京城风尚｜北京曲剧带您领略京腔与京味儿

Brilliant Heritage of Old Beijing | A Glimpse of Beijing Style through Quju Opera

说起北京曲剧

观众十有八九不知为何物

但是说到曲剧运用的

单弦、大鼓等

散发浓郁京味气息的鼓曲

很多人则会倍感亲切

今天就给大家讲讲

北京曲剧的文化故事

Most people may know little about Beijing Quju Opera. However, many instruments used in Quju Opera, such as danxian (one-string fiddle) and drum, as well as guqu (storytelling) of Beijing flavor, are familiar to the audience. Today, let’s have a glimpse of Beijing culture through Quju Opera. 

北京曲剧经典剧目

图片来源：北京曲剧团官网

Classics of Beijing Quju Opera

Photo from the official website of Beijing Quju Opera Troupe

北京曲剧是北京这座千年文化名城孕育而生的唯一的地方剧种，是在老舍先生提议下正式命名，至今已有近70年的历史。它的音乐唱腔是以单弦曲牌为基础的音乐素材发展创作而成，道白以普通话为基础，突出北京语言特色，具有浓郁的京腔京味儿，表演朴实、韵律独特、贴近生活，尤以演绎清代和近现代北京题材故事为长。

Beijing Quju Opera is the only endemic traditional opera nurtured in this millennium-old ancient capital. Its name was proposed by famous writer Lao She, which has had a history of nearly 70 years. Its music is developed based on danxian music, and its spoken parts use Mandarin, highlighting the features of Beijing dialect. This genre of traditional opera features a strong Beijing flavor, unsophisticated acting, unique rhythms, and close connection to daily life. It is particularly good at telling stories of Beijing in the Qing Dynasty and modern times. 

北京曲剧与老舍的不解之缘

The Close Bond between Beijing Quju Opera and Lao She 

说到北京曲剧，不得不提到老舍。作为北京唯一的地方戏——北京曲剧的命名，也与老舍先生有着密切的联系。

自清代、民国以来，先后有各地的地方戏涌入北京，京剧、昆曲、梆子、评戏，可谓是琳琅满目、热闹非凡，可是长期以来，北京并没有一种土生土长真正属于本地区的地方戏曲，只有曲艺杂耍中的拆唱八角鼓、彩唱莲花落还勉强具有了一些戏剧的雏形。

上世纪三十年代中后期兴起的曲艺反串戏则为说唱艺人演戏提供了演剧的基础平台。1949年北平解放后，曲艺艺人们的社会地位随之提高，他们怀着激动的心情进行说新唱新，反应新社会新生活，解放新剧应运而生。

Lao She isn’t an inevitable topic when talking about Beijing Quju Opera. As Beijing’s only endemic traditional opera, it was named by Lao She.

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the Republic of China period (1912-1949), a variety of traditional operas from other parts of the country, including Kunqu, Bangzi and Ping, swarmed into Beijing, fostering the birth of Peking Opera. However, Beijing lacked a completely endemic traditional opera for a long time, except for Bajiaogu (a Manchu folk art) and Lianhualao (a ballad singing art) that could be considered an embryonic form of traditional opera.

The cross-casting play, a form of folk arts that emerged in the middle and late 1930s, provided a basic stage for traditional ballad singers and storytellers. After the liberation of Beijing in 1949, folk artists saw their social status improved. They began to sing for new life and new society, nurturing the birth of new plays. 

老舍（1899年2月3日—1966年8月24日）

图片来源：北京曲剧团

Lao She (February 3, 1899-August 24, 1966)

Photo from Beijing Quju Opera Troupe

从美国回到了久别的故乡，老舍先生回到北京后，以饱满的热情创作了大量曲艺作品，如大鼓、单弦、相声、太平歌词等充分发挥了曲艺文艺轻骑兵的作用，他知道曲艺是通俗的艺术形式，为了建设新社会进行文艺宣传最为方便的就是曲艺，曲艺的表演形式简洁、内容接地气、群众的接受程度很高，面对文化程度较低的观众，在宣传方面都可以起到立竿见影的效果。

1952年，老舍先生专为此剧种创作了剧本《柳树井》。剧目公演后获得巨大成功，老舍称该剧填补了北京历史上没有地方戏的空白。老舍先生提议将“曲艺剧”中的“艺”字去掉，就叫曲剧。为了突出地域特色，建议在剧种名称前面加上“北京”二字，“北京曲剧”由此诞生。这也是惟一在北京这块土地上诞生的北京地方戏曲剧种。

After returning to his hometown Beijing from the United States, Lao She created many works of folk arts including Dagu (storytelling accompanied with drum), Danxian (storytelling accompanied with single-string fiddle), cross talks, and Taiping Singing. Those works conveyed his passion and played an important role in mobilizing morale among the public in social progress. Considering the popularity of folk arts among ordinary people, Lao She concluded that they could create immediate effects in publicizing new society. Folk arts feature simple but attractive forms and down-to-earth content, enabling them to be popular among the audience, especially less-educated people.

In 1952, Lao She wrote a traditional opera play called Willow Well. The play was proven a great success when it debuted, which“filled in the void of endemic traditional opera in Beijing” according to the writer and playwright. At the same time, he suggested calling this genre of traditional opera Quju. To highlight its endemicity, it was eventually named Beijing Quju Opera. It is the only endemic traditional opera born on the land of Beijing. 

北京曲剧发展与“前门小剧场”

The Evolution of Beijing Quju Opera and Qianmen Small Theater 

北京曲剧艺术大师、创始人魏喜奎（1925～1996）

图片来源：北京曲剧团

Wei Xikui (1925-1996), master artist and founder of Beijing Quju Opera 

Photo from Beijing Quju Opera Troupe

当年在周恩来总理、彭真市长的关心关怀下，为了曲剧更快发展，决定在广德楼旧址上修建小型戏院，定名为“前门小剧场”。曲剧创始人魏喜奎等前辈欣喜若狂，纷纷到工地充当泥瓦小工，1954年剧场竣工。

1957年4月，周恩来总理访问非洲十国后回京，直接来到剧场（现广德楼），并亲自购票入场，观看了北京曲剧《杨乃武与小白菜》，演出结束后更亲切接见了魏喜奎、李宝岩、顾荣甫等演员。

北京曲剧自诞生以来，创作推出200余台剧目，《柳树井》、《杨乃武与小白菜》、《啼笑因缘》、《骆驼祥子》、《箭杆河边》、《珍妃泪》、《少年天子》、《烟壶》、《龙须沟》、《茶馆》等一批佳作，京味儿地道的剧目，描摹出京城的百年风云、时代的历史变迁，以及沉浮于滚滚红尘中那一个个鲜活而独特的灵魂。目前，北京曲剧与北京市曲剧团是全国专业艺术品种中的单一剧种和单一剧团。

Thanks to support from Premier Zhou Enlai and Mayor Peng Zhen at the time, Beijing Quju Opera witnessed fast development. It was decided to build a small-sized theater on the site of the former Guangdelou Theater, which was later named Qianmen Small Theater. Excited at the news, Wei Xikui, founder of Beijing Quju Opera, and other artists personally participated in the construction of the theater, which was completed in 1954.

In April 1957, after returning to Beijing from his visit to ten African countries, Premier Zhou Enlai directly went to the theater (today’s Guangdelou) to watch the Beijing Quju Opera play The Scholar and the Serving Maid. After the performance, he met with artists including Wei Xikui, Li Baoyan and Gu Rongfu.

Since its birth, Beijing Quju Opera has presented more than 200 plays, including Willow Well, The Scholar and the Serving Maid, Karma of Cry and Laugh, Rickshaw Boy, By the Jiangan River, Tears of Pearl Concubine, Young Emperor, Snuff Bottle, Longxu Ditch, and Teahouse. Those masterpieces rich in Beijing flavor depict the ups and downs that the city has undergone in the past century and create a number of vivid characters with lively souls. At present, Beijing Quju Opera Troupe is the only professional ensemble for Quju Opera in China. 

北京曲剧的京腔京味儿

Beijing Flavor of Quju Opera 

北京曲剧的音乐性独具特色，和曲艺的关系紧密，唱腔设计与音乐不可分开，兼备了北方剧种的明亮及南方剧种的婉转，音乐唱腔以单弦牌子曲为基本音乐素材发展创作而成，道白以普通话为基础，突出北京语言的特色，具有浓郁的京腔京味儿。

Beijing Quju Opera boasts distinctive music. Due to its close relationship with folk singing arts, its singing design is inseparable from music and combines the sonorousness of northern traditional operas and the elegance of southern ones. Its singing style developed from danxian tunes, and its spoken parts spoken parts use Mandarin, highlighting the features of Beijing dialect.

左：北京曲剧常用的伴奏乐器三弦

右：北京曲剧常用的伴奏乐器八角鼓

图片来源：北京曲剧团

Left: Sanxian (three-string fiddle), a commonly used musical instrument in Beijing Quju Opera

Right: Bajiao drum, a commonly used musical instrument in Beijing Quju Opera

Photo from Beijing Quju Opera Troupe

北京曲剧采用牌子曲联缀体，三弦伴奏，八角鼓击打节奏演唱故事，曲调丰富，形式多样。它的主要曲调有：太平年、云苏调、罗江怨、南城调、剪靛花、湖广调、南锣北鼓、数唱等，大都出自民间小曲，有的擅长抒情，有的适合叙事。单弦的演唱形式，有单唱、对口唱（拆唱）、群唱和彩唱。其中对口唱、彩唱等已发展为装扮角色的简单表演（仍保持有说唱的特点）。

Beijing Quju Opera features conjunctures of traditional tunes and sings stories accompanied by music played with sanxian and Bajiao drum in diverse tunes, including Taipingnian, Yusudiao, Luojiangyuan, Nanchengdiao, Jiandianhua, Huguangdiao, Nanluobeigu, and Shuchang. Most derived from folk tunes, with some fitting to express emotions and others fitting to narrate stories. The singing methods with sanxian as the accompaniment include solo, antiphonal singing, chorus, and caicang (dressed singing). Although antiphonal singing and caicang have evolved into singing while acting, they already maintain some traits of traditional storytelling. 

特色剧目

Masterpieces

《柳树井》

Willow Well 

北京曲剧《柳树井》剧照

图片来源：北京曲剧团

A still from Willow Well

Photo from Beijing Quju Opera Troupe

北京曲剧《柳树井》是一部仅有三场的小戏，是当年老舍先了便于人民群众理解，特将情节设计的比较直白，上场人员也不到十个。主角是个叫“招弟”的小媳妇，13岁被卖给王家做童养媳，而王家的儿子不幸夭亡，招弟被婆婆和大姑子折磨，险些跳了井。村长本来认为“清官不给断家常”而不肯管王家的事，但经过普法宣传，在事实面前他支持召开公审大会，惩治了虐待招弟的婆婆和大姑子，还成了《婚姻法》的宣传者，支持养女自由恋爱结婚、共同进步。而招弟则决定和邻居小伙、劳动委员结婚，一起轰轰烈烈搞生产，真正实现了自身的理想和价值。

随着宣传婚姻法的《柳树井》诞生，老舍认为，北京是曲艺的发祥地。曲艺里数单弦牌子曲最为通俗、最能代表北京的韵味，老舍建议不如拿单弦牌子曲作基调，也就是说，用拆唱八角鼓做底子，往里面加东西，例如京韵、梅花、奉调大鼓的音乐都可以加进去。于是，北京曲剧由此诞生。

Willow Well is a three-act play of Beijing Quju Opera. Its playwright Lao She used easy-to-understand language and plots, and the play involves less than 10 characters. The protagonist is a young woman named Zhaodi, who is sold to the Wang family as a child bride. However, the son of the Wang family dies in his early age, and Zhaodi suffers abuse from her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. She once tried to commit suicide by drowning herself in a water well. The village chief, however, thinks of this as a private business of the Wang family. Later, after publicization of laws, he becomes supportive of trying Zhaodi’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law publicly, and begins to devote himself to publicizing the Law of Marriage. He supports his adopted daughter in marrying the young man she loves and making progress together. Zhaodi decides to marry her neighbor, a young man who serves as the village’s labor commissioner. The couple devote themselves to production and realize their ideals and value.

After the birth of Willow Well that publicized the Law of Marriage, Lao She held that Beijing is the birthplace of quyi (folk art forms), of which sanxian tune is the most popular representative of traditional Beijing flavor. He then suggested creating Beijing Quju Opera with sanxian tune and Bajiaogu as the foundation, while incorporating several genres of drum-accompanying storytelling arts such as Jingyu Dagu, Meihua Dagu and Fengdiao Dagu. 

《龙须沟》

Longxu Ditch 

北京曲剧《龙须沟》剧照

图片来源：北京曲剧团

A still from Longxu Ditch

Photo from Beijing Quju Opera Troupe

《龙须沟》是老舍的重要剧作之一，是他解放初期回国后创作的第二个话剧剧本，也是早期主旋律作品中难得的传世之作。该剧描写的是居住在北京天桥附近的一条臭水沟旁小杂院里四户人家的不同遭遇，塑造了程疯子、程娘子、丁四嫂、王大妈、二春、小妞子、赵大爷等各具特色的人物形象，由他们的经历和心态来表现新政权、新制度带来的新气象、新变化，堪称是一部下层民众的血泪史、翻身史。通过一个普通鼓曲艺人的故事，表达了新旧社会两重天，旧社会把好人变成疯子，新社会又把疯子变成好人，“臭水沟”变成“龙须沟”，视角新颖，人物鲜明，语言生动，一经演出便深受老百姓欢迎，北京市人民政府也因此剧授予老舍先生“人民艺术家”的光荣称号。

Longxu Ditch is one of the most representative plays written by Lao She. It is the second drama that the playwright created after he returned to Beijing soon after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The play tells stories of four households living in a compound near a stinky ditch in Beijing’s Tianqiao area, and vividly depicts such characters as Cheng Fengzi, Cheng Niangzi, Ding Sisao, Grandma Wang, Erchun, Xiaoniuzi, and Grandpa Zhao. The play uses their stories and mentalities to reflect the new changes that the new government brought to Chinese society, demonstrating the history of lower-class people shaking off their miserable fate. Through telling the story of an ordinary guqu artist, it demonstrates the sharp contrast between new and old societies—the old society turned a good man into a madman and the new society turned the madman back into a good man and the stinky ditch into a beautiful stream. The play features a creative angle of view, vivid characterization, and touching language. It became a sensation as soon as its debut, for which the municipal government of Beijing granted Lao She the honorary title of“People’s Artists”.

《珍妃泪》

Tears of Pearl Concubine

北京曲剧《珍妃泪》剧照

图片来源：北京曲剧团

A still from Tears of Pearl Concubine

Photo from Beijing Quju Opera Troupe

北京曲剧《珍妃泪》以1898年戊戌变法为历史背景，再现了以光绪皇帝和慈禧太后为代表的帝后两党，围绕变法维新展开的一场革新与守旧的宫廷政治斗争。该剧大气磅礴，雄浑悲壮，成功的塑造了珍妃、慈禧太后、光绪皇帝及许多有血有肉性格鲜活的历史人物形象。聪慧伶俐的珍妃、手腕多端的慈禧太后、执著改革的光绪皇帝，都曾给观众留下深刻的印象，受到了新老观众的好评。

Tears of Pearl Concubine is set in the Hundred Days of Reform of 1898 and depicts the political conflict between reformists represented by Emperor Guangxu and conservatists represented by Empress Dowager Cixi in the imperial palace around the reform. The play is a magnificent and touching tragedy and vividly depicts a number of historical characters including smart Pearl Concubine, astute Empress Dowager Cixi, and Emperor Guangxu who was determined to reform. All of these characters impress the audience deeply, making the play earn praise from audiences of different ages. 

北京曲剧是348个戏曲剧种的重要一员，因其创作的博大精深，以及独特的地域性特点，极大程度上丰富了北京人的文化生活，积淀了厚重的文化内涵，成为了老北京的时代记忆。

Beijing Quju Opera is one of the 348 traditional operas in China. With cultural profundity and unique regional flavor, it greatly enriches the cultural life of Beijing people and has accumulated rich cultural connotations as memories of old Beijing. 

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北京作为千年古都，具有鲜明的地域特色，在这座历史深厚的城市里，有一种长久以来凝聚成的独特的风格和味道。“京城风尚”栏目系列将通过讲述北京的人文、地理、历史故事，持续奉上“京味文化大餐”，敬请期待！

A millennium-old capital, Beijing has distinctive regional characteristics. Over centuries, the city that combines tradition and modernity has fostered a unique style and flavor. The“Trendy Products of Old Beijing” series focuses on telling stories about Beijing’s culture, geography and history, with an aim to present cultural feasts of old Beijing. Please stay tuned. 

参考文献：

1.《北京曲剧，都市人熟悉的陌生戏》，北京日报，2008年5月12日。

2.《老舍<柳树井>与北京曲剧的定名》，新京报，2022年9月1日。