Chinese Quyi Music

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, according to statistics, more than 400 quyi types are actively practiced among the people. The quyi types of the Han Chinese can be roughly classified into five types: pingshu, xiangsheng, kuaiban, guqu, and zouchang.

The five types of quyi share two common artistic features: one is "narrating and singing," which are the main artistic expressing means. Narrating are xiangsheng and pingshu; singing are guqu, such as Jingyun dagu, Danxian paiziqu, Jiaodong dagu, and Hubei dagu; similar to narrating and singing are Shandong kuaishu, kuaibanshu, and so on; narrating without accompaniment but singing with accompaniment are the qinshu varieties, such as Shandong qinshu, Guizhou qinshu, Yunnan yanggin, and so forth; and walking-singing that combines narrating, singing and dancing such as errenzhuan (song-and-dance duet), are Shibuxian Lianhualuo and Fengyang Huagu. In the other, one actor plays multiple roles; this quyi artist needs no make-up, but imitates a variety of roles through narrating and singing, adapting all kinds of stories into quyi or shumu and performs them in front of the audience. This form of performance is simple and direct, and its content is succinct and compelling.

Guqu (drum tunes) and zouchang (walking-singing) are the varieties that are more musical, fully displaying the glamour and cultural connotations of quyi music.

Singing Tunes with Storytelling

Guqu (drum tunes) includes tanci, dagu, yugu, qinshu, and zaqu, mainly perform quci. For e (ample, Jingyun dagu, Xihe dagu.Suzhou tanci, Sichuan qingyin, and Shandong qinstu, all belong to the guqu type. Jingyun dagu and Suzho tanci are quintessential tunes in the north and south of China.

Jingyun dagu is the northerm guqu popular in Being ,Tianjin,north China,and northeast China. Its predecessor was the Muban dagu popular in the Hebei region. On the basis of Muban dagu, it is combined with qinyin zidishu. continuously absorbng Beijing Opera, bangzi and other narative-singing arts. In 1900,Liu Baoquan began narative-singing in Beijing using Mandarin,absorbing stylish ditties and the accents of  Beijing Opera, thereby creating a new style,adding an accompanying instrument, the sihu,establishing the  performance style of Jingyun dagu,.Later, with famous artists such as the performance Bai Yunpeng and Zhang Xiaoxuan coming into the fore, Jingyun dasu gradually became an influential variety among the northern guci (drum tunes),widely popular in such places as Beijimg,Tianjing,north China,and northeast China.