Fireworks drama is also called fireworks in Wengyuan. Cinema 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 drama was ten years since the last performance (data picture, provided by Wengyuan County Cultural Center)
Wengyuan Fireworks drama is a kind of drama originated from Zhoupi Town, Wengyuan County, northern Guangdong. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Cinema‘s folk skills 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, and the last performance was ten years ago. With the 70-year-old representative inheritor of Weng Yuan’s fireworks drama, He Xiuchu, found 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 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 was a disciple of his studies 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 exorcising ghosts and eliminating disasters and praying for good fortune and health. This is the predecessor of the Wengyuan Fireworks.
The reporter recently set off from Wengyuan County, after more than an hour’s drive, he arrived at the Babaylan village of Wuxia, and found the representative inheritance of Wengyuan’s fireworks opera. 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, Lantern Festival and February 2nd FestivalEvery household in the local area will set off cigarettes, 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 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 his skills, He Zhan’ao also increased the number of fireworks shows from five or six to more than ten, and the performance time also extended from about ten minutes to about an hour.
Before the fireworks show, a wooden frame several meters high will be set up in the center of the venue, and three or four people will work together to hang the large drama cylinder with a diameter of more than one meter on the Babaylan shelf. When the performance begins, the main fuse is ignited, and layers of programs will be shaken off from the big show. Each program is fixed by a bamboo fire-insulating tray. There are thin ropes and fuses connected between the trays. Starting from the bottom layer, the fuse does not burn, and the trays drop in turn, and each program will be presented wonderfully 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, and formed a firework art that integrates fireworks and dramatic characters. “The famous programs in the fireworks drama, Guan Gong riding horses, 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 crafts, the current status of the inheritance of fireworks dramas is not optimistic.
”As long as there are young people who are willing to learn, I will not charge a penny for tuition, and I will definitely pass on everything I know to him.” 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 is no successor. “Now young people Cinema mostly choose to go out to work, and few are willing to learn fireworks dramas.”
After 52 years of being engaged in fireworks drama production, He Xiuchu has always had an unsatisfactory feeling about this skill, especially the twoI was diagnosed with esophageal cancer a year ago, which made He Xiuchu even more forced him 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!”
He Xiuchu and others polished new props and strived to perform successfully
He href=”https://comicmov.com/”>KomiksXuchu said that the production process of fireworks is complicated and the technical requirements are high, and it is also an important reason for the difficulty of circulation. To make the performance complete and smooth, you must accurately budget the rhythm of the fireworks and the puppet story, which must match the time. “I learned production skills from my stepfather at the age of 18, and I can only complete the entire set of fireworks dramas independently after six years.”
Recalling the grand performance of Babaylan in the year of Ho Xiuchu said that whether it was the Lantern Festival, or folk wedding, childbirth, or birthday, Weng Yuan local and Zhou href=”https://comicmov.com/”>KomiksThe people in Xinfeng, Yingde and other places in the border areas always invite him to perform fireworks dramas to show great gifts. “Everyone is happy, and the onlookers are feasting their eyes. The boss feels face-saving, and we enjoy it.” He Xiuchu said that fireworks dramas gradually fade out of the stage, because one reason is the state’s control over gunpowder. Earth-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. Some 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 of Wengyuan County Cultural Center, Babaylan, contacted He Xiuchu and deeply explored and sorted out this almost lost folk art. The fireworks opera 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 fireworks showIt has been more than ten years since it was presented to the public’s vision.
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 inheritance of the fireworks drama 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 drama skills. According to the plan, fireworks 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 production skills of fireworks opera to He Chengying, the webmaster of Zhoupi Town Cultural Station. He personally demonstrated and worked with He Chengying to cooperate with him. He spent several months to finally produce the installations, props, etc. of the fireworks opera. “Although we cannot guarantee that the fireworks opera will be successful in one go, ‘nothing is difficult in the world, I am afraid of those who are interested’, 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 bought gunpowder from professional companies after many twists and turns. Now Komiks‘s “new gunpowder” needs to be used accurately in the performance, and they also need to slowly get along with He Chengying.
In order to welcome the fireworks performance that is about to reappear in front of the world, He Xiuchu is currently overcoming the pain and stepping up her efforts to make parts and figure out new techniques for using gunpowder. He Xiuchu hopes that the fireworks show will be more perfect, outstanding and more enjoyable. For this reason, he continues to innovate. He worked hard on props and tried Babaylan with the assistance of Xu Quanwu, the retired director of Wengyuan County Culture Museum.Try to add colorful clay, plastic, foam asbestos and other new materials to the production of puppet roads, so that the puppet props can be more vivid and reappear on the stage that has been violated for a long time.
Source｜Yangcheng School
Picture｜Zhang Wen
Editor｜Wu Tong