''Shengqiang'' () is a concept in

Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...

which helps to categorize its hundreds of regional genres by the music played during arias. Classifying by the music, as opposed to the regional dialect, also helps to understand a genre's evolutionary history. For example, Peking opera and Cantonese opera have little in common as far as language or place of origin, but they belong to the same ''shengqiang'' system. Today, the four major ''shengqiang'' (四大声腔 pinyin: Sìdà Shēngqiāng) are '' Bangziqiang'', '' Pihuangqiang'', '' Kunqiang'' and '' Gaoqiang'' (i.e. ''Yiyangqiang''). Not all Chinese opera genres fall into one of these four ''shengqiang'' systems, and many genres can be classified into more than one system. Other ''shengqiang'' in history include ''Yuyaoqiang'' and ''Haiyanqiang''.

Bangzi qiang

Bangziqiang (梆子腔) consists of Qinqiang (秦腔), Yu opera (豫剧),

Jinju Jinju () is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It was the location of the first (1592) and second (1593) Sieges of Jinju by Japanese forces during the Imjin War. The Republic of Korea Air Force Education and Training Command is ...

(晋剧),

Hebei Bangzi ''Hebei bangzi'' ( 河北梆子) is a genre of Chinese opera from the northern province of Hebei. It may also be found in the nearby cities of Beijing and Tianjin, as well as in Shandong, Henan, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia, ...

(河北梆子), Sixianqiang in Dianju (滇剧的丝弦腔), Tanxi in Chuanju (川剧的弹戏), etc.

Pihuang qiang

Pihuang qiang (皮黄腔, a coinage made from xipi and erhuang) comprises

Huiju Hui opera, or ''Huiju'' (), is a regional genre of Chinese opera originally from southern Anhui. It is popular in the area around Huangshan City and Chizhou, as well as Wuyuan County, Jiangxi, and was formerly also popular in neighboring Zhejiang ...

(徽剧 Hui theatre), Hanju (汉剧),

Beijing opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

(京剧), Cantonese opera (粤剧), Xiangju (湘剧), Chuanju (川剧), Dianju (滇剧), etc.

Kun qiang

Kunqiang (崑腔), also known as Kunshanqiang (崑山腔), or Kunqu (崑曲) was listed as one of the

Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and t ...

by UNESCO in 2001.

Yiyang qiang (Gao qiang)

Yiyang qiang (弋陽腔)Yiyang qiang 弋陽腔: Yiyang melody; one of the four major musical systems of the mid-Ming or outside Peking called Gao qiang (高腔) consists of

Teochew opera Teochew opera or Chaozhou opera, Chiuchow opera (especially in Hong Kong), is one of the many variants of Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Chaoshan region. It is popular in eastern Guangdong, southern Fujian, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailan ...

潮剧, Sichuan opera 川剧, Xiangju (湘剧 also in Pihuangqiang), Ganju 赣剧, Dianju (滇剧 again also in Pihuang qiang), Chenhexi 辰河戏, Diaoqiang 调腔, etc.

References

Chinese opera {{Chinese opera