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{{Short description|Form of Chinese performing art}}
{{chinese|t={{linktext|參軍|戲}}|s={{linktext|参军|戏}}|p=Cānjūnxì|l=Adjutant play|altname=Nongcanjun|t2={{linktext|弄|參軍}}|s2={{linktext|弄|参军}}|p2=Nòngcānjūn|l2=Play adjutant}}
'''''Canjunxi''''' ({{zh|t=參軍戲}}) or '''''nongcanjun''''' was a popular form of Chinese [[performing art]] during the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] (618–907), [[Five Dynasties period|Five Dynasties]] (907–960), and [[Song dynasty|Song]] (960–1279) periods. Initially a comedy duet, ''canjunxi'' became more complex and by the late Tang dynasty featured a combination of music, dance, and storytelling.<ref>Jin, p. 15–17.</ref>
[[Wang Guowei]] (1877–1927) believed it to be a primitive precursor of [[Chinese opera]], while other scholars consider it to be more similar to certain forms of ''[[quyi]]'', such as ''[[xiangsheng]]''.
==Origin==
According to a passage from ''Zhao Shu'' ({{lang|zh-hant|趙書}}; "Book of Zhao") quoted in the 983 book ''[[Taiping Yulan]]'', ''canjunxi'' originated from the [[Later Zhao]] dynasty (319–351) during the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]] period. The adjutant ({{zh|c=參軍|p=cānjūn}}) Zhou Yan ({{lang|zh-hant|周延}}) once embezzled several hundred bolts of official silk as the magistrate of [[Guantao County|Guantao]] and ended up in prison. Later Zhao's emperor [[Shi Le]] pardoned him, but humiliated him whenever there was a gathering. At these banquets, Zhou had to wear yellow silk clothes and perform comedy duets with another entertainer. When asked what his title was, Zhou would flutter his clothes and reply "I was the magistrate of Guantao once, but have been reduced to your ranks after embezzling these!" as everyone laughed.<ref name=jin14>Jin, p. 14.</ref>
Another theory was that ''canjunxi'' originated from the [[Eastern Han]] period (25–220).<ref name=jin14/>
==Style==
[[File:Grave figures of ladies in waiting, dancers and musicians 3.JPG|thumb|Grave figures of ladies in waiting, dancers and musicians, from the [[Sui dynasty|Sui]] or Tang periods. [[Náprstek Museum]], [[Prague]], Czech Republic.]]
The comedic ''canjunxi'' involved two performers, known as ''canjun'' ("adjutant") and ''canghu'' ({{zh|t=蒼鶻|s=苍鹘|p=cānghú|first=t|l=blue falcon}}).<ref>Jin, p. 14–15.</ref> By the late [[Tang dynasty]], there was evidence that female performers had emerged, and that a new style might have been formed by incorporating features of ''gewuxi'' ({{lang|zh-hant|歌舞戲}}, "a sort of narrative ballet in which the dancers sometimes spoke simple dialog"<ref name=idema>{{cite book|title=A Guide to Chinese Literature|pages=171–172|last=Idema|first=Wilt|author-link=Wilt L. Idema|last2=Haft|first2=Lloyd|author2-link=Lloyd Haft|isbn=0-89264-123-1|year=1997|publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]]}}</ref>) into ''canjunxi''.<ref>Jin, p. 15.</ref> Research on the 966 Japanese ''[[gagaku]]'' text ''Shinsen Gakufu'' ({{lang|ja|新撰樂谱}}, [[shinjitai]]: {{lang|ja|新撰楽譜}}, "New Selections of Sheet Music") also suggests that ''canjunxi'' was closely related to a musical style called ''canjun'' and featured dancing, at least in the late-Tang period.<ref name=ge>{{cite journal|trans-title=The Performance Form of Canjun and Grand Music in the Tang Dynasty： Viewed from the Perspective of Japanese Gagaku|last=Ge Xiaoyin ({{lang|zh-hans|葛晓音}})|language=zh|title=从日本雅乐看唐参军和唐大曲的表演形式|journal=Journal of Peking University (Philosophy and Social Sciences)|date=May 2015|volume=52|issue=3|pages=114–126}}</ref>
The late-Tang play ''Lu Canjun'' ({{zh|c=陸參軍|l=Adjutant Lu}}) was the first known ''canjunxi'' which clearly told a story, that of [[Lu Yu]] (733–804), a tea master who was also once an entertainer.<ref name=ge/> ''Canjunxi'' at some point evolved into early forms of [[Chinese opera]], possibly in the 12th century, becoming ''[[yuanben]]'' in the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)]] and ''[[zaju]]'' in the [[Southern Song]] dynasty (1127–1279).<ref name=idema/>
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
*{{cite book|title=中国戏曲精华史|language=zh|year=2005|isbn=7-5411-2325-0|last=Jin Dengcai ({{lang|zh-hans|金登才}})|trans-title=Essential History of Chinese Opera|publisher=Sichuan Literature and Art Publishing House ({{lang|zh-hans|四川文艺出版社}})}}
{{Chinese opera}}
[[Category:Culture of the Tang dynasty]]
[[Category:Chinese storytelling]]
[[Category:Chinese comedy]]
[[Category:Chinese opera]]