Jin Opera (Junju)

Jin Opera, also called Central-Route Bangzi, arose in the mid-Qing from folk song-and-dance forms of the Jinzhong basin blended with other bangzi-style operas; it flourished in the Taiyuan area by the late Qing and is the most representative regional opera of Shanxi.

Jin Opera singing is bold and resonant with varied rhythmic modes, accompanied by the jujube-wood clapper, banhu fiddle and erhu, with a full range of role types; it excels at grand historical dramas and family-ethics plays, with earthy, vivid language.

Inscribed in 2006 on the first national ICH list, Jin Opera is an important branch of the central-plains bangzi tradition, carrying centuries of Shanxi folk artistic memory and holding great value for the study of northern regional theatre.

Performed mainly in theatres and rural stages in Taiyuan, Jinzhong and Lüliang; the Taiyuan Jin Opera Company is the primary institutional bearer.