RESEARCH OPENING REPORT

Role Shaping and Singing Analysis of Shan Gui’s song in the Opera “Qu Yuan” by Shi
Guangnan's

Your own Point/Argument/Opinion/ angle you will make in your thesis

Describe your unique argument or angle you will make in your thesis. 100 words
From the perspective of the role's cultural image, literary image and musical image, this paper
studies the three more excellent singing versions in China. This paper specifically analyzes
how the "Song of Shan Gui" demonstrates the culture of "witchcraft", the spirit of "Taoism",
and the elegance of "literati temperament" from the perspective of music.At the same time,
it studies the spirit of "God", the identity of "Witch" and the emotion of "Human", extending
the analysis of character multiplicity.

Introduction of the Research

Introduce the background of your research. 500 words
Since the 1990s, Chinese opera has received great attention and development. The main
creative trend of composers is to learn from the creative techniques of western opera. The
symphony, drama and three-dimensional writing of opera music are paid more attention,
which is also the common ideal and practical goal of composers at this stage. During this
period, a number of excellent opera works emerged, such as “Mourning for the Past”, “Qu
Yuan, and “The Field”. Shi Guangnan, as one of the representative composers of this period,
Qu Yuan, as his last opera and also the longest one, fully embodies his ideal of opera.
Shi Guangnan's in-depth exploration of opera art made the opera Qu Yuan the highest
expression of modern opera creation in China. The opera Qu Yuan, as a historical opera with
grand epic temperament, combines national opera music and western creation techniques in
its creation. "Shan Gui" is the most versatile character in this opera. "Song of Shan Gui" is a
song without words performed by "Shan Gui" in the play. The whole work has only words,
and is presented in a special way of "play in play". The melody of the work is gorgeous and
beautiful, the range is large, and the singing is difficult. Therefore, the author chooses the
coloratura aria of "Shan Gui" in Qu Yuan, "Song of Shan Gui", as the main analysis object, to
understand and grasp the image of "Shan Gui" from different perspectives such as the
creation style, creation techniques and role characteristics of the work, and how to reflect the
multiple personality and image characteristics of the role when singing the work.
This paper analyzes the aria Song of Shan Gui performed by Shan gui (Mountain Ghost) in the
opera of Quyuan which is the last opera created by the people’s musician Shi Guannan. The
author introduces the creation background and style of Quyuan, explores the musical
language reflected by the musician, probes its deep aesthetic ideology by combining the
creation skills with the image shaping of Shangui, analyzes the singing methods and artistic
processing, and makes a comparison of different domestic singing versions. On the basis of
above research, the author makes a comprehensive exploration of this work, further analyzes
the creative style of Shi Guangnan, discusses the multiplicity of the character and image of
Shangui, examines how the image of characters are embodied in Song of Shan Gui, in order to
find out the artistic conception and spiritual implication of Chinese operas of the same
period.

Problem Statement of the Research

Provides a clear description of the problems that will be addressed – What is the specific topic or
issue that your thesis will examine? What has been lacking and not paid by attention to by previous
scholars? 150 words
According to literature research, the number of research results on the opera Qu Yuan is not
abundant. As the last work created by Shi Guangnan, Qu Yuan has profound research
significance. At present, the research on Qu Yuan mainly focuses on the role analysis and aria
analysis. At the same time, in these limited research results, most scholars are studying the
aria and character analysis of "Qu Yuan",For example, Lin Zhiwei's paper “Analysis of the
image and aria of the baritone character "Qu Yuan" in the national opera ‘Qu Yuan’” in
2000.Wang Xiao'e.’s paper “Analysis of the main characters' artistic images in the opera ‘Qu
Yuan’” in 2012. There are few studies on the role shaping of "Shan Gui", and the specific
singing analysis of the aria "Song of Shan Gui" of "Shan Gui" is even rarer. As a turning point
aria in the play, The Song of Shan Gui has no lyrics and is presented in the form of "play in
play", which occupies an important position in the play. The study of this work has a profound
guiding significance for a deeper understanding of the composer's creative style and
characteristics, and for shaping the image of opera characters and singing works, which is also
the reason why the author chose the Song of Shan Gui as the main research object

Purpose of the Research

Describe why you will do a research on your topic and the unique key points your research will do.
100 words
The purpose of this research is to:
This paper focuses on the role shaping of "Shan Gui" and its aria singing, specifically analyzes
the creation background of the opera "Qu Yuan", the creation characteristics of "Shan Gui’s
Song", the role image shaping and singing methods, and compares different singing versions.
Further analysis of Shi Guangnan's creative style will ultimately achieve the goal of tapping
the cultural connotation of Chinese opera.

Research Questions
Write three important questions you will answer on your research. The research questions should be
connected to the chapter titles from your past homework.
1.What is the archetype of mountain ghosts in history and culture?
2.What is the role and character of mountain ghosts reflected in Qu Yuan's opera?
3.How to perform the song of Shan Gui ?
 Thesis Statement
What are your answers/solution/ or unique angle to understand your research topic
Topic:The Singing Method of the Song of Shan Gui Combining Bel canto and Chinese National
Singing
Question about this topic:Why should we combine the two singing methods?
Answer to the question:Because this opera itself uses the creation method of western opera
and the traditional Chinese music creation techniques. Secondly, because the mountain ghost
itself is the product of Chinese traditional national culture, which contains a large number of
Chinese local ethnic colors, it must use the corresponding music materials. These local music
are interpreted with traditional singing methods, which are closer to and more consistent
with the role.
Significance of the Research
Describe the importance of your research and the benefits of the result of this thesis to different
areas of practice and knowledge. 150 words
The study of "Song of Shan Gui " in the opera "Qu Yuan" is based on the author's own interest
in the work. Due to the author's professional background, the research on Chinese and
Western vocal music works is far from enough. After the reform and opening up, China's
artistic creation has been developed freely. During this period, the number of opera creations
is large, the techniques are very rich, and the ideological connotation is deep. If you want to
conduct a comprehensive and in-depth study of it, you need to do a lot of work. For the
author, the knowledge learned in the process of writing the paper will have a profound
impact on his own singing. The author's research on this aria, digging out the creative
characteristics of this opera, extends to the development research of Chinese opera, in order
to promote the professional ability.

Scope and Limitation of the Research

Describe what topics you will describe in your research and why you will focus on those topics. Also,
describe what themes, ideas, topics, or questions you will not answer in your thesis. 150 words.
This study will discuss the following:
The Archetype of Shan Gui and Its Related Culture;
How to perform Shan Guis and her song.
This study will not discuss the following:
Shi Guangnan's Other Opera Works
The reasons why I will not discuss about it:
My research goal is Shan Gui in Qu Yuan's opera and her aria "The Song of Shan Gui". At
present, there is no other opera that has a role related to her, so I will not study other operas
in this article.
Methodology
Describe the methodology you will use in your research: How will you collect data; what data you will
collect; and what is the analysis method you will use. 350 words
Describe the Method:
1.Literature analysis;2.Experiential Summary Method;3.Image analysis method
DESCRIBE EACH METHOD.

Authors of the method you will use:

Huang Huali:Opera Rehearsal;Creator Interview;Document Analysis
Analyze the images of Shan Gui in opera Qu Yuan
Lin Zhiwei:Literature collection;Practice summary
Analyze the images ofQu Yuan in opera Qu Yuan
Tang Xiaohui:Document Analysis;Image analysis
The Cultural Significance of Shan Gui

Describe the Data you will collect:

Refer to relevant texts and audio-visual materials since 2000.
Describe the analysis method you will use:
Literature analysis method: In the process of writing, consult Wanfang, periodicals, Vip, CNKI,
excellent master's thesis and other academic literature database search engines, as well as
related books, collect relevant historical materials and literature reviews on the opera Qu
Yuan, pay close attention to the latest frontier theories, summarize the corresponding
theoretical basis, and provide theoretical support for this article.
Experience summary method: through the induction and analysis of personal experience in
the process of learning and stage performance, we can sum up our own views, so that
systematic and theoretical knowledge can be transformed into empirical methods.
Image analysis method: Collect music scores of the "Song of Mountain Ghosts" in the opera
"Qu Yuan", demonstrate with examples and conduct research and analysis, and strive to
achieve the effect of rich pictures and texts to a certain extent.
Theory Basis of the Research
Describe the theory basis of your research. 350 words
Describe the theoretical basis used by scholars in the literature:History of Chinese
Music;Freeing the Natural voice
What theory/or concepts you will use:Understand the text meaning of the work, learn to
imagine rationally, and build a personalized voice with artistic sense and expressive force
Describe the theory you will use:Use the relevant theoretical knowledge of human anatomy
to understand your own human structure, strengthen the control of your body muscles, and
turn into internal control of your psychological impulses, thus changing the sound quality.
Explain why you will use it:The role of Shan Gui has multiple characteristics, and it needs to
use different emotional psychology, as well as different timbre and timbre when presenting
each feature.The role of "mountain ghost" should not only conform to the spirituality of
"god", but also have the characteristics of "witchcraft" and the emotion of "human". None of
these three role orientations is indispensable. Finally, the singer should reasonably shape the
image characteristics of the role according to the music materials in the work when singing
the "Song of Mountain Ghosts". When shaping the divine side of "mountain ghost", the
singer needs to start from the breath, so that "qi" and "emotion" are directly linked. Singers
need to show the innocence and charm of the "mountain ghost" by using the contrast of
timbre and strength in the coloratura paragraph. When shaping the image of "witchcraft", we
should pay attention to the combination of "rhyme" and "emotion". Singers need to apply
more to the integration of national singing and bel canto singing. Among them, the syllables
that imitate sacrificial music become faster and faster, from weak to strong, to promote the
music.
Review of the Status of the Literature
Summarized the status of the literature on the basis of the themes, methodology, and theoretical
basis. Present a summary of the gaps and unique key points you will do in your thesis. 300 words
Current Status of the Research Literature:

Since 2000, some scholars have studied this subject.The research focuses on the following
aspects.
Image and Background of Shang Gui in the Opera Qu Yuan (Huang Huali, 2005; Wang
Dan,2015; Cheng Diyu,2019)
The Images of Shang Gui in Literature, Poetry, and Ancient Drama(Peng Zhiye,2014; Wu
Yiqiong,2013)
Role of Opera Characters (Huang Huali, 2005;Wang Xiao'e,2012; Lin Zhiwei,2020)
Analysis of Roles and Figures of the Opera (Chen Dandan,2020;Lin Zhiwei,2020)
History and Background of the Opera Qu (Chen Dandan,2020;Lin Zhiwei,2020)
Singing Analysis and Performance Method(Chen Dandan,2020;Lin Zhiwei,2020; Huang Huali,
2005;)

Evaluation of the Status of the Literature

Shan Gui is a musical role created by the composer with reference to the image of Shan Gui in
Chinese historical legends and Qu Yuan's literary works. The aria of this role includes "The
Song of Shan Gui", which requires the combination of bel canto and Chinese national singing.
But, in these reseachs have a large number of articles study the protagonist of the opera "Qu
Yuan", and a small amount of research involves the opera image of Shan Gui. In these articles
on the opera image of the mountain ghost, there is no analysis and extension of the image of
the Shan Gui in literature and art. I combined with the literary image and artistic image of
mountain ghosts, this paper analyzes the musical image of mountain ghosts. Through the
vision, hearing, and the imagination of words, the character is analyzed in depth.

TENTATIVE CHAPTERS OF THE THESIS

CHAPTER I: History and Background of the Opera Qu Yuan

Describe:
Seeking the Reasons for Composers' Creation in Combination with Social Background
Status of the Literature:
Many articles analyze the creation background of this opera and have many reference
materials
Gap:
For the creation background of the opera Qu Yuan, but for the drama Qu Yuan, which is the
script of the opera creation, there is less introduction, and for the Chinese writer and
politician Qu Yuan himself, there is less text information.
Unique Key points:
Combining the experience of Qu Yuan, a litterateur and politician in the Warring States
Period, and the political background of China's cultural revolution, this paper makes a deep
analysis of the political significance of this opera.
CHAPTER II: Analysis of Roles and Figures of the Opera Qu Yuan
Describe:
The main characters and main aria of the whole opera are briefly analyzed, mainly including
the supporting role of Shan Gui and her aria "The Song of Shan Gui".
Status of the Literature:
There are studies on the leading roles and the corresponding aria
Gap:
The article mainly analyzes the main characters and their aria in the opera. Because the role
of Shan Gui appears less frequently in the opera, there is less detailed research on it at
present.
Unique Key points:
My analysis focuses on the aria of Shan Gui, "Song of Shan Gui".
CHAPTER III: Version Comparison of Shan Gui’s Song
Describe:
The three most representative versions in China are analyzed.
Status of the Literature:
None
Gap:
At present, there is no version comparison article for this first work
Unique Key points:
This paper mainly analyzes the multiplicity of character in three different singing versions.
CHAPTER IV: Analysis of the Singing of the Song of Shan Gui
Describe:Combined with excellent versions and personal performance experience, the work is
further analyzed to explore in depth how to show the multiplicity of roles.
Status of the Literature:
Less article analysis
Gap:
At present, there is no article to analyze the specific musicality of the multiplicity of
personality in the mountain ghost song
Innovative Key points:
Unique Key points:
Different melodic lines show different characters. I specifically analyze the multiplicity of the
characters of mountain ghosts from the singing methods and emotional treatment of this
work.
CHAPTER V: TITLE
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CHAPTER VI: TITLE
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CHAPTER VII: TITLE
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CHAPTER VIII: TITLE
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CHAPTER IX: TITLE
Describe:
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Thesis Reference List