Study On The Acoustic Effect Of Ancient Stages In Shanxi

Chinese opera is the only one that exists to this day among the world’s three most ancient drama styles. Shanxi province is the cradle of Chinese opera, the history and development of the ancient stages where the Chinese opera were performed in Shanxi province can represent the evolvement of overall Chinese ancient stages.It is a well-known fact that Shanxi ranks the firstof the whole nation in terms of the vast number of ancient stages, the complexity of the stage structures, as well as the great diversity of the styles. Since 1980s, many researches and publications cover Shanxi ancient stages from various perspectives. In recent years, both the science and academic communities have turned attention to whether the ancient stage could act as a vessel to enhance and amplify the sound effect. The author investigates more than two hundred ancient stages in Shanxi Province and conducts sound tests on the structures and components of the stages, then probes into the potential relationship between the structural design and the components of the stages and sound effect of local opera performed on the stage from the perspective of acoustics.In old times, without the aid of the modern technologies, both the opera artists and stage architects were concerned about how to amplify and enhance the sound effect within the stage. In this thesis, the author introduces various traditional stage styles and elements, designed for the purpose of aiding the sound travel and effect enhancement. For example, the ceramic pieces installed in the walls surrounding the stage, the "cavity under the stage", and sound system naturally formed by the placement of stage, seating and other open spaces, etc., these practices were evolved from the local residential architecture style.The thesis is made of three parts:the introduction, the main body and the conclusion. The main body consists of the systematic discussion from the first chapter to the sixth chapter.In the introduction, the author first discusses the background and meaning of this research, then analyses the researches at home and abroad, and defines the research object, time and space. At last explains its approaches, the complicity and innovation about this research.The first chapter analyses the historical time and space of the Shanxi ancient stages. It discusses the historical evolution in the aspects of shape and structure of the ancient stage in the period of Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and analyses its space distribution in each period.Chapter two deals with the acoustic background and classification in ancient Shanxi opera stages building under the field of acoustics.Chapter three, taking the ancient stage in the Houtu Temple in Wanrong as an example (the stage resembles to the Chinese character of "Pin"), comprehensively discusses the acoustic properties of the ancient stages with gathering type and quantitatively analyses its acoustic effects.Chapter four, taking the ancient stage of the Black Dragon Temple in the Lin County as an example, systematically discusses the acoustic characteristics of the ancient stages with reverberation type, and comprehensively interprets three acoustic effects in the Black Dragon Temple.Chapter five, taking the ancient stage in Chaoshan Temple in Pingyao County as an example, discusses the typical "set cavity on the backstage"----the resonant amplification characteristics of " cross cave " built by the cave with four holes, and finds the connections of ancient stage and drama from the perspective of acoustics through quantitative analysis of acoustic effect.Chapter six, taking the ancient stage of Dragon Temple in Fenyang as an example, expounds the effect and value of " set vessels on the wall", and gives evidences of the development of local drama through its relationship with the tonality of the mode of Shanxi Bangzi in quantifying the inherent frequency of vases.The conclusion summarizes several forms of the acoustic resonator applied in the building of the ancient stages in Shanxi.These forms were developed and adopted by the stage architects and designers in order to provide a better experience for the opera audience, based on their cognition of cavitation effect and life experiences. Lastly, based on the research, the author makes recommendation for the government or relevant department, and puts forward some feasible protection measurements for the ancient stages.