Taiwanese opera
Encyclopedia
Taiwanese opera is the only form of Han
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

 traditional drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

 known to have originated in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. The language used is a stylized combination of both literary and colloquial registers
Register (linguistics)
In linguistics, a register is a variety of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. For example, when speaking in a formal setting an English speaker may be more likely to adhere more closely to prescribed grammar, pronounce words ending in -ing with a velar nasal...

 of Taiwanese. Its earliest form adopted elements of folk songs from Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. Located on the banks of the Jiulong River , Zhangzhou borders the cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou to the northeast, Longyan City to the northwest and the province of Guangdong to the southwest.Zhangzhou...

, Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. The story elements are traditionally based on folk tales of the Hokkien
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

 (Minnan) region.

Taiwanese opera was later exported to other Min Nan
Min Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....

-speaking areas.

In the early 1980s Taiwanese opera was brought to the television audience, with Yang Li-hua
Yang Li-hua
Yang Li-hua , superstar of Taiwanese opera who is credited as a "living national treasure", is a famous face among fans of Taiwanese opera on the island, whether in everyday dress or elaborate stage costume....

 (Hokkien transliteration as Iûⁿ Lē-hoa ; 楊麗花) as its popular face. The artistic elements remained largely traditional, however.

Taiwanese opera, like other forms of Chinese opera
Chinese opera
Chinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back as far as the third century CE...

 and theater around the world, often traditionally uses cross-dressed performers (反串; fǎnchùan; hóan-chhòan), specifically women portraying men's roles in the case of Taiwanese opera.

Modern and experimental forms show some propensity for syncretism
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...

. Western instruments such as the saxophone and guitar have been used in some performances. Loose Western adaptations have included Nikolai Gogol's The Government Inspector. Perhaps due to the influence of the Taiwanese localization movement
Taiwanese localization movement
Taiwanization , also known as the Taiwanese localization movement, is a political term used in Taiwan to emphasize the importance of a separate Taiwanese culture rather than to regard Taiwan as solely an appendage of China...

, stories set in Taiwan, as well as aboriginal characters and stories, have been developed in recent years.
Taiwanese forms of the Hakka
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....

 tea-picking opera
Tea-picking opera
A Tea-picking opera is a musical entertainment performed in Taiwan by the Hakka.It originally derived from the tea-growing region around Mount Jiulong in the South of Jiangxi Province in China, where the tea pickers would sing lengthy songs to each other whilst undertaking the monotonous task of...

 show some influence.
Fans of the opera attribute its continuing relevance to a willingness of performers to adapt to modern times in terms of style and artistic diversity.

Origins

Taiwanese opera is the only form of Han
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

 traditional drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

 known to have originated in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, specifically the Yilan region. In the early stages, most Han
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

 immigrants in Yilan were from Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. Located on the banks of the Jiulong River , Zhangzhou borders the cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou to the northeast, Longyan City to the northwest and the province of Guangdong to the southwest.Zhangzhou...

, Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

. Koa-á were story-telling ballads spoken in Min Nan
Min Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....

. Each line could have five- or seven- characters, and every four lines constituted a paragraph.。

Script

There is no script in Taiwanese opera. In the past, actors were illiterate and could not use a script. A Hì-sian-seⁿ (戲先生, Mandarin Hsi hsien sheng), such as a director, told the story. Before the performance he would give an outline and distribute characters.。

Characters

Originally, there are three roles in Taiwanese opera, (生), (旦), and (丑).Later, as Taiwanese opera began to incorporate more styles from other major operas, it gradually expanded to include eight major characters.

Male Leads (Sheng)(生)

These characters are gentle and brave.(老生)(小生)(副生):Supporting actor(反生)(武生):martial artist
is an older male lead. Old shengs have a chaste and decent disposition. Young male characters are known as .

Female Leads (Dan)(旦)

In Taiwanese opera there are four subtypes in dan roles. (老旦) (苦旦):sorrowful female character

is a dignified older role and she is a straight arrow. Also she reveals sentiment of the affection to the children so she takes sides with her children.
siao chou

Stage properties and figures

Stage properties and figures are a part of dancing. Taiwanese opera are not graphic. Sometimes a chair in Taiwanese opera stands for a fence or a bridge. Rasing red flags stands for fire, rasing blue flags stands for water, and rasing black flags stands for wind.
There are many types of figures:
  • Entrances and Exits
  • Pulling a Mountain
  • Walking a Circle
  • The Kneeling Walk
  • Small, Quick Steps
  • Sweeping Hair
  • The Bat Jump
  • The Vertigines Gesture
  • The Water Sleeves

Instruments

The use of a wide range of traditional musical instruments in Taiwanese opera.
  • Yehu
    Yehu
    The instrument comes in various sizes. In Chaozhou music it is a leading instrument, and is tuned quite high. In Cantonese music it can be quite large and is often tuned to a relatively low pitch, lower than the erhu...

  • Daguangxian
    Daguangxian
    The daguangxian is a Chinese bowed two-stringed musical instrument in the huqin family of instruments, held on the lap and played upright. It is used primarily in Taiwan and Fujian, among the Hakka and Min Nan peoples....

  • Suona
    Suona
    The suona ; also called laba or haidi is a Han Chinese shawm . It has a distinctively loud and high-pitched sound, and is used frequently in Chinese traditional music ensembles, particularly those that perform outdoors...

  • Jinghu
    Jinghu
    The jinghu is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the huqin family, used primarily in Beijing opera. It is the smallest and highest pitched instrument in the huqin family.-Construction:...


Three-Role tea-picking Opera

The three-role opera is known as the story of tea-farmer Zhang Sanlang performed by one clown and two female roles and the plot and the singing are fixed. The three-role tea-picking opera is simple and does not have official stage. They build the stage before they perform.

External links

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