Fireworks opera is also known as Cinema for burning fireworks in Wengyuan, and can be traced back to the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty.
Text/Photo Yangcheng School reporter Zhang Wen Correspondent He Xiaohong Huang Yingxiang
The last fireworks opera was ten years since the last performance (data picture, provided by Wengyuan County Cultural Center)
Wengyuan Fireworks opera is a kind of art originated in Wengyuan County, northern Guangdong. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>KomiksThe folk skills of Zhoupi Town were selected into the second batch of intangible cultural heritage in Shaoguan City in 2008. Because earth and gunpowder are under control and inheritors are difficult to find, this once glorious performance skill is on the verge of losing. The last performance was ten years ago. With the 70-year-old representative inheritor of Weng Yuan’s fireworks drama, He Xiuchu, diagnosed with esophageal cancer two years ago, the pace of Weng Yuan’s fireworks drama loss has further accelerated. The reporter recently learned from Wengyuan County that the local government is stepping up the “rescue protection” of fireworks opera skills. This Mid-Autumn Festival, the fireworks drama that has been passed down for a hundred years is expected to shine again after ten years of “extinguishing”.
Origin: A creation from “colored head” to art
Fireworks drama is also called burning fireworks in Wengyuan. It can be traced back to the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. The founder He Zhenren learned to make fireworks since childhood, and later made a living by making and selling fireworks. In order to improve sales, He Zhenren invented the “burning fireworks”, which means driving a disc to rotate continuously through gunpowder combustion, indicating the meaning of “divide ghosts and eliminate disasters” and praying for good luck and health. This is the predecessor of Weng Yuan’s fireworks drama.
The reporter recently set off from Wengyuan County and after more than an hour’s drive, he arrived at Wuxia Village and found Wengyuan Fireworks OperaCHe Xiuchu, the representative inheritor of inema. Talking about the origin of the fireworks drama, he said that although He Zhenren’s version of “burning fireworks” only lasts more than 2 minutes, it is still popular because Babaylan has a “good luck” and is still popular. Every year on Lantern Festival and February 2nd Festival, every local household will set off fireworks. The most attractive one is the “burning fireworks” invented by He Zhenren.
He Xiuchu is 70 years old this year. Cinema He said that he has learned to do fireworks with his stepfather He Zhan’ao since he was a teenager, and it has a history of 52 years. He Xiuchu told reporters that He Zhan’ao, who is skillful and good at painting, is also an important figure in the development of fireworks opera. Through a series of improvements, he made the fireworks opera performance more ornamental value and attracted more people to watch it. He Xiuchu said that in addition to improving skills, He Zhan’ao also increased the number of fireworks shows from five or six to more than ten, and the performance time was also extended from ten minutes to one hour left. Before the fireworks show, a wooden rack several meters high will be set up in the center of the venue, and then three or four people will work together to hang the barrel of the drama with a diameter of more than one meter on the rack. When the performance begins, the general fuse will be ignited, and layers of programs will be shaken off from the drama tube. Each program is fixed by a bamboo fire-insulating tray, and there are thin ropes and fuses connected between the trays. Starting from the bottom layer, the fuse continues to burn, and the trays will fall in turn. Each program will be wonderfully presented in the fireworks.
”The entire performance was not paused. Each floor program lasted for more than two minutes, and the whole process lasted about an hour.” He Xiuchu said that his stepfather He Zhan’ao made the level of the folk craft of fireworks, a folk craft, continuously improved, forming a firework art that integrates fireworks and the shapes of the drama characters. “He created the famous programs in the fireworks drama, Guan Gong riding horses, Jiang Taigong fishing, and Beng Gu’s birthday gifts.”
Inheritance The difficult continuation of an intangible cultural heritage craft
Like many other folk crafts, the current status of the inheritance of the fireworks drama is not optimistic.
”As long as there are young peopleI am willing to study, but I won’t charge a penny for tuition. Babaylan will definitely teach him everything I know. “When talking about the inheritance of fireworks dramas, He Xiuchu was very helpless. He said that the most regrettable thing at the moment is that there are few successors. “Now young people choose to go out to work, and few are willing to learn fireworks dramas. ”
After 52 years of being a fireworks drama production, He Xiuchu has always had an unsatisfactory feeling about this skill, especially when he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer two years ago.Babaylan made He Xiuchu desperately want to accept an apprentice, “No matter whether you can make money or not, the things that our ancestors have passed on for hundreds of years must not be lost in my hands! ”
He Xiuchu and others polish new props and strive to succeed in the performance
He Xiuchu said that the production process of fireworks dramas is complicated, the skills are high, and it is also difficult to spread. An important reason for Komiks is that to make the performance complete and smooth, you must accurately budget the rhythm of the gunpowder wire combustion and the puppet story, which must match the time. “I learned production skills from my stepfather at the age of 18, and only after six years can I independently complete the full set of fireworks dramas. ”
Recalling the grand performance of that year, He Xiuchu said that whether it was the Lantern Festival, or the folk wedding, childbirth, or birthday, Weng Yuan local and in the surrounding Xinfeng, Yingde and other places, he would always invite him to perform fireworks to show great gifts. “Everyone is happy, and the onlookers are feasting their eyes. The boss feels that he has face, and we also enjoy it. ”
He Xiuchu said that fireworks dramas gradually faded out of the stage, one reason is the state’s control over gunpowder. Earth gunpowder is an indispensable raw material in the production of fireworks dramas, but due to their control, it is difficult to obtain now. Even if the earth gunpowder is successfully obtained, the production of fireworks dramas may face legal risks. Intangible cultural heritage inheritors were punished for using gunpowder to make fireworks.
Protection A new possibility is being tried
The local cultural department has always maintained attention to the inheritance and protection of Wengyuan fireworks dramas. In May 2008, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center of Wengyuan County Cultural Center contacted He Xiuchu to deeply explore and organize this almost lost folk art. The fireworks drama was also successfully selected into the second batch of intangible cultural heritage catalog in Shaoguan that year. He Xiuchu said that this performance was also the latest presentation of fireworks dramas. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Komiks has been in public view for more than ten years.
He Xiuchu is telling the staff of Wengyuan County Cultural Center about the grand occasion of the fireworks performance that year
After learning about the current status of the fireworks inheritance and the physical condition of the representative inheritor He Xiuchu, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center of Wengyuan County Cultural Center and the Zhoupi Town Government decided to implement the “rescue protection plan” and allocated tens of thousands of yuan to protect the fireworks skills. According to the plan, the fire show of cigarettes and Cinema will be reopened for the world during the Mid-Autumn Festival this year.
At the beginning of this year, He Xiuchu decided to pass on the production skills of fireworks dramas to He Chengying, the webmaster of Zhoupi Town Cultural Station. He personally demonstrated and worked hard with He Chengying. He spent several months to finally produce the installations, props, etc. of the fireworks drama. “Although I can’t guarantee that the fireworks drama will be once. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Komiks can repeat it successfully, but ‘nothing is difficult in the world, I am afraid of those who are determined’, we have confidence! ‘
He Xiuchu said that in the performance ten years ago, the earth gunpowder was preserved by others in the neighboring county, and it took a lot of effort to find it. It is undoubtedly more difficult to find earth gunpowder now. In order to solve the problem of gunpowder leads, they followed the national explosives management laws and regulations and after many twists and turns to buy gunpowder from the professional company. Now the “new gunpowder” needs to be used accurately in the performance, and they also need to slowly get along with He Chengying.
KomiksIn order to welcome the fireworks performance that is about to reappear in front of the world, He Xiuchu is currently overcoming her illness and stepping up her efforts to make parts and figure out new techniques for using gunpowder. He Xiuchu hopes that the fireworks drama will be more perfect, outstanding and more enjoyable. For this reason, he continues to innovate and work hard on props. With the help of Xu Quanwu, the retired director of Wengyuan County Cultural Center, he tasted it.Try to add colorful clay, plastic, foam asbestos and other new materials to the production of puppet props, so that the puppet props can be more vivid and reappear on the stage that has been disregarded for a long time.
Source｜Yangcheng School
Picture｜Zhang Wen
Editor｜Wu Tong