Luo Gu Shu
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Opera swells with drum and gong
LUOGUSHU, literally meaning "drum and gong opera," originated in Sijing, an ancient town in northeastern Songjiang District, and has been sung for more than seven generations. The percussion accompanies simple lyrics and storylines. In ancient times, during major events such as the Lantern Festival and Dragon Festival, local farmers gave luogushu performances in the center of the village at the climax of celebrations. Despite the playing of drums and gongs, the operas are not particularly noisy. Rather, they feature a soft, pleasing rhythmic beat. Musicians usually play at least two instruments, including various gongs and drum, flutes and the "wooden fish," a percussion instrument. The instruments are hand held or carried on the back or around necks. There are few librettos left today. Some old ones were discovered in the homes of elderly villagers during a district-wide cultural preservation campaign in 2005. Farmer Liu Guanyuan, now 83, was once a musician in a luogushu ensemble. He still treasures the dog-eared sheets of music and stage directions he has managed to save. With Liu's guidance, a new luogushu ensemble was founded in 2006. Two young apprentices, Peng Jingliang and Zhang Hongsheng, were taught everything Liu knew in the hopes they will carry the art form into future generations.
Shanghai Luogushu
Luogushu 锣鼓书 is similar to modern rap-music but is performed at a slower rhythm and accompanied by gongs, drums and vivid facial expressions. The number of actors, dressed in traditional Chinese costumes, range from one to a dozen, depending on the theme of the story and the size of the stage. Luogushu originated from a Taibu ritual in the suburbs of Shanghai in ancient times that was similar to religious ceremonies and sacrifice, to pray for peace and blessings. But unlike religious rituals, its content included folk legends and historical stories, for the purpose of entertaining the gods as well as the folk. Gradually, the Taibu ritual evolved into an art form of storytelling and ballad singing -- Luogushu, which reached its pinnacle during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). By the end of the Qing Dynasty, it was prevalent all over Shanghai and spread to Zhejiang as well, as a popular form of entertainment, and was often performed in tea houses around the towns. But the art nearly died during the late 1960s to mid 1970s, when people dismissed it as a superstition. While discrimination against the art no longer exists, luogushu is now being submerged by the spread of pop music. Luogushu, an old treasured part of China's cultural heritage, needs urgent protection.
Luogushu (Recitative with Gong and Drum Hits) 锣鼓书
Luogushu was formerly known as "Taibaoshu", wher "Taibao" was derived from an event called "Taibu"which was held by people to pray for peace in the suburban and rural areas of Shanghai. Since the performer has to beat a drum and gong by him/herself while singing stories, Luogushu was also called "Tangluoshu" or "Shengushu" by the folk people. After the founding of People's Republic of China, the two names mentioned above were combined together as one (i.e. "Luogushu"). The origin and formation period of Luogushu have yet to be further studied and verified. However, it was generally believed that this art was first developed in the outskirts of Shanghai. During the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, Luogushu had been widely popular in Dongxiang and Xixiang areas of Shanghai, and even spread to Jiaxing and Pinghu areas of Zhejiang Province. "Taibu" ritual is quite similar to that of Taoism and is aimed to drive away plagues or epidemic diseases from the living beings. The ritual takes the form of story-telling and singing, including the story-telling part, chanting part, solo part and antiphonal singing part etc. The contents are based on folklores and historical stories, but they have nothing to do with religious rites and are used only for pleasing God and entertaining people. As time goes by, this ritual has gradually been separated from the religious rites and developed into an independent folk art in the form of story-telling and singing. Luogushu is generally performed as follows: the performer sings and tells stories while beating a drum and gong by him/herself. At the beginning, Luogushu was performed by a single person seated. However, it had gradually changed its form and been performed by two or more people standing up and telling stories by singing or even singing with actions by the end of 1950s. There had also been an increasing number of accompanying musical instruments, wher Luogushu was often accompanied by Chinese lutes, dulcimers and other stringed instruments and the main and commonly-used performance form was solo singing accompanied by a string orchestra. Due to geographical differences, the areas to which the Luogushu was spread can be divided into "East Area"(including Chuansha, Nanhui etc.) and West "Area" (including Songjiang, Jinshan etc.). Its tunes include [Jinping Tune], [Tune], etc. Taibaoshu flourished in Shanghai in 1930s and 1940s. The tea house "Luban Pavilion" had emerged at that time and it was built specifically for performing Taibaoshu in the Nanhui area. Since Taibaoshu had been passed down from generation to generation in Xiasha, Xiasha had actually become a "Taibao Home" for gathering together Taibaoshu artists. The artists Xu Liankui (whose nickname was "black skin") performed Taibaoshu all the way to Chenghuang Temple of Shanghai Municipality. During the Anti-Japanese War period, Taibaoshu formally entered the urban area, and the influential performers at that time include Hu Shanyan, Wang Junfa etc. After 1949, there were only a small number of Shanghai artists who could perform Taibaoshu. In 1957, Shanghai Cultural Bureau began to rediscover Chinese folk art forms. The artist Hu Shanyan created a medium-length modern show named Da Yan Ju while the Cultural Center of Nanhui County had also made its creative efforts and prepared Rice Fragrance in Luhuadang which was a short modern show and named after "Luogushu". Since then, Taibaoshu was renamed as Luogushu and gradually came back to the amateur opera stage with a brand new look. The repertoire of Luogushu for the most part consists of long and medium-length traditional shows. It was not until 1949 did short and introductory shows with modern themes begin to play a major role in the amateur performance. Traditional shows can be divided into "Small Shu" (i.e. ensemble of Wen Shu) and "Big Shu" （i..e. ensemble of Wu Shu). "Small Shu", however, is in the majority, which includes Net Boat Transition, Jiu Geng Tian, Eight Beauties on Gaoqiao Bridge, Shuang Zhu Qiu, Jade Dragonfly, Pearl Tower, Legend of White Snake, Wen Wu Xiang Qiu etc, while "Big Shu" includes Heroes, Law Tung Conquers the North, Hu Jia Jiang, Hou Xing Tang, Seven Swords and Thirteen Swordsmen, etc. The short shows such as Mrs. Wang Cursing the Chicken and Rice Fragrance in Luhuadang, medium-length shows such as Da Yan Ju and Lin Chong Flees in the Night, and introductory shows such as Wildflowers of December and Mantis' Marriage are typical to some extent. The contents of most Luogushu shows are based on historical novels, family ethics and historical stories and have a strong local flavor and regional characteristics. As time goes by, Luogushu has been falling out of favor. Since old artists have passed away one after another, nowadays there are only 5 artists who actually can perform this art. This means Luogushu has come to a point that it could hardly survive, and hence immediate support and protection measures are required so as to prevent this art from being lost.