Hancheng Yangge, an intangible cultural heritage spread in Hancheng City, Shaanxi Province, is commonly known as "singing Yangge". It belongs to the form of "small duets" spread among the Han people in Shaanxi. It, along with "Weihua Yangge" and "Luochuan Yangge", are all small Yangge dances performed by two or three actors. Hancheng Yangge is mostly performed by one actor and one clown (no more than three roles) to sing or perform small plays with stories and characters. Hancheng Yangge is mostly performed on the night of the 15th day of the first lunar month in the village square, with straw mats spread out as the stage, commonly known as "ground stalls". Organize and invite seven or eight pairs of Yangge artists to perform one after another to celebrate the festival and the harvest. Hancheng Yangge has a rich repertoire with a wide range of themes and a wide range of coverage. In addition to emotional performances such as "Twelve Months", "Ten Cups of Wine", "Ten Pairs of Flowers", "Weaving Handkerchiefs", "Ten Embroidered Ancients", "Twelve Towers", "Twelve Generals", "Twelve Months Staying Man", "Ten Words", "Six Flowers", "Nine Flowers", etc., there are also folk stories and excerpts or fragments of traditional operas that reflect the pursuit of freedom of marriage, satirize and ridicule the oppression and exploitation of landlords, lash out at feudal backwardness, eulogize the wisdom of the working people, and reflect the fun of peasant life and labor production, such as "Going Up the Tower", "Suffering from My Own Life", "Selling Wool", "Standing on the Flower Wall" and nearly 100 other programs. Due to the vivid story content, vivid characters, beautiful and euphemistic tunes, simple and rough movements, and cheerful and humorous performances, a comedy style with a local flavor and rich interest has been formed, which inspires and encourages the audience in pleasant laughter. Whenever Yangko is sung, men, women, old and young from miles around come to watch, sometimes as many as hundreds or nearly a thousand people come to watch. Often they would sing until the cock crowed at dawn, and then disperse after having fun. Sometimes they would even sing for several nights in a row to satisfy the needs of the masses. The historical origins of Hancheng Yangge There are three theories about the origins of Hancheng Yangge. One theory is that it originated from the court of the Later Tang Dynasty, such as the paragraph in the Yangge "Cai Lou Pei" "On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the emperor and the people enjoyed the music. The Tang Dynasty invented the Yangge. The emperor played a good trick, and the empress wrapped her hair." This theory is a folk rumor and cannot be verified in history. Another theory is that it originated from "New Year's Miscellaneous Poems" by Wu Xilin, a famous scholar in the Qing Dynasty. It is said that Yangge evolved from the "Cuntian Music" of the Song Dynasty. Yangge is the song of transplanting rice. Another theory is that it originated from the Song and Yuan Dynasty drama. From the perspective of music development and performance procedures, Hancheng Yangge was obviously influenced by the Song and Yuan Dynasty drama. When performing Hancheng Yangge, people do not dance when singing, and do not sing when dancing. When percussion is accompanied by percussion, people do not beat when singing, and do not sing when beating. Its singing music belongs to the set of qupai, which is quite similar to the set of "Zhugongdiao". From the names of "clown" and "baotou", it seems to be inherited from the Song and Yuan dramas. It is not difficult to see that from music to performance, the shadow of the prototype of Song and Yuan dramas can be found in Hancheng Yangge. Hancheng Yangge entered its heyday between 1875 and 1908 (during the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty). In 1876 (the second year of Emperor Guangxu), Hancheng Yangge artist Han Minqing led the Yangge troupe to Beijing and was recruited by Empress Dowager Cixi to perform in the palace. Since then, the palace has set up "Yangge coaches" to teach Yangge. In 1899 (the 25th year of Emperor Guangxu), Ji Guanying, the magistrate of Hancheng, held a Hancheng Yangge grand performance to receive Zhang Qihua, the imperial envoy sent by the Qing court. The performance was unprecedented with a gathering of famous actors. The performance lasted for ten days from the third day of March. One hundred and fifty artists performed on stage, showing the charming charm and exquisite art of Hancheng Yangge. These two performances became two major events in the history of Hancheng Yangge. The main content of Hancheng Yangge Hancheng Yangge is a singing form that integrates folk songs, rap, and dance, and is derived from opera and has the initial form of opera. Hancheng Yangge has a rich repertoire, with a total of 127 pieces excavated and sorted out, and 96 pieces published. Its content is all-encompassing, such as myths and legends, historical legends, folk stories, folk customs, etc. Representative repertoires include "Ziben Bohua", "You Jiuzhou", "Ten Months of Pregnancy", "Cutting Leeks", "Noisy New House", "Five Pillars of Incense", "Five Drums", "Watching Lanterns", "Noisy Yuanxiao", "Wangjiang Tower", "Mr. Zhang's New Year's Greetings", "Young Widow Going to the Grave", "Embroidering Purses", "Sending Lovers", "Spinning Cotton", "Thinking of Lovers", "Going Up the Tower", "The Peddler Counting Accounts", "Picking Flowers", "Fortune Telling", "National Disaster", "After School", "Weaving Handkerchiefs", "Twelve Generals", "Marriage Autonomy", etc. There are 117 tunes in Hancheng Yangge, but there are more than 50 in total. The music can be roughly divided into three types: one is rap music, which is a narrative form with rap. The second is the structural form that retains the original folk song form, with special songs and lyrics. The third is the structural form of the qupai set. The tunes of Hancheng Yangge mainly include "Ten Embroideries", "Twelve Generals", "Cross Sentences", "Opening Tune", "Four-Six Tunes", "Wangjiang Tower", etc. The props of Hancheng Yangge in the early days were very simple, often using handkerchiefs, pipes, flower fans, etc., one thing for multiple purposes. Hancheng Yangge musical instruments only use three percussion instruments: horse gong, big gong, and big cymbals. Later, the board drum and small drum were added. The use of string music to accompany Yangge began in the 1940s, when the old folk artist Yang Wenhua used the three-string to accompany the Yangge artist Wei Baifu. By the 1960s, some national instruments such as banhu, erhu, flute, and suona were added, and later the electric band accompaniment was added. Hancheng Yangge is a folk art with a unique performance form, with a unique style and unique style. 1. Hancheng Yangko has a fixed performance program. From the performance form, Hancheng Yangko has very obvious characteristics. People in northern Shaanxi call it "twisting Yangko", people in Chang'an call it "dancing Yangko", and people in Hancheng call it "singing Yangko", which just shows the artistic characteristics of Hancheng Yangko, which is mainly singing, and also combines speaking, acting and dancing, reflecting the embryonic form of opera and its development trend. Hancheng Yangko is mostly performed by two or three people, and there are also four-person roles, but most of them are two people, so it is called "pair play" and "Yangko play". The roles are generally called "clowns" and the female roles are called "baotou". There are also roles that are distinguished by gender, and there are also roles that are determined by names like in modern short plays. Hancheng Yangko generally follows the opening and exit procedures of the main play. The opening part has several levels. First, the clown comes on stage to "pay respects", that is, sing a "four-six song" to show modesty; after "paying respects", it is the performance, that is, the clown tells a piece of story, either traditional or improvised; after the performance, it is "inviting the stage", that is, the clown invites Baotou to come on stage, and Baotou sings "opening tune" to make his debut; then it is "counting flowers", that is, the clown tells a story and counts (praises or criticizes) Baotou; after counting flowers, it is "push and receive", that is, the clown sings "four-six songs" to show push and the Baotou sings "four-six opening tune" to take over. So far, the opening part ends. The main song is the core part of a yangko, usually performed by the clown and Baotou in the form of a set of songs, performing a simple plot. The exit is the ending part of a yangko, and the Baotou and the clown sing "four-six songs" to show modesty. For example, "a fan and seven pieces of firewood, the kite rolls down, we two are not the hands to tie the firewood, please invite the pilgrim to the backstage." This group of artists leaves the stage, and the next group of artists comes on stage. The Baotou of Hancheng Yangge is characterized by being charming, clever, cute, and seductive, with charming movements and graceful postures; the clown is known for being strong and brave, stamping his feet and kicking his legs, and his gait is chic. The two are both strong and soft, with a strong contrast. Their dance patterns are rich in changes, with clear layers, warm but not disordered, delicate but not dull. 2. The singing style of Hancheng Yangge is rich in music and tunes. The more than 100 tunes of Hancheng Yangge are beautiful, varied, and diverse in style. Among them, there are narrative forms of rap, single music in the form of folk songs, and musical structures of operatic qupai sets. Hancheng Yangge not only emphasizes singing but also emphasizes "performance". This performance factor has also penetrated into the tune, forming the characteristics of singing and speaking, and singing in speaking. The singing style of Hancheng Yangge also uses a lot of dialect words, words, and sentences to enhance its performance content, which also forms the unique musical characteristics of Hancheng Yangge. 3. The props and costumes of Hancheng Yangge are simple and light. During the performance, the clown has a white nose, wears casual clothes, a white pleated skirt tied around the waist, a straw hat, and holds a flower fan or a pipe. The female role is painted with rouge and powder, has eyebrows and temples, a red jacket and green pants, and holds a flower fan or a handkerchief. The clever use of props has formed a major feature of Hancheng Yangge. As the saying goes: "The fan can fan the wind, cover the face and convey emotions, and the fan can be used skillfully to express joy and anger, and the temperament is not ordinary. The pipe can be used as a flute, as a whip, as a weapon, as a cane, a crutches, and an umbrella." Hancheng Yangge is a very unique art form with a strong local flavor. It is the prototype of the development of Chinese opera from folk art to opera in the history of Chinese opera development. It is a "living fossil" for studying the development of Chinese opera and is of great significance for exploring the origin and development of Chinese opera.