Korean Sanlaoren
01 · Historical Records
The Korean-ethnic Three Old Men is circulated mainly in the Korean-ethnic settlements of Helong City, Jilin Province, and is a cultural performance form marked by distinctive ethnic artistic features. The Korean-ethnic Three Old Men integrates such forms as Korean-style witty dialogue (caitan), clown play (ergwandae), free comic talk (mantan) and interlude drama, taking spoken lines as its mainstay and singing and acting as its support. The spoken lines of the Korean-ethnic Three Old Men are plain and down-to-earth, its style humorous, and its artistic character very marked. The vocal music of the Korean-ethnic Three Old Men carries typical Korean-ethnic colouring, is easy to learn and easy to sing, and sticks in the ear. The Korean-ethnic Three Old Men presents a comic appearance on stage and performs with strong dramatic comedy, and is characterised by stereotyped character types, formulaic structure, scripted creation and dramatised plot. The compiled and published collection of Korean-ethnic Three Old Men works, Laughter, gathers a good many performance pieces, and some of the works were also included in Selected Korean-Ethnic Literary Works, so their influence is far-reaching.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
In performance three actors imitate three types of elderly people — progressive, middle-of-the-road and backward — arguing with each other to praise the advanced and criticise the backward. The progressive figure imitated by an actor is upright and awe-inspiring and exceptionally wise; the middle-of-the-road figure speaks in a comic way and pleases everyone; the backward figure is simple-minded and easily goes to extremes. The three characters contrast sharply with one another and set each other off to comic effect. In performance actors are not bound by age, and it is young performers playing old people who are more welcome. Its performance pieces mostly reflect the outlook of a new age; the more representative ones include The Century-Long Plan, The New Long March, On the Way to the Meeting and The Old Men's Football Team.
The Century-Long Plan
Its performance pieces mostly reflect the outlook of a new age; the more representative ones include The Century-Long Plan, The New Long March, On the Way to the Meeting and The Old Men's Football Team.
The New Long March
Its performance pieces mostly reflect the outlook of a new age; the more representative ones include The Century-Long Plan, The New Long March, On the Way to the Meeting and The Old Men's Football Team.
On the Way to the Meeting
Its performance pieces mostly reflect the outlook of a new age; the more representative ones include The Century-Long Plan, The New Long March, On the Way to the Meeting and The Old Men's Football Team.
The Old Men's Football Team
Its performance pieces mostly reflect the outlook of a new age; the more representative ones include The Century-Long Plan, The New Long March, On the Way to the Meeting and The Old Men's Football Team.
Laughter
The compiled and published collection of Korean-ethnic Three Old Men works, Laughter, gathers a good many performance pieces, and some of the works were also included in Selected Korean-Ethnic Literary Works, so their influence is far-reaching.
Selected Korean-Ethnic Literary Works
The compiled and published collection of Korean-ethnic Three Old Men works, Laughter, gathers a good many performance pieces, and some of the works were also included in Selected Korean-Ethnic Literary Works, so their influence is far-reaching.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Three Old Men is circulated mainly among the Korean-ethnic villages around Helong City in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province; the protecting unit is the Helong City Cultural Centre. Helong lies on the upper reaches of the Tumen River, where the Korean population is concentrated, and the cultural activities of the villages and schools have provided regular performance occasions for this kind of spoken quyi. According to the project file, it fuses Korean-style witty dialogue, clown play (ergwandae), free comic talk and interlude drama, and its vocal music carries marked Korean-ethnic colouring; consequently similar performance styles can be found in the Korean-ethnic settlements of the various counties and cities of Yanbian. Because Helong has long preserved its performing troupes and organised scripts, it is regarded as the representative transmission area of this genre, and the edited and published collection of works Laughter gathers a large number of performance pieces. The Helong City Cultural Centre has organised Three Old Men programmes to take part in provincial and prefectural quyi performance events; the actors are mainly middle-aged and young, and it is the young playing old people who are more welcome. As young and middle-aged Koreans leave for work elsewhere and their leisure habits change, the number of actors able to take on the three stereotyped old-person roles is steadily decreasing, and performances are concentrated on exhibition shows and outreach to the countryside organised by the Cultural Centre.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, under the impact of modern multi-cultural life, the art of the Korean-ethnic Three Old Men has few successors and is in an endangered state, so it urgently needs rescue and protection.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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