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Han Opera

Xipi and erhuang, from Hankou to the capital

Introduction

Hubei's old pihuang opera and a source of Peking Opera

Han opera, formerly called Chu diao or Han diao, took shape in Hubei in the Kangxi and Qianlong reigns and matured in the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns, spreading into Hunan, Henan, Sichuan, Shaanxi and beyond. Its singing rests on the xipi and erhuang tunes, which it was the first to combine, and it keeps ten role categories. In the mid-Qing, Han singers such as Mi Yingxian and Yu Sansheng joined the Anhui troupes in Beijing, and their music and repertoire fed into the formation of Peking Opera. After 1949 the schools of Wu Tianbao and Chen Bohua were widely influential.

Timeline

Kangxi–Qianlong era to present
1735 · OriginIn the Kangxi–Qianlong era, Chu diao (Han diao) takes shape in Hubei1820 · EvolutionIn the Jiaqing–Daoguang era it matures, joining xipi and erhuang1830 · ImpactHan singers join the Anhui troupes in Beijing, feeding the formation of Peking Opera
  1. 1735OriginIn the Kangxi–Qianlong era, Chu diao (Han diao) takes shape in Hubei
  2. 1820EvolutionIn the Jiaqing–Daoguang era it matures, joining xipi and erhuang
  3. 1830ImpactHan singers join the Anhui troupes in Beijing, feeding the formation of Peking Opera

Heritage Listings

  1. 2006National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · IV-30 · Wuhan · Hubei