Zhugongdiao
A Song–Jin narrative genre that strings tunes in different modes into a long story
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Zhugongdiao is a narrative song genre that arose in the Northern Song and flourished under the Jin: named qupai belonging to different modes are grouped to carry a long story, linked by spoken passages. Tradition credits its invention to Kong Sanchuan in Bianjing; surviving works include the Liu Zhiyuan zhugongdiao and Dong Jieyuan's Xixiang ji zhugongdiao.
The point is in the name: "many modes" — instead of staying in one mode, the singer changes gong and mode constantly, using modal colour to mark episodes and characters. It is the high point of qupai-form narrative song and cleared the way for the linked qupai suites of Yuan drama; it remains narrative song, not opera.
Read deeper → Qupai
Sources
- 诸宫调的宋金源流、曲牌编组与现存作品，参《中国音乐词典》与 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "China" 相关条目；本文为原创表述
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