Minyue Yanzou Fukua Xianxiang Xiaoyi” [A Discussion on Exaggerated Performance Gestures in Chinese Instrumental Performances]. Chinese Culture Daily, 23 December. http://www.zgysyjy.org.cn/3595/57883.html (accessed 2 May 2021).Google Scholar
Goldstein, Joshua. 2007. Drama Kings: Players and Publics in the Re-creation of Peking Opera, 1870–1937. Berkeley, Calif.; London: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Han, Kuohuang, and Gray, Judith. 1979. “The Modern Chinese Orchestra.” Asian Music 11(1):1–43.Google Scholar
Koskoff, Ellen. 2014. A Feminist Ethnomusicology: Writings on Music and Gender. Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Kouwenhoven, Frank, and Schimmelpenninck, Antoinet. 2013. “‘I prefer a man who is fresh like a jumping fish’: Gender Issues in Shan’ge, Chinese Popular Rural Song.” In Gender in Chinese Music, ed. Harris, Rachel, Pease, Rowan, and Tan, Shzr Ee, 156–176. Rochester: University of Rochester Press.Google Scholar
Li, Ruru. 2010. “Cheng Yanqiu—Masculinity and Femininity.” In The Soul of Beijing Opera: Theatrical Creativity and Continuity in the Changing World, 83–120. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, Jidian. 1996. Jingju Yinyue Gailun [Introduction to Peking Opera Music]. Beijing: Renmin Yinyue Chubanshe.Google Scholar
Ludden, Yawen. 2013. “China’s Musical Revolution: From Beijing Opera to Yangbanxi.” PhD dissertation, University of Kentucky.Google Scholar
Mittler, Barbara. 2010. “‘Eight Stage Works for 800 Million People’: The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in Music—A View from Revolutionary Opera.” The Opera Quarterly 26(2–3):377–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pian, Rulan Chao. 2001. “Peking Opera: Jingju.” In Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, vol. 7, East Asia: China, Japan, and Korean, ed. Provine, Robert C., Tokumaru, Yosihiko, and Witzleben, J. Lawrence, 318–325. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sborgi, Francesco Rebollo. 2001. “Narrative Song: An Overview.” In Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, vol. 7, East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea, ed. Provine, Robert C., Tokumaru, Yosihiko, and Witzleben, J. Lawrence, 282–287. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Scott, Adolphe Clarence. 2005[1957]. The Classical Theatre of China. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Stock, Jonathan P. J. 1996. Musical Creativity in Twentieth-Century China. New York: University of Rochester Press.Google Scholar
Stock, Jonathan P. J. 2003. Huju: Traditional Opera in Modern Shanghai. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thrasher, Alan R., ed. 2016. Qupai in Chinese Music: Melodic Models in Form and Practice. New York and London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, Anqi. 2011. Xingbie, Zhengzhi yu Jingju Biaoyan Yishu [Sex, Politics, and the Arts of Peking Opera Performance]. Taipei: National Taiwan University.Google Scholar
Wang, Caiyun. 2006. Lüqipuyun: Jinghu Yanzou yu Jifa Yanjiu [Jinghu Scores and Research on Jinghu Performance and Pedagogy]. Beijing: Zhongguo Wenlian Chubanshe.Google Scholar
Wang, Caiyun. 2007a. “Jinghu Duzou Jiqiao de Kaifa Yunyong” [The Exploration and Application of Jinghu Solo Performance Skills]. Zhongguo Xiqu Xueyuan Yuanbao 28(1):87–91.Google Scholar
Wang, Caiyun. 2007b. “Lun Jinghu de Gongxu” [A Discourse on Jinghu’s Bowing Order]. Xiqu Yishu 3:114–116.Google Scholar
Wang, Caiyun. 2009. “Jiexi Jinghu Duzou Changjian Wenti” [Analysis of the Common Problems Appeared in Playing Jinghu Solo Pieces]. Yueqi 1:50–52.Google Scholar
Wang, Zheng. 1998. “Research Women in Contemporary China.” In Guide to Women’s Studies in China, ed. Hershatter, Gail, Honig, Emily, Mann, Susan, and Rofel, Lisa, 1–43. Berkeley: Center for Chinese Studies, University of California.Google Scholar
Wang, Zheng. 2017. Finding Women in the State: A Socialist Feminist Revolution in the People’s Republic of China, 1949–1964. Oakland, California: University of Cali.Google Scholar
Wichmann, Elizabeth. 1990. “Tradition and Innovation in Contemporary Beijing Opera Performance.” TDR 34(1):146–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wichmann, Elizabeth. 1991. Listening to Theatre: The Aural Dimension of Beijing Opera. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.Google Scholar
Wolf, Margery. 1985. Revolution Postponed: Women in Contemporary China. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, Deborah. 2000. “Taiko and the Asian/American Body: Drums, ‘Rising Sun,’ and the Question of Gender.” The World of Music 42(3):67–78.Google Scholar
Wu, Bingzhang. 2009. Jinghu Banzou yu Jiaoxue Yanjiu [Jinghu Accompaniment and Pedagogy]. Beijing: Wenhua Yishu Chubanshe.Google Scholar
Wu, Hua, and Zhang, Suying. 2000. Jinghu Yinyue Yanzou Jiaocheng [Instructions on Jinghu Music Performance]. Beijing: Zhongguo Qingnian Chubanshe.Google Scholar
Xu, Lanyuan. 1965. “Tantan Guanyu Jingju Qinshi de jige Wenti” [A Discourse on Several Issues Related to Peking Opera Qinshi]. Renmin Yinyue 5:24–25.Google Scholar
Xu, Lanyuan, and Tang, Ji. 2012[1958]. Wo de Caoqin Shenghuo—Xu Lanyuan Koushu Lishi [My Musical Life of Playing Jinghu—Xu Lanyuan’s Oral History], ed. Biao, Niu, Zhongguo Xiqu Daxi [Complete Collection of Chinese Opera]. Beijing: Zhongguo Xiju Chubanshe.Google Scholar
Yan, Ping. 1980. “Nü qinshi Sun Baoyuan” [Female Qinshi Sun Baoyuan]. Jingju Yishu 11(4):4.Google Scholar
Yang, Hon-Lun, and Saffle, Michael. 2010. “The 12 Girls Band: Traditions, Gender, Globalization, and (Inter)national Identity.” Asian Music 41(2):88–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, Mayfair Mei-Hui. 1999. “From Gender Erasure to Gender Difference: State Feminism, Consumer Sexuality, and Women’s Public Sphere in China.” In Spaces of Their Own: Women’s Public Sphere in Transnational China, ed. Yang, Mayfair Mei-Hui, 1–43. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Yang, Mu. 1994. “Music and Sexual Customs in Multi-Ethnic China.” Asian Studies Review 18(2):63–70.Google Scholar
Zhang, Suying. 1987. “Tan Jinghu Yanzou” [Discussing Jinghu Performance]. Xijubao 359(4):54–56.Google Scholar
Zheng, Su. 2001. “Women and Music II.” In Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, vol. 7, East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea, ed. Provine, Robert C., Tokumaru, Yosihiko, and Witzleben, J. Lawrence, 442–447. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Li, Chaoyang. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 20 December 2015.Google Scholar
Li, Chaoyang. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 7 January 2015.Google Scholar
Zongti, Lin. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 24 October 2015.Google Scholar
Wang, Caiyun. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 13 July 2015.Google Scholar
Wang, Caiyun. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 22 July 2016.Google Scholar
Wu, Hua. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 10 December 2014.Google Scholar
Zhou, Youjun. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 26 April 2015.Google Scholar
Li, Chaoyang. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 20 December 2015.Google Scholar
Li, Chaoyang. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 7 January 2015.Google Scholar
Zongti, Lin. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 24 October 2015.Google Scholar
Wang, Caiyun. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 13 July 2015.Google Scholar
Wang, Caiyun. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 22 July 2016.Google Scholar
Wu, Hua. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 10 December 2014.Google Scholar
Zhou, Youjun. Interview by author. Beijing, China. 26 April 2015.Google Scholar