Fireworks drama is also called fireworks in Wengyuan, and can be traced back to the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. Text/Picture Yangcheng School reporter Zhang Wen Correspondent He Xiaohong Huang Yingxiang
The last performance of the fireworks drama has been ten years since the time of the last time (data picture, WengBabaylan href=”https://comicmov.com/”>CinemaYuan County Cultural Center)
Wengyuan Fireworks Opera is a folk technique originating from Zhoupi Town, Wengyuan County, northern Guangdong. It was 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, and 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 the loss of Weng Yuan’s fireworks drama has further accelerated. The reporter recently learned from Wengyuan County that the local area is currently focusing on “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, expressing the meaning of gods exorcising ghosts and eliminating disasters and praying for good fortune and health. This is the predecessor of Weng Yuan’s fireworks drama. Komiks
The reporter recently set off from Wengyuan County and arrived in Wuxia Village after more than an hour’s drive, and found the representative inheritor of Wengyuan’s fireworks opera, He Xiuchu. 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 of its “good luck”. 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. He said that he has been learning 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 skillful in painting, is also a fireworks drama.A major figure in the development of Komiks. Through a series of improvements, he made the performance of fireworks more valuable and attracted more Cinema to watch it. He Xiuchu said that in addition to the improvement of skills, He Zhan’ao also increased the performance of fireworks from five to six to more than ten, and the performance time was also extended from ten minutes to about an hour.
Before the performance of fireworks, a wooden frame several meters high would be built in the center of the venue, and three or four people would work together to hang the performance barrel with a diameter of more than one meter on the shelf. When the performance of Babaylan will ignite the fuse and a layer will be shaken off in the performance barrel. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Komiks layer programs, each program is fixed by a bamboo fire tray, with thin ropes and fuses connected between the trays. Starting from the bottom layer, the fuses continue to burn, and the trays descend in turn. Each program will be wonderfully presented in the Babaylan fireworks.
”The entire performance was not paused, and each program was 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 fireworks opera, a folk craft, continuously improve, forming a firework art that integrates fireworks and dramatic characters. “The famous programs in fireworks opera, Guan Gong riding a horse, Jiang Taigong fishing, and Beng Gu’s birthday are all created by him. ”
Inheritance The difficult continuation of an intangible cultural heritage craft
Like many other folk skills, the current status of the inheritance of fireworks opera is not optimistic.
”CinemaAs long as there are young people who are willing to learn, I will not charge a penny of tuition, and I 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, which made He Xiuchu desperately want to accept an apprentice, “No matter whether he can make money or not, the things that our ancestors have passed on for hundreds of years must not be lost in my hands! Komiks“
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 and the technical requirements are high, which is also an important reason for the difficulty of circulation. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>KomiksTo make the performance complete and smooth, you must accurately budget the rhythm of the gunpowder wire burning and the puppet story, and the time must match. “I learned production skills from my stepfather at the age of 18. BabaylanSeriously, six years later, I was able to independently complete the full set of fireworks drama production. Cinema“
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 and the surrounding Xinfeng, Yingde and other places. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Babaylan will invite him to perform fireworks dramas to show great gifts, “Everyone is happy, the onlookers feast their eyes, the boss feels that they have face, and we also enjoy it.” He Xiuchu said that fireworks dramas gradually faded out of the stage, because one reason is the state’s control over gunpowder. Earth Komiks Gunpowder is an essential raw material in the production of fireworks dramas, but due to its regulation, it is now difficult to obtain. Even if you successfully obtain earth gunpowder, the production of fireworks dramas itself may face legal risks. Intangible cultural heritage inheritors were once 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 opera was also successfully selected into the second batch of intangible cultural heritage catalog in Shaozhou that year. He Xiuchu said that this performance was also the last time that the fireworks show was presented to the public eye, more than ten years ago.
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 Wengyuan County Cultural Center’s non-religious protection center and Zhoupi Town Government decided to implement the “rescue protection plan” and allocate tens of thousands of yuan to work. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Babaylan specializes in protecting the fireworks opera skills. According to the plan, the fireworks opera will be restored to the world during the Mid-Autumn Festival this year.
At the beginning of this year, He Xiuchu decided to teach the fireworks opera production skills to He Chengying, the webmaster of Zhoupi Town Cultural Station. He personally demonstrated and worked hard with He Chengying. He spent several months finally producing the installations and props of the fireworks opera. “Although I can’t guarantee that the fireworks opera can be successfully repeated in one go, href=”https://comicmov.com/”>CinemaBut ‘nothing is difficult in the world, I’m afraid of those who are interested’, we have confidence! ”
He Xiuchu said that in the performance of Cinema ten years ago, the earth gunpowder was preserved by others in the neighboring county. 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 bought gunpowder from professional companies after many twists and turns. CinemaNow that the “new gunpowder” needs to be used accurately in the performance, they also need to slowly get in with He Chengying.
In order to welcome the fireworks that are about to appear again in front of the worldCinema performance. He Xiuchu is currently overcoming the pain and is stepping up the production of Cinema components with He Chengying, and pondering new techniques for using gunpowder. He Xiuchu hopes that the fireworks drama will be more perfect, outstanding and more enjoyable, so for this reasonBabaylanHe constantly innovated and worked hard on props. With the assistance of Xu Quanwu, the retired director of Wengyuan County Cultural Center, he tried to add new materials such as colorful clay, plastic, foam asbestos and other materials to the production of puppet props, so that the puppet props can be more vivid and reappear on the stage that has been disastrous for a long time.
Source｜Yangcheng School
Picture｜Zhang Wen
Editor｜Wu Tong