Category: Chinese Culture

Han Tune Erhuang Opera(汉调二黄戏Hàndiào èrhuáng xì), also called Shaan Erhuang and Shan Erhuang, is the second important genre of opera in Shaanxi, and enjoys popularity in Ankang, Hanzhong, Shangluo and Xi'an of Shaanxi Province and some areas in Hubei and Gansu. Originating from mountain airs, eclogues and folksongs, it developed its own style with influence of the Shaanxi opera (qinqiang in Chinese) during the early Qing Dynasty, and by absorbing the tunes of Kunqu opera, Chuiqiang and Gaobozi, and using local dialects. At the very beginning, the opera was accompanied by two flutes which used bamboo as huang (reed), hence the name. To be distinguished with Peking Erhuang opera, it was also named Tu Erhuang. There are a great variety of plays in the Han Tune Erhuang Opera, over 1200 in Ankang alone. 420 complete series and 517 highlights have been explored and sorted out. Most of these plays have drawn materials from Romance of the States of Eastern Zhou, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Canonization((Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church) the act of admitting a deceased person into the canon of saints) of Gods and other folk legends and historical stories.