synonymChaozhou Opera(Traditional opera) generally refers to Chaozhou Opera (traditional Chinese drama)
Chaozhou Opera, commonly known as Chaoyin, ChaodiaoWhite script play，[21]It is also called Chaozhou Opera, Chaoyin Opera, Quanchao Elegant Tune, and Bai Zi Opera.Chaozhou Opera is one of the ten major operas in China and one of the three major operas in Guangdong. It is the representative of local operas and local culture in eastern Guangdong, with distinctiveLingnan culture Features are an important carrier of Lingnan culture[25-27]。Chaozhou Opera Originated in Chaoshan[28], Minnan, etc., formed in Chaoshan[24], YesMinnanIt is one of the operas,[20]It is an ancient drama sung in Chaoyu.[21]National intangible cultural heritage[3-6]。Chaozhou Opera“Go to Nanyang”Chaozhou people are active in Southeast Asia and become one of the most influential Chinese local dramas overseas.[29]
Chaozhou OperaChaozhou dialect (Minnan dialect in southern Zhangzhou)[22]It is an ancient local opera, a branch of Southern Opera in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. It absorbs the advantages of Yiyang Opera, Kunqu Opera, Pihuang Opera and Bangzi Opera, and combines local folk art, such as Chaozhou music, to finally form its own unique artistic form and style.The traditional repertoire of Chaozhou Opera can be divided into two categories: Southern Opera of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Legends of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Civilized Opera, and New Historical Opera. There are more than 2000 repertoires.Chaozhou Opera, with a history of more than 400 years, is a vivid example of the survival of ancient Chinese operas on the stage and one of the representatives of the outstanding cultural manifestations of the Chinese nation,yesMinnan CultureImportant components of[24]It has profound historical significance and high aesthetic value.[4][18][20]
On May 20, 2006, the Chaozhou Opera declared by Shantou City and Chaozhou City of Guangdong Province was listedThe first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list, No. IV-4.[19]On June 7, 2008, the Chaozhou Opera declared by Jieyang City, Guangdong Province, was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage expansion projects, numbered IV-4.[7]On May 23, 2011, Chaozhou Opera declared by Yunxiao County, Fujian Province, was included in the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage expansion projects, numbered IV-4.[8]
Chaozhou Opera is an ancient local opera sung in Chaozhou dialect and a branch of Southern Opera in Song and Yuan Dynasties.[4]
In the Ming Dynasty, there was the name of Chaoqiang and Chaodiao.In 1958, two manuscripts with the title of Cai Bogen were found in the Ming Dynasty tombs in Jieyang County, including the general outline of the whole play and the version used by Xiao Sheng, one of which has the title of "Jiajing" year.Cai Bogen is basically the same as Cai Bojie's Pi Pi Ji in the Southern Opera of Song and Yuan Dynasties, but some lines have been added, and the text is mixed with Chaozhou folk characters and dialects, which shows that Chaozhou folk artists have developed according to local conditions when performing.
In the early Qing Dynasty, Chaozhou Opera was called Quanchao Elegant Tune and Chaozhou Opera.In the eighth year of Shunzhi's reign (1651), the Spring Tide Elegant Tune published in the New Journal of Chen Boqing's Records of Lichi was called the "Spring Tide Elegant Tune", which was formed by the mutual penetration and integration of Quan Tune and Chao Tune in the same dialect area of Quanzhou and Chaozhou, and was influenced by Yi, Kun and Huichi Elegant Tunes.
From the early to the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Chaozhou Opera performed frequently.During this period, because there were Xiqin Opera and Waijiang Opera with the musical structure of plate type changes that were introduced into Chaozhou, Chaozhou Opera absorbed their varied and flexible singing tunes, so on the basis of "singing in Fujian tunes", it created a "new tune in Fujian and Guangdong".At this time, the people also called Chaozhou Opera Chaozhou White Character Opera.
After the Opium War in 1840, Chaozhou and Shantou were opened up as trading ports. The commercial economy in Chaozhou and Shantou developed, the number of cities and towns increased and expanded, and the number of people making a living abroad increased;In addition, with sharp national contradictions and the rise of the anti Qing revolution, Chaozhou Opera has improved and developed with the times.At that time, Chaozhou Opera was also called White Character Opera, Local Opera and Chaoyin Opera.
Chaozhou Opera is indispensable for offering sacrifices to wandering gods in Chaoshan
From the May 4th Movement in 1919 to the eve of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Wang Yongzai called this time in his "Overview of Chaozhou Folk Drama" the era when the vernacular drama movement and domestic films entered Chaozhou. He believed that the Chaoyin Opera "was gradually approaching the path of liberation, including the form of performance, the beat of music, and the actors' movements and expressions."."The content of the script is mostly devoted to loyal officials, filial sons, martyrs and women... There are also some plays of gifted scholars and beautiful women sometimes. The scripts in this period are mostly inherited, and there is little courage to create".In addition to performing ancient costume dramas, they also drew materials from dramas and movies. There have been such dramas on the stage as Lin Zexu Burning British Opium, Xu Xilin, Yuan Shikai, Li Yuanhong Anyway, and also a kind of swordsman supernatural drama like Burning Honglian Temple.The rhythm of singing tends to be free, resulting in many newly created singing.The form of performance learned from drama, clothing and makeup gradually modernized, the stage equipment became complex, and there were lighting, water and fire scenes.In addition, it also absorbs the repertoire of Beijing Opera, martial arts, gongs and drums, costumes, and music and musical instruments of Cantonese Opera.
Cai Bojie
After the beginning of the Anti Japanese War, "although some of the Chaozhou Opera still maintained its inherent style, some of them took the War of Resistance as the theme and tended to have a bright future. They incorporated the old form into the content of the progress, so recently they compiled several more meaningful plays, such as Han Fuqu Fufa Ji, Lugou Bridge Documentary, etc.".Due to the emphasis on the compilation and performance of new plays, music and performance broke through the traditional formality and inflexibility. The singing music was widely adopted, and the plate type changes were developed. A system based on Qupai and combined with plate type changes was formed, and a system of music arrangement was also produced.Teachers of drama became the center of creation, and some teachers also edited scripts.The stage scenery was affected by the drama, and once replaced the curtain with hard scenery, changed from embroidered curtain to painted curtain, and water scenery, fire scenery, and mechanism scenery were also moved onto the stage.Clothing changes according to the content, and fashion, suits, gowns and casual clothes are used together;The ancient costume drama is still dominated by Chaoxiu costumes.
In 1939, most of Chaoshan was occupied by the Japanese invaders, and artists scattered, some of them in Thailand.After 1932, Southeast Asia was successively occupied by the Japanese invaders, and most of its local Chaozhou Opera troupes disintegrated. Only a few domestic troupes made a living in mountain villages and remote areas, which made it difficult to make artistic achievements.
During the War of Liberation, Chaoshan's economy developed slowly, and the troupes often performed mediocre dramas. Chaozhou's dramas were operated in a bleak way and struggled to survive.
Five golden flowers of the first generation in the 1950s and 1960s
After the founding of New China, on April 8, 1950, the Chaozhou Opera Improvement Association was established in Shantou to promote the comprehensive reform of Chaozhou Opera.At the same time, the communication office of Chaozhou Opera Professional Troupe was established to strengthen the management of Chaozhou Opera Troupe.
In June 1951, six classes of Chaozhou Opera, including Yuanzheng and Zhengshun, abolished the system of child performers and gave them personal freedom. Each class set up a workers' management committee to manage the troupe, changing the system of class ownership into a republican system.In the same year, a joint office of Chaozhou Opera Professional Theater was established to deal with the relationship between the troupe and the theater.
In 1954, the director system was officially established, which changed the tradition of having one teacher in charge of art business. Since then, script creation and stage art have improved greatly.
Five golden flowers of the second generation in the 1970s and 1980s
From 1955 to 1957, professional Chaozhou Opera troupes were established in various counties in Chaoshan area, including Yuchunxiang, Rongjiang, Yuanhua, Meizheng, Yizhixiang, Zhengtianxiang, Daoxiang, Yixiang, Yuzheng, Rao Pingping Chaozhou Opera troupes. The popularity and improvement of Chaozhou Opera have made great progress. More than 1300 traditional operas, a batch of music scores have been collected and sorted out, and Chaozhou Opera Music has been published publicly.
Since the second half of 1963, Chaozhou Opera, like all other operas in China, has been implementing the principle of "writing modern, acting modern and singing modern". Rehearsal of modern plays has become the main direction. By 1965, 100% of the plays performed were modern plays.Since November 1965, the personnel of the opera troupes have been intensively trained, and 1023 people have been gathered to gradually replace artistic creation and performance activities with "flexible learning and application".
The "Cultural Revolution", which began in May 1966, severely damaged Chaozhou Opera.The "Cultural Revolution" came to an end after the smash of the "Gang of Four" counter revolutionary group in October 1976. Since December 1977, Guangdong Chaozhou Theater and Chaozhou Theater troupes in cities and counties have been restored in succession, and Shantou opera schools have also been reopened, so that the artistic creation of Chaozhou Opera can proceed normally.
From 1979 to 1982, Guangdong Chaozhou Theater organized two groups to perform in Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong, and Chaozhou Opera was thriving again.
Since the reform and opening up, in the face of the competition of all kinds of entertainment and the impact of commodity culture, Chaozhou Opera, like other operas, is also difficult to avoid the trouble of performing light wind.[9]
Cultural characteristics
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The characteristics of the aria of Chaozhou Opera are mainly reflected in the tune of the aria.Qupai or antithesis tunes generally use four tunes, namely, [light three six tunes] [heavy three six tunes] [active three five tunes] [negative line tunes], in addition, there are [suonanzhi] tunes, [douhe quail] tunes, as well as offensive tunes.The singing of Chaozhou Opera uses real voice, which is mainly influenced by the Yiyang Tune and Kun Tune from other places. It is very different from the falsetto singing of Beijing Opera and Cantonese Opera. The singing and reciting of Chaozhou Opera use the "two four scores" of ancient music, which has a strong charm.The singing style is a combination system of Qupai style and Banqiang style, which is mainly composed of Qupai style and Banqiang style. It still retains the form of "one singing, one group singing" (Bangqiang), two or three people singing a song or the end of a song. It has a unique style and strong expressive force.[10]
Musical Instruments
Accompanying musical instruments of Chaozhou Opera have been developing and enriching with the development of the times and cultural exchanges.Before the 1920s, there were only bamboo strings, suona, yehu and yueqin, and bamboo strings were the leading instruments.20. In the 1930s, the bamboo string was replaced by the second string, and the yueqin was replaced by the dulcimer, and the big flute and small flute were added.Since the 1940s, Erhu, Pipa and Dahu have been added.There are many tunes in Chaozhou Opera, and the patterns are changeable. The patterns of the second board, the second board and the third board are commonly used.[10]
Chaozhou Opera has many roles.In the Ming Dynasty, there were seven elements of life, dan, paste, wai, chou, mo and jing, each of which had different types.As the saying goes, "Four Lives, Eight Dans, Sixteen Old Brothers" describes the standard of a complete cast.Sisheng refers to Xiao Sheng, Lao Sheng, Hua (Chou) Sheng and Wu Sheng;Eight Dans refer to Wushandan, Boudoir Dan, Shanyudan, Colorful Luoyi Dan, Wudan, Daoma Dan, Laodan, Ugly Dan (female clown)."Old Brother" refers to playing various roles in the play.
From the perspective of performance, among the roles of Chaozhou Opera, Sheng, Dan and Chou have the most local characteristics.Shengdan's drama "Sweeping the Window" is known as the typical representative of Chinese opera performing stories by singing and dancing;The clowns of Chaozhou Opera can be divided into ten categories, among which the fans with ugly shirts are famous in the north and south, and are well known in the world.In the old clown play "Chaifang Hui", the clown's slide function is unique to Chaozhou Opera and enjoys a high reputation in the opera world.In the past, Chaozhou Opera has always implemented the child performer system. Xiaosheng, Qingyi and Huadan are all children artists. When these artists grow up, their voices change and they are eliminated. This system has seriously hindered the development of Chaozhou Opera art.After the founding of New China, the system of child performers was abolished, and reform was carried out in all aspects. A large number of outstanding actors were trained, which made Chaozhou Opera, an ancient art, glow with new brilliance.[10]
Plays
The traditional repertoire of Chaozhou Opera can be roughly divided into three categories: first, the localization of Southern Opera and legendary scripts, such as "Pipa", "Jingchai", "Moon Worship", "White Rabbit", "Gao Wenju Pearl", and "Cave Breaking", all of which have been circulated in whole or in brocade;The second is based on local folk tales, such as Li Jing Ji, Su Liuniang, Jinhua Nv, Longjing Ferry Head, and Moon Cutting Rong, which are popular among the people because of the rich local atmosphere;Third, the fashion dramas created after the 1911 Revolution, such as Lin Zexu Burning British Opium, Li Yuanhong Anyway, Asking for Military Affairs, Sister Flowers, Humanity, Java Case, Pingjiang Tide, etc., have had a profound social impact.[9]
Before the 1950s, the stage costumes (costumes, helmets, boots, shoes, beards, etc.) of Chaozhou Opera were regulated by suitcases.There are thirty or forty kinds of costumes and helmets with specific shapes. They are used together through changes in shapes, colors and patterns. In addition to being set up in the Qing Dynasty, they are suitable for the Zhou, Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties.
The formation of this set of traditional suitcase regulations is the crystallization of the continuous creation of the past dynasties' opera artists in their artistic practice, using their wisdom and artistic imagination.The troupe has only a few boxes, and with at least the simplest clothes, it can be transferred and shuttled around to tour.This simple and applicable way is still used today.[17]
Chaozhou Opera is a vivid example of the survival of ancient Chinese operas on the stage and one of the representatives of the outstanding cultural manifestations of the Chinese nation, with profound historical significance and high aesthetic value.[4]
Inheritance status
Since 1990, Chaozhou Opera has been restricted by the market economy and impacted by a variety of modern literary and artistic forms. Investment has decreased, talent has been lost, and the artistic level has declined. The excellent traditional performing arts are on the verge of extinction. They are in a difficult development situation and need to be protected and fostered urgently.[5]
Fang Zhanrong, male, Han nationality, born in 1948 in Puning, Guangdong Province.The second batch of representative inheritors of Chaozhou Opera, a national intangible cultural heritage project, and national first-class actors.[11]
Yao Xuanqiu, female, Han nationality, born in Chenghai, Guangdong in 1935.The second batch of representative inheritors of Chaozhou Opera, a national intangible cultural heritage project, and national first-class actors.[12]
Chen Peng, male, Han nationality, born in Chaozhou, Guangdong in 1942.The second batch of representative inheritors of Chaozhou Opera, a national intangible cultural heritage project, is a national second-class composer.[13]
Zheng Shunying, female, Han nationality, born in 1962 in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province.The second batch of representative inheritors of Chaozhou Opera, a national intangible cultural heritage project, and national first-class actors.[14]
Lin Roujia, male, Han nationality, representative inheritor of Chaozhou Opera, a national intangible cultural heritage project.[15]
protective measures
On September 24, 2012, the fourth Chaozhou Opera Festival opened in Shantou, and Chaozhou Opera was declared to the United Nations“Intangible cultural heritage of mankindList of representative works ".[1]
In November 2019, the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Project Protection Units was announced, and Chaozhou Chaozhou Opera Troupe, Jieyang Chaozhou Opera Inheritance and Protection Center, Shantou Chaozhou Opera Research and Inheritance Center (Guangdong Chaozhou Opera Theater), and Yunxiao Chaozhou Opera Inheritance and Protection Center were qualified as "Chaozhou Opera" project protection units.[16]
In 2022, Chaozhou Opera (Pinghe) was included in the seventh batch of Fujian intangible cultural heritage representative projects.[2]
On October 31, 2023, the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Project Protection Units was announced, and Shantou Chaozhou Opera Chaoyue Inheritance Center (Guangdong Chaozhou Theater), the protection unit of Chaozhou Opera Project, passed the assessment.[23]
social influence
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Award record
In September 1952, the play "The Great Disaster of Chen San" won the Outstanding Drama Award and Music Award in the first Central South District Drama Festival.[9]
In 1987, Zhang Chunlang's Hair Cut, which was performed for more than 400 times in a row, participated in the first China Arts Festival and won a commemorative award and a commendation from the People's Government of Guangdong Province.[9]
Important performances
In 1954, the Yuedong Branch of Guangzhou Municipal Opera Reform Commission of Guangdong Province organized and performed traditional dramas such as "Window Sweeping Meeting", "Debate", "Soulou", "Nao Chai", "Peach Blossom Transition", and adapted and performed modern dramas such as "Women's Representative", "Fishing Song on the Sea", which were highly praised in various opera performances in Guangdong Province.[9]
From April to June 1957, Guangdong Chaozhou Opera Troupe participated in the Guangdong Chaozhou, Qiong and Han Opera reporting troupe to Beijing to perform in Beijing with such plays as Chen Sanwu Niang, Su Liuniang, Window Sweeping Meeting, Debating, and Making Hairpin. A group of opera experts in the capital warmly praised the achievements of Chaozhou Opera in inheriting and carrying forward the fine art tradition, and Li Shaochun, the Peking Opera performing artist, described the DebatingThe three excerpts of "Window Sweeping Meeting" and "Making a Hairpin" are reputed as "three gems in the tide of flowers".Chaozhou, Qiong and Han Opera performed in Beijing this time. The party and state leaders Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai and others attended and watched, and received actors and photographers as souvenirs to encourage them.[9]
In September and October 1959, Guangdong Chao Theater went to Beijing to participate in a tribute performance to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, which was also warmly welcomed and encouraged by the audience in the capital and people in the literary and art circles. The party and state leaders Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, He Long, Ye Jianying and others attended and took a group photo with the actors.[9]
In May and October 1960, Guangdong Chaozhou Theater formed the China Chaozhou Theater Group to visit the Kingdom of Cambodia and Hong Kong for a friendly performance. This was the first time that Chaozhou Theater conducted overseas artistic exchanges after the founding of New China.[9]
