Nimaciren

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Nimaciren, 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. Its name is made up of five highly auspicious local names, namely: Zhaxi Xueba (village name), Zhaxi Tuomen (village name), Zhaxi Sangba (bridge name), Zhaxi Zi (district name) and Zhaxi Qudeng (monastery name). 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.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Tibetan, born in 1973, a native of Nedong, Tibet. In 1987 Nimaciren joined the Yarlung Tashi Shepa Tibetan opera troupe of Changzhug Town, Nedong County, Shannan Prefecture, Tibet; in 1994 he became its deputy head, and from 2003 to the present he has served as its head. 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 renowned Yalong Zhaxi Xueba is an outstanding representative of white-mask Tibetan opera in Tibet. In the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Yalong Zhaxi Xueba was required to go to Lhasa every year to take part in the Tibetan opera performances of the 'Drepung Shoton' and to serve out its Tibetan opera term of service. During this period it also had to perform at the various monasteries of Lhasa and at the residences of some officials of the Tibetan local government. Every year on the fourth day of the first Tibetan month (during the Tibetan New Year) it performed at Gyasang Monastery. The drum and cymbal accompaniment, vocal style and costume of Yalong Zhaxi Xueba differ from those of other Tibetan opera in Tibet. In the course of the performance the cry 'Ai ha ha ha' represents the scene in which Thangtong Gyalpo, the founder of Tibetan opera, laughed with satisfaction on seeing the Tibetan opera he had created himself. 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. "Zhuowa Sangmu": 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 (Shannan Yarlung Tashi Shepa), a second-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. In 2004 the Tashi Shepa Tibetan opera troupe took part in the First Arts Performance of Hometowns of Folk Art of the Tibet Autonomous Region, where it won an excellence award for performance.

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. Nimaciren · National Representative Bearer Archive