At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Camellia Lantern Opera was introduced into Fuzhou from East Jiangxi, where it merged with ancient painting Jinxian and Dongxiang Camellia Lantern and entered Linchuan and Chongren counties. Tea lantern drama and bamboo horse drama are staged alternately.
In the Qing Dynasty, Dongxiang County Records recorded that:
Lantern Festival busybodies or accompanied by lanterns, all kinds of names, mixed with yangko tea picking, traveled all over the village, asking for tea and fruit, the first month will do.
In the early Qing Dynasty, counties in Fuzhou suffered from fires, and many people fled. Many refugees make a living by busking, and their tea lantern plays are transplanted from other places, and they are put on the stage without playing lanterns, forming a triangular class to perform a one-on-one show with local characteristics in Fuzhou.
Triangular classes originated in the mountainous areas where Yihuang, Linchuan, Chongren and Le 'an counties are prosperous in singing and dancing.
In Qing Dynasty, Qianlong recorded in Linchuan County Records:
There are many mountains between Chongren, Le 'an, Yihuang and Linchuan. Beggars think there are caves on all sides ... one is chasing another, and the other is chasing another.
In the early triangular classes in Fuzhou, the role was usually ugly, plus a gongs and drums or erhu player sitting in the classroom, singing solos and operas. The so-called solo play is that a person sings on stage, and the lyrics come directly from folk songs.
The performance forms in the early stage of a single play are: paying homage to the government before the opening ceremony, shaking the number in the middle of the performance, and thanking the stage or shaking the number at the end of the performance.
In the single play, in addition to following a large number of folk songs, it also created a monotone of four sentences and three rhymes, which became the basic aria of the single play. Most of the operas in this period used foreign counterparts.
In addition, there is a kind of "bench play", that is, artists who sing by themselves sit and sing, and are often active in teahouses, restaurants and village households. Through them, it has promoted the wide spread and artistic improvement of triangular classes.
During the period from Kangxi to Qianlong in Qing Dynasty, the triangle stratum in Fuzhou was further developed and spread. With the addition of xiaosheng, monotony has also developed into a two-sentence structure, and the monotonous "Uighur Tune" with the opposite tone has been derived, which is extremely rich in expression.
In the late Qing Dynasty, Fuzhou Triangle Class began to develop into a semi-class. At this time, an artist went to Yihuang to learn the performance of Yihuang Opera and bought costume props to move the robes of Yihuang Opera.
Team members sometimes increase to seven or eight people, and the role increases the richness of the business; Accompanied by erhu, sanxian, flute, suona and other musical instruments, Sichuan tune was introduced. This new type of triangular stratum has gradually replaced the declining Fuhe stratum and is active in rural towns.
1934, Zhang, a famous tea-picking artist at Chongren Airport, came to Linchuan from Yihuang with his class and founded the first professional semi-class class. Since then, professional class clubs have been established one after another, and half classes have entered a period of great development with Linchuan Center.
At this time, puppet artists who have been circulating in Fuzhou for a long time also invited to sing for half a class, and brought many puppet shows into the tea-picking drama. A large number of accompaniment boards and vocals enriched the music of the tea-picking drama.
Later, the Sixian classes in Fengcheng and Gao 'an went south to Fuzhou, bringing some repertoires and accents such as this tune and Xiaohua tune, which also promoted the development of the classes.
After the founding of New China, a training course for local opera artists was held in 195 1 year, and in the same year, Fuzhou Local Troupe was established. 1953, it was renamed as "Fuzhou Tea Picking Troupe".
Subsequently, professional tea-picking troupes were established in various counties, and amateur troupes were also established one after another. Many achievements have been made in excavating and sorting out traditional plays and transplanting modern plays, and great progress has been made in music reform. The expressive force of this tune, monotony and Sichuan tune has been further improved, and new vocals have gradually taken shape. Many local accents are constantly being excavated and used, and a new Fuzhou tea-picking drama stands out.
In the old days, Fuzhou tea-picking opera was popular in Fuzhou counties and neighboring counties Ji 'an and Gannan rural areas. Most of them are semi-professional or amateur theatrical troupes, usually performing locally or nearby. Yang Miantang, Shinohara Sendai, Sixi Hall, Tongfu Hall, Bajun Hall, Kuangsu Hall, etc.
After the founding of New China, nine counties and cities, including Fuzhou, Linchuan, Chongren, Jinxi, Jinxian, Dongxiang, Zixi, Le 'an and Nanfeng, have set up professional organizations one after another, and there are amateur clubs in rural areas of 12 counties and cities in the whole region. The scope of the performance has expanded from all parts of the province to parts of Beijing, Shanghai, Hunan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Fujian and other provinces, and it has been well received by the masses.