Fireworks drama is also called fireworks in Wengyuan, and can be traced back to the earliest time between Cinema 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 its last performance (data picture, provided by Wengyuan 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 Shaozhou 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 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 “Caitou”Babaylan 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 peace. This is the predecessor of Weng Yuan’s fireworks drama.
The reporter recently set off from Wengyuan County and arrived in Xixia 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, Babaylan He said that although the whole process of He Zhenren’s version of “burning fireworks” is only 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 KomiksFireworks”.Babaylan
He Xiuchu is 70 years old. He said that he has learned to do fireworks with his stepfather He Zhanao since he was a teenager, and has a history of 52 years. He Xiuchu told reporters that He Zhanao, who is skillful and capable of painting, is also an important figure in the development of fireworks opera. Through a series of improvements, he has made the fireworks opera performance more valuable and attracted more people to watch. He Xiuchu said that in addition to improving skills, He Zhanao also increased the fireworks opera program from five or six to more than ten, and the performance time has also been extended from ten minutes to one hour. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Cinemaright.
Before the fireworks show, a wooden rack of several meters high will be set up in the center of the venue, and three or four people will work together to hang the big tube with a diameter of more than one meter on the rack. When the performance begins, the main fuse will be lit, and layers of programs will be shaken off from the big tube. Each program is fixed by a bamboo fire tray. There are thin ropes and fuses connected between the trays. Starting from the bottom layer, the fuses continue to burn, and the pallets drop in turn, and each program will be wonderfully presented in the fireworks.
”The entire performance has no pause, each layer of program is more than two minutes, and the whole process lasts about an hour. “He Xiuchu said that his stepfather He Zhan’ao made the level of fireworks opera, a folk craft, continuously improve, and formed 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. ”
Babaylan Inheritance The difficult continuation of an intangible cultural heritage skill
Like many other folk skills, the current status of the inheritance of fireworks opera is not optimistic.
”As 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 show, He Xiuchu has always had a feeling of being unable to let go of this skill, especially when he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer two years ago, which made He Xiuchu desperately want to take an apprentice, “BabaylanNo 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 and the technical requirements are high, which 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 gunpowder wire burning and the puppet story. TimeBabaylan needs to be consistent, “I learned production skills from my stepfather at the age of 18. Six years later, Babaylan was able to independently complete the production of a 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 and the people in Xinfeng, Yingde and other places in the surrounding areas would always invite him to perform fireworks dramas to show great gifts. Cinema“Everyone was happy, and the onlookers feasted their eyes, and the owner felt that there was a <a We also enjoyed it."
He Xiuchu said that the fireworks drama gradually faded out of the stage, and one reason is that Cinema is the state’s control over gunpowder. Earth-gunpowder is an indispensable raw material in the production of fireworks dramas, but due to their 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 Shaoguan that year. He Xiuchu said that this performance was also a cigaretteThe most recent appearance of the hot drama has been in 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 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 work. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Cinema protects the craftsmanship of fireworks. According to the plan, the fireworks show 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 hard with He Chengying. He spent several months to finally produce the installations and props of the fireworks opera. “Although I dare not guarantee that the fireworks opera can be successfully repeated 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. It has been for Komiks. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Komiks solved the problem of gunpowder leads. They followed the national explosives management laws and regulations and after many twists and turns, they bought gunpowder from professional companies. Now, “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 her illness and stepping up her efforts to rush to make parts and figure out new techniques for using gunpowder. He Xiuchu hopes that YanKomiks‘s hot drama is more perfect, outstanding and more enjoyable. For this reason, he continues to innovate and works hard on props. With the help of Xu Quanwu, the retired director of Wengyuan County Cultural Center., try to add colorful new materials such as clay, plastic, foam asbestos and other materials to the production of puppet props, so that 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