Beijing qinshu

Beijing qinshu is a qu category of dagu that evolved in Beijing and is popular in Tianjin and Hebei Province.

Around the 1940s, Zhai Qingshan, an artist of Tongxian County who was versed in Leting dagu, introduced the dulcimer (a sound board and wires stretched across bridges) to accompany Bejjing qinshu. Later on the sihu was added, further developing the art. After the 1950s it formally became known as Beiing qinshu.

Beijing qinshu puts the emphasis on a conversational style of singing, simple in tune and rhythm, with greater variations in clapping. It is an appropriate medium to tell stories in a vivid manner.

Guan Xuezeng, born in Beijing in 1922, studied dagu since childhood and emerged as a famous Beijing qinshu artist. He has a sonorous, sweet, and loud voice, which pleases the ear. He sings as well as he narrates, and can go from singing to narrating and vice-versa in a natural manner The words are clearly articulated and Guan Xuezeng is a good actor. He is appreciated by his audiences, both foreign and Chinese, on account of his singing and acting.

Guan Xuezeng is also a scriptwriter in his own right. He mostly writes the stories he sings. He knows well the psyche of his audience. He comes straight to the point at the beginning of the performance, seizing the attention of the audience with his melody. In Bian Da Lu Hua, which describes a man named Min Ziqian, who while dressed in wintry garb, goes to plea for his mother, Guan sings: "Heaven does not seem to have any eyes. A great snow is falling. The bitter cold penetrates the flesh. Min Ziqian trembles in his coat, unable to use his hand to whip the horse."

The artist couches his story in conversational language popular among the people. He shows deep sympathy for the character and describes the freezing character vividly. The vocal music is very exquisite. Particularly moving is the plea of Min Ziqian: "Father, please take back your divorce letter. As your son, I plead for you to pardon my stepmother Li. Tolerate her. I beg you to consider that she has nurtured us. If you divorce her, you will abandon the three of us. More is the pity."

As he sings, tears fill the eyes of the audience, who are rapt in attention. Guan Xuezeng, now over 80 years of age, still makes appearances on the stage and on Chinese TV from time to time.