Langjieciren

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Langjieciren, Male, Tibetan, from Tibet, is a second-batch national representative bearer of Tibetan Opera (Ⅳ-80). The tradition is documented in Tibet. Within the regional tradition and school record of Tibetan Opera in Tibet: Tibetan opera is a very large system of theatrical genres. Because the various parts of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau differ in natural conditions, living customs, cultural traditions and dialect pronunciation, it possesses numerous artistic varieties and schools. A performance is generally divided into three parts: the first, called 'dun', is chiefly the opening presentation of song and dance in honour of the deities; the second, 'xiong', mainly presents the main story of the play; the third is called 'zhaxi', meaning to bless and to welcome auspiciousness. In the course of its transmission, blue-mask opera formed four major schools according to region: Jumelong Tibetan opera, Jongba Tibetan opera, Xiangba Tibetan opera and Jianggar Tibetan opera. Tibetan opera in the Tibet Autonomous Region is the parent body of the art, and it was carried far and wide to the Tibetan-speaking areas of the four provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan by monks who came to study in the great monasteries of central Tibet and by pilgrims; this produced branches such as Huangnan Tibetan opera in Qinghai, Gannan Tibetan opera in Gansu and Seda Tibetan opera in Sichuan. Tibetan opera originated in the religious art of the Tibetans in the 8th century. After the 1980s the Qinghai Tibetan Opera Troupe was established at Huangnan, where it created and performed outstanding plays such as Yile Xiannu, The Envoy of the Tibetan King and The Golden Dawn, which had a considerable influence at home and abroad. Erenba Gongga, who served as a master actor (xishi) of Jongba Tibetan opera for 34 years, is an outstanding representative of the master actors of Jongba Tibetan opera.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Tibetan, born in 1961, a native of Ngamri, Tibet. From 1980 to 1986 Langjieciren studied Tibetan opera performance with the Chungpa Tibetan opera troupe of Shigatse in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and from 1987 he served as a bearer of that troupe. He restored three of the eight traditional plays, namely Dunyue Dunzhu Xiongdi (The Brothers Dunyue and Dunzhu), Langsa Guniang (Lady Langsa) and Nuosang Wangzi (Prince Norsang), and actively guided the troupe towards innovation; building on the inherited vocal tradition of Tibetan opera, he enriched and developed its lyrics, dance and other aspects. Within the documented technical tradition of Tibetan Opera in Tibet: Tibetan opera is also performed in the Tibetan settlements of countries such as India, Bhutan and Sikkim. The Tibetan name of the art is Lhamo, meaning 'celestial maiden'. According to legend, Tibetan opera was first performed by the Seven Sisters, and because the content of its repertoire is largely made up of mythological stories drawn from Buddhist scriptures, the name Lhamo came to be used. In the 17th century it separated from monastic religious ritual and gradually formed a naturalistic performance based mainly on singing, combining the basic formulae of singing (chang), chanting (song), dancing (wu), acting (biao), speech (bai) and technique (ji). The vocal style of Tibetan opera is high-pitched and sonorous; basically the tune is set for each individual performer, and every line of song is supported by accompanying human voices. Tibetan opera was originally a plaza (open-air) drama, accompanied by nothing but a drum and a pair of cymbals, with no other instruments. The traditional repertoire of Tibetan opera is said to comprise 'thirteen great plays'. Those most frequently performed are Princess Wencheng, King Nuosang, Langsa Wenbang, Zhuowa Sangmu, Sujinima, Baima Wenba, Dunyue Danzhu, Zhimei Gengdeng and the other works grouped under the name 'the Eight Great Tibetan Operas'. Besides these there are Reqiong Wa (Riqiong Wa), Prince Yuncheng, Jingba Qinbao, Deba Dengba, Suibai Wangqu and the like; most of these plays contain Buddhist content. Costumes in Tibetan opera consist of a single set from beginning to end; performers do not wear makeup and perform mainly in masks. Tibetan opera is divided into white-mask opera and blue-mask opera. The annual Shoton Festival is the time when opera troupes flock to perform, so the Shoton is also called the 'Tibetan opera festival'. New repertoire brought fresh vitality to Huangnan Tibetan opera. In the accompaniment to Yile Xiannu, for example, Tibetan traditional instruments such as the six-stringed lute are combined with a large modern mixed orchestra based mainly on folk instruments; while providing atmospheric music for the interludes, it can also accompany the vocal lines directly, changing the situation in which, in Tibetan opera in Tibet, the drum and cymbals served only to keep the rhythm of dancing and stage movement and very rarely accompanied the singing. The improved sets and stage art of Huangnan Tibetan opera are magnificent and splendid, full of wonder and elegance, and refreshing to the eye and ear. Tibetan opera has a long history and a meticulous set of performing formulae, and it occupies an irreplaceable position in the spiritual life of the Tibetan people. Because it is bound by strict religious and divine rules, Tibetan opera received little influence from Han culture in the course of its development, and both its performing content and its form preserve more of their original appearance; it therefore has extremely high academic value in fields such as the genesis of drama. At the same time, the scripts of Tibetan opera represent a peak of Tibetan literature: they lay weight both on musical cadence and on artistic conception, make extensive use of maxims, proverbs and idioms, and even interweave allegorical stories into the plot, preserving the essence of the language of ancient Tibetan literature. The Jongba Tibetan opera troupe is one of the oldest and most outstanding representatives in the theatre of the Tibetan nationality in China. In Tibetan opera in China, blue-mask opera is the typical representative, and blue-mask opera was first created by the Jongba troupe. According to legend, the ancestor of Tibetan opera, Thangtong Gyalpo, more than six hundred years ago built an iron suspension bridge across the river at his home locality of Riwoqe in order to bring benefit to the people on both banks of the Yarlung Tsangpo, raising funds and goods for the purpose, and taking the form of white-mask opera in the former Tibetan region as his basis, created the first blue-mask Tibetan opera troupe. Jongba Tibetan opera first won the favour of the citizens of Lhasa in the time of the 13th Dalai Lama with the Tibetan opera play Dunyue Danzhu. The traditional plays they performed include Zhimei Gengdeng, Langsa Guniang (Miss Langsa) and Zhuowa Sangmu. Jongba Tibetan opera carries on the very ancient tradition of white-mask opera and opens the way to blue-mask opera; it is transmitted in such counties as Angren, Dingri and Lhatse in Tibet and Garze in Sichuan. The performing and vocal art of Jongba Tibetan opera enjoys lofty prestige among the Tibetan masses. Because its stylistic character is so distinctive and its performance so exquisitely accomplished, it both originated a novel and ornate style of blue-mask Tibetan opera and preserved the most ancient Tibetan manner of vocal production as well as a performance that fuses religious sacrifice with old acrobatics into one. Accordingly it was granted by the 13th Dalai Lama golden earrings and golden sun-and-moon emblems for its masks. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "": "Nuosang Fawang (King Nuosang)": The traditional repertoire of Tibetan opera is said to comprise 'thirteen great plays'. Those most frequently performed are Princess Wencheng, King Nuosang, Langsa Wenbang, Zhuowa Sangmu, Sujinima, Baima Wenba, Dunyue Danzhu, Zhimei Gengdeng and the other works grouped under the name 'the Eight Great Tibetan Operas'. Besides these there are Reqiong Wa (Riqiong Wa), Prince Yuncheng, Jingba Qinbao, Deba Dengba, Suibai Wangqu and the like; most of these plays contain Buddhist content.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Tibetan Opera (Shigatse Chungpa), a second-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Langjieciren · National Representative Bearer Archive