Shijiazhuang Sixian Opera

Shijiazhuang sixian—also called xianqiang, xiansuoqiang, Hexi tunes, xiaoguqiang, luoluoqiang or nüerqiang—is a traditional regional theatre of Hebei that grew out of Ming and Qing popular melodies. By the early Qing it was widely sung across Hebei, and the 1671 gazetteer of Shulu County in Qizhou already records "xianqiang." The tradition splits into eastern, western, southern, northern and central routes, of which Shijiazhuang is the central-route exemplar and a vocal form found nowhere else. It entered the first national ICH list in 2006.

Sixian is famed for its distinctive "exploding voice" technique, mixing chest and head registers to sound both piercing and lyrical, accompanied chiefly by silk-string instruments such as the banhu fiddle, qudi flute and sheng mouth-organ, from which it takes its name. Its plays draw on historical romances and folk tales, with full roles of sheng, dan, jing and chou and a deep flavour of the central Hebei countryside.

Shijiazhuang sixian is a cultural emblem unique to the city, carrying the vocal traditions and popular taste of central Hebei, and holding real value for the study of how northern operatic styles took shape and evolved.

Sixian is carried and staged by the Shijiazhuang Sixian Opera Troupe, and related records can be consulted at the Hebei Museum.