A Brief History of Guangdong Opera

Author: Lai Bojiang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-12-01
Features: Section 2 discusses the birth of local-named opera genres and vocal styles. After the middle period of the Ming Dynasty, the development of opera across the country showed new momentum, with significant progress in scriptwriting, vocal style development, and stage performances. "Due to the development of Haiyan, Yiyang, and other vocal styles, and the rise of Kunqu, by the Wanli era, a major transformation in the development of opera art finally emerged. It moved from the folk to the court, from the south to the north, and the stage became dominated by southern-style vocal opera genres. Whether in scriptwriting or stage art practice, it entered a period of prosperity." During this period, the opera world across the country saw a new situation with renowned playwrights, famous works, and numerous talented actors. Under the influence of Guangdong's social environment and the national trend of opera development, two prominent phenomena emerged in Guangdong opera: first, the frequency, breadth, and professionalism of opera performances; second, the increasing localization of opera from other provinces, leading to the birth of local-named opera genres and vocal styles based on these foundations. The frequency, breadth, and professionalism of opera performances were evident in many parts of the province. In the Xiangzhou Prefecture, it was customary for the people to "beat drums and gongs, play string instruments, dress up as ghosts and play, and enjoy along the streets" during the Lantern Festival every year. In many areas of the Pearl River Delta, the custom of playing musical instruments to welcome or bid farewell to the deceased was widespread, and many rural young men no longer engaged in agricultural labor but made a living by performing in opera. This trend was so intense that the government had to issue decrees to ban it. From 1479 to 1486, Ding Ji, the magistrate of Xinhui County during the Chenghua era, issued the "Rituals for Four Major Life Events" to the people, citing the reason that "in recent years, the people have become increasingly deceitful, and etiquette has declined, causing harm to righteousness and wasting resources." Among the provisions were clauses such as "prohibiting the use of drums and music in for weddings" and "punishing those who use drums and music in for funerals." As Su Shi's poem goes: "The sound of bells and drums cannot distinguish between joy and sorrow, nor can the attire distinguish between auspicious and inauspicious people." Thus, the government had to strictly prohibit and punish these activities to maintain the social order of its feudal legal system. The enthusiasm of rural young men in the Pearl River Delta for opera, even to the extent of making it their profession, was not an isolated phenomenon but rather a nationwide trend. According to Lu Rong, a native of Taicang in Jiangsu during the Chenghua and Hongzhi eras, in his "Miscellaneous Records of Shuyuan," it was recorded that "in Jiaxing, there were those who practiced as entertainers, called 'xiwen disciples'; in Shaoxing, there were those in Yuyao; in Ningbo, there were those in Cixi; in Taizhou, there were those in Huangyan; and in Wenzhou, there were those in Yongjia." This shows that the popularization and professionalization of opera performances were a trend at the time, with widespread occurrence. This also indicates that the popular and professional opera activities in Guangdong, like those along the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, were all part of the larger wave of opera activities across the country during that era, products of their time. During the Zhengde era, in areas like Chaozhou and Jieyang in eastern Guangdong, there was a long-standing tradition of "shuiguo opera." During spring ancestor worship ceremonies, both urban and rural areas "enjoyed watching opera." Even officials, scholars, and wealthy families "maintained their own opera troupes." On Hainan Island, was performed during both official banquets and folk festivals. By the Jiajing and Wanli eras, opera activities became even more vibrant. In Guangzhou, "the city enjoyed watching opera"; in Chaozhou Prefecture, people "enjoyed female opera and sensual entertainment"; in Huizhou Prefecture, "dressing up in for aesthetic pleasure"; in Shaoguan Prefecture, "dressing up in for the spring festival, with crowds of spectators"; in counties like Nanxiong, there were bookstores selling scripts for singing; in Leizhou Prefecture, there were often "ghost and ghost performances"; and in Qiongzhou Prefecture, people "put on stories," "dressed as monks, Taoists, lions, cranes, and old actors," and even had specialized teachers for opera. Opera performances could be seen everywhere in both urban and rural areas: in some places, people would "light lanterns, perform opera, play games, and socialize, even spending all their wealth on it." In Haifeng County, there were particularly numerous types of folk opera performances, such as "horse-racing opera (also called 'opening tent opera'), lantern opera, deity celebration opera, offering opera, festival opera (traditional folk festivals like the Lantern Festival and the eighth day of the fourth lunar month), ritual opera, fire opera, dragon boat opera (head-start opera), leisure opera, gambling opera (spring opera), birthday opera, and funeral opera, etc." Even until the late Ming Dynasty during the Tianqi and Chongzhen eras, and into the Southern Ming period, despite the chaos and turmoil, the enthusiasm for opera did not diminish. In Jieyang County, there were records of "performing opera for sensual pleasure" and "everyone enjoying it." In Dongguan County, there were records of "Lantern Festival outings, opera lanterns, musical banquets, and performances." Outside Guangzhou, at Xijiaolou, "performers and young singers lived in close proximity." Due to the widespread popularity of opera performances, the government and feudal moralists grew fearful and issued continuous decrees to ban opera, accusing folk performances of being "passionate and corrupting customs" and labeling them as the "lowly profession of dwarfs and short people." They even took severe measures such as "marking the doors of those involved in opera as 'promiscuous families' and driving performers out of the country with black plaques." However, the popularity of folk opera could not be suppressed. The increasing localization of foreign opera was mainly reflected in the localization of the language, scriptwriting, and performers of opera. After foreign opera entered Guangdong, the trend toward localizing the language of opera began in the early Ming Dynasty during the Xuan era with the Zhengzi opera "Liu Xibi Jinzhai Ji." The language of this play was primarily based on standard pronunciation (Mandarin), but it also included some Chaozhou dialect. The main character, Liu Yong, spoke Chaozhou dialect, but after becoming a official, he switched to Mandarin. When he learned that the postman welcoming him was from Zhangpu, he immediately switched back to Chaozhou dialect and said to the postman, "Since you are from the same region, let's talk in vernacular!" Zhangzhou and Chaozhou are adjacent regions with similar customs and mutually intelligible languages, so he felt it was more natural to speak in his hometown dialect. As a result, the play later used many dialects from Zhangzhou and Chaozhou. Additionally, in other scenes, there were also many Chaozhou dialect phrases, such as "Song She is good at weaving, but very foolish in speech," "good things," "you don't know the value of this," and "let's go see me." These dialects added a strong local flavor to the script. If the play "Liu Xibi Jinzhai Ji" performed during the Xuan era was primarily sung and spoken in standard pronunciation, then by the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the script included more and more Chaozhou dialect, to the point where it was even sung in dialect. Thus, the postscript at the end of the "Lizheng Ji" clearly states that the play had "two parts: Chaozhou and Quanzhou," indicating that it was performed in both Chaozhou and Quanzhou vocal styles. The Chaozhou version of "Lizheng Ji" was extremely popular in the Chaozhou region, as evidenced by the records in the "Jieyang County Gazetteer." It states: "The folk song 'Chen San' is vulgar and corrupting; it must be performed by those who are immoral and lack restraint. But why do the people in the streets and markets enjoy it so much?" The popularity of the play was due not only to the love story of Chen San and Wu Niang set in Chaozhou but also to the use of familiar Chaozhou dialect, which was another important reason. In plays like "Lizheng Ji," the rhyme was based on dialect rather than Mandarin, and many terms and colloquial expressions were replaced with Chaozhou dialect. For example, in "Lizheng Ji," "son" is called "ziren," "daughter" is called "ziniangzai," "young lady" is called "aoniang," and "to play" is called "detao." In "Su Liuniang," the wife calls her husband's father "daguan" and her husband's mother "dajia." In "Jinhua Nu," "good or bad" is called "haoqie," "supporting family members" is called "si," and "healthy" is called "qingjie." Common people in the play often sang in Chaozhou dialect, while officials, gods, and ghosts would sing in standard pronunciation. The scripts of "Jinzhai Ji" and "Lizheng Ji" also incorporated some local mountain songs and fishing songs, such as the "Lantern Song" in "Lizheng Ji": "I sing a mountain song for you to listen, whether you sit or stand, whether you walk or kneel, whether you stand up or walk again, I sing for you to listen."