Tibetan Opera
01 · Historical Records
In the mid-1950s the Nyêmo Tibetan opera troupe changed to performing blue-mask opera, its repertory widening from only Norsang Wangzi to Zhimei Gengdeng, Langsa Wenbang and others, yet at the Shoton Festival it still performed white-mask opera, thereby combining the performing styles of both white- and blue-mask opera. Drawing on Tibetan opera historical materials, Nyêmo county lies on the north bank of the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo at the junction of Ü and Tsang and is an important area of Tibetan opera's circulation; after changing to blue-mask opera in the mid-1950s the troupe still kept the white-mask tradition at the Shoton Festival.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Nyêmo county lies in south-central Tibet on the north bank of the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo, at the junction of Ü and Tsang, and is an important area of Tibetan opera's circulation. Nyêmo Tarong Tibetan opera belongs to the ancient white-mask school of Tibetan opera and is an old genre much loved by the Tibetan people. It is a precious cultural treasure handed down through the generations of the Nyêmo people and holds an important place in their spiritual and cultural life. Nyêmo Tarong Tibetan opera is based on the ancient conventions of white-mask opera, its singing, bearing and masks retaining the old-school manner, and is mostly performed at the Shoton Festival and other major festivals, an important part of the spiritual and cultural life of the Nyêmo people.
Norsang Wangzi (Prince Norsang)
The play originally performed by the Nyêmo troupe and one of its surviving repertory pieces.
Zhimei Gengdeng
A play added to the troupe's repertory after its change to blue-mask opera in the mid-1950s.
Langsa Wenbang
A play added to the troupe's repertory after its change to blue-mask opera in the mid-1950s.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Nyêmo Tarong Tibetan opera is popular around Nyêmo in Tibet and belongs to the ancient white-mask school of Tibetan opera. In the mid-1950s the Nyêmo Tibetan opera troupe changed to blue-mask opera, its repertory widening from Norsang Wangzi to Zhimei Gengdeng, Langsa Wenbang and others, but at the Shoton Festival it still performed white-mask opera, thus combining the performing styles of both white- and blue-mask opera.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Tibetan Opera · Tibetan Opera · Tibetan Opera · Tibetan Opera · Tibetan Opera · Tibetan Opera · Tibetan Opera · Tibetan Opera · Tibetan Opera · Tibetan Opera · Tibetan Opera · Tibetan Opera.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Because of the changes of the times, falling audiences and the advanced age of its transmitters with no successors, Nyêmo Tarong Tibetan opera is gradually moving towards extinction and urgently needs protection and transmission. Combining the styles of white- and blue-mask opera, it provides a precious example for studying the evolution of Tibetan opera schools, and the Nyêmo County Culture and Tourism Bureau is responsible for the project's protection. Ölü Xüeba (as recorded in the official dossier of an associated inheritor): from 1946 to 1959 he studied Tibetan opera performance under the artist Luoqiong; after thirteen years he mastered all the basic skills of Tibetan opera performance and reached a high level. In 1981 he was invited to head the Tarong township Tibetan opera troupe, performing wholeheartedly for the people to unanimous praise. Male, Tibetan, born in June 1937, died in October 2016, a native of Nyêmo county, Tibet; a representative inheritor of Tibetan opera (Nyêmo Tarong Tibetan opera) in the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects. In 1984 he led the troupe to perform at the Lhasa Shoton Festival, winning first prize for Tibetan opera performance of “Zhaxi Xueba”.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Danda 02-0625
- Cidanduoji 02-0626
- Langjieciren 02-0627
- Ciduo 02-0628
- Ciren 02-0629
- Cirenwangdui 02-0630
- Nimaciren 02-0631
- Gamaciren 02-0632
- Baimei 02-0633
- Renqingjia 02-0634
- Duojietai 02-0635
- Ouluxueba 04-1658
- Lixianjia 04-1659
- Taluo 05-2391
- Cairanghuadan 05-2392
- Duodan
- Biandianwangjiu
- Luosangzhaxi
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。