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An Unorthodox Voice: The Rise of Female Qinshi, Their Challenges, and Their Pursuits

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2022

LI HUAN
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Abstract (english/chinese)

Jinghu is the lead accompaniment instrument in the Peking opera ensemble. Qinshi are the accompanists who play jinghu. Traditionally, jinghu was regarded as a male instrument; female qinshi first appeared in educational institutions subsidised by the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s. Nevertheless, till now, the-all-male jinghu performance history and standards influenced by the virile ethos have deeply influenced contemporary female qinshi’s performances and recognition of their musicality and contributions to jinghu performance. In this article, I explore the rise of female qinshi, their challenges to jinghu performance conventions, and their contributions to contemporary jinghu performance.

京胡在其演奏传统上是一件男性的乐器, 女琴师直到1950 年代才首次出现在由政府资助的戏曲学校。本文以女琴师为研究对象, 对她们的出现, 演奏中的创新, 以及其女性身份所带来的演奏争议进行研究。作者认为, 女琴师的出现与毛泽东提出的“男女平等”社会性别观有关, 但这一时期女琴师在演奏姿势、音色、音量等方面, 仍恪守着由男琴师创立的京胡演奏传统。1980 年代至今, 女琴师开始更多地根据自身条件和市场需求对京胡演奏传统进行革新。与此同时, 男性更具京胡演奏优势的观念仍持续在京剧圈中流行, 并由此影响女琴师的职业发展。

Type
Articles
Information
Yearbook for Traditional Music , Volume 53 , December 2021 , pp. 71 - 101
Copyright
© International Council for Traditional Music 2021

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