Hainan Zhai Opera
01 · Historical Records
It probably came into being in the Ming and has a history of more than four hundred years. Drawing on the Hainan volume of the Annals of Chinese Xiqu and local Haikou materials, its arias and tunes are mainly Hainan folk ditties and it has been fairly strongly influenced by Cantonese opera in its development. Its arias and tunes are mainly Hainan folk ditties, its ban styles including zhongban, shuzi ban, ziyou ban, chengtu and guqiang, and it fuses Hainan folk stories, ballads, music and acrobatics.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Hainan zhai opera is a sacrificial folk operatic genre popular within Hainan. As a ritual opera it resembles the nuo opera of northern China, hence the saying “nuo opera in the north, zhai opera in the south”. It originated in Hainan's folk sacrificial rites and, as foreign operatic genres came in, the rites absorbed opera's nourishment of “telling stories through song and dance” and developed into zhai opera. Its arias and tunes are mainly Hainan folk ditties and it has been fairly strongly influenced by Cantonese opera in its development. Its ban styles include zhongban, shuzi ban, ziyou ban, chengtu and guqiang; the dan and jing sing in falsetto while the other roles use the natural voice. Its accompanying instruments are mainly the zhuhu, suona, daguanxiao and sanxian. Zhai opera fuses Hainan folk stories, ballads, folk opera, music, acrobatics and crafts, becoming a vehicle preserving Hainan's traditional culture and art. It is a product of folk activity, entertaining both gods and people, and is also a spiritual bond linking Hainan overseas Chinese.
Zhongban, Shuzi Ban, Ziyou Ban, Chengtu, Guqiang
The ban styles of Hainan zhai opera; the dan and jing sing in falsetto while the other roles use the natural voice.
Zhuhu, Suona, Daguanxiao, Sanxian (Accompaniment)
Hainan zhai opera's accompanying instruments are mainly the zhuhu, suona, daguanxiao and sanxian.
God-Honouring Plays in Sacrificial Rites
Zhai opera performs with Hainan's folk sacrificial rites, entertaining both gods and people, and is a spiritual bond linking Hainan overseas Chinese.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Hainan zhai opera centres on Haikou city, Hainan, and is popular at sacrificial occasions throughout the island; because it came from Hainan's folk sacrificial rites and developed into zhai opera as foreign opera came in and the rites absorbed the nourishment of “telling stories through song and dance”, there is the saying “nuo opera in the north, zhai opera in the south”.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The largest local genre of Hainan, Qiong opera, was born out of zhai opera, and even today people still say “watching zhai” when they watch Qiong opera. Zhai opera fuses Hainan folk stories, ballads, opera, music, acrobatics and crafts, being a vehicle preserving Hainan's traditional culture and art and a spiritual bond linking Hainan overseas Chinese; under the impact of fashion culture it is on the verge of being lost and urgently needs protection. Its arias, mainly Hainan folk ditties and also influenced by Cantonese opera, make it an important sample for studying the origins of Qiong opera vocal music and Hainan sacrificial custom.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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