山东琴书 老城新传，乡音不改

山东琴书 老城新传，乡音不改

A More Modern Take on Qinshu

Yao Zhongxian

A national first-class performer of National Folk Art Association of Jinan, the sole inheritor of Beilu school, and winner of the Peony Award , the highest award for folk arts in China.

姚忠贤

济南市曲艺团国家一级演员，北路邓派山东琴书唯一传人，曾获中国曲艺最高奖——牡丹奖。

Nihao: Why is Qinshu popular among people in Shandong?

Yao: For the local people of Jinan, Qinshu was the major form of entertainment before television came along. At Daming Lake, Baotu Spring and many other popular places, there were teahouses or venues where people went to enjoy Qinshu performances. Back then, the stages were not as big as they are today.The closer distance between the performers and the audience allowed a better interaction during the show. The major venues where we performed were temple fairs, market places, teahouses and bistros. The stages there often bustled with excitement asthe fascinatedaudience would applaud and cheer continuously at the end. Sung in the Shandong dialect, Qinshu is very pleasant to listen to. It also has a great variety of arias and tunes for different story plots, and the performers’ facial expressions would change accordingly too. As few as twoperformers are needed for a Qinshu show. They can perform while playing an instrument, and can flexibly play either according to the script or off script.

Nihao: As more and more forms of entertainment are coming into fruition, has Qinshu undergone any change or innovation?

Yao: Shandong Qinshu has challenges in keeping its audience, which is a problem faced by many other traditional folk arts, too. Younger generations prefer modern entertainment such as movies, and some of them even claim blatantly that it is not fun listening to Qinshu. But in my view, there is no such thing as a boring performance. There are, however, incapable performers. I have been thinking about making Qinshu appealing to young people, and have been experimenting with the idea of playing pop songs and poems in the form of Qinshu. This June, I will take part in the playing of an original opera adapted from Nobel Prize laureate Mo Yan's Sandlewood Death at Shandong Grand Theater. Every act will open with my monologue and my instrument playing, setting the tone for the following play. The collaboration will allow the audience to gain a more thorough understanding of the plot. It is my belief that Qinshu is not an outdated form of art -it just needs to be performed in a style that appeals to the younger generations.

About Shandong Qinshu

Shandong Qinshu is a traditional narrative music usually accompanied by a type of hammered dulcimer. Other instruments used include the Erhuand theZhuihu (both two-stringed bowed instruments) and Kuaiban (bamboo clappers). The Legend of White Snake, Yang Warriors, Cases by Judge Bao Zheng are among the most wellknown shows. Performers may sing to the musical accompaniment or make a short narration, though the singing is the dominant form.

Nihao：山东人为什么喜欢听琴书？

姚：以前没有电视的时候，听琴书是济南人最主要的娱乐活动之一。大明湖、趵突泉等地都有茶馆书场，济南人专门到这些地方来听琴书。当时的舞台不像现在这么大，离观众很近，互动性很好。我们主要是在庙会集市、茶馆酒楼表演，那种舞台很热闹，观众听得很入神，表演完了观众会不断鼓掌大声叫好。山东琴书用的是山东方言，观众听得亲切。琴书的唱腔很有味道，演出时根据故事情节激昂起伏，表情也很丰富。山东琴书演出需要的人不多，两个人就可以演出，既演角色也奏乐器。艺人可以按剧本演奏，也可以演奏曲目，形式多样。

Nihao：娱乐形式丰富的当今，琴书是否有所变革？

姚：和许多传统艺术一样，这些年来，山东琴书的观众的确有所流失；年轻人更倾向于电影等其他娱乐方式，甚至有人直白地说琴书不好听。但我认为，没有难听的琴书，只有无能的艺人。我一直在琢磨如何让年轻人喜欢上琴书，尝试用琴书演奏流行歌曲和古诗词。今年6月，我还将在山东省会大剧参与演出以莫言的《檀香刑》为蓝本改编的原创歌剧。每一幕都以我单人演奏独白为开场，为接下来的话剧表演奠下基调。这种新形式可以让观众更透彻地理解演绎的内容。所以我认为，作为一种艺术形式，琴书并不会过时，我们只是需要用贴近年轻人喜好的方式迎合他们。

山东琴书

主要用扬琴做伴奏的故事说唱表演。伴奏乐器主要有扬琴、二胡、坠胡、快板等。代表节目有《白蛇传》《杨家将》《包公案》等。表演者可根据伴奏演唱，也可以进行小段说书。一般琴书以唱为主，以说为辅。