A Study Of Ancestral Hall Theaters And Ancestral Opera Activities In Jiangxi

A village,also called an “acquaintance society”,is a place where the residents of the same community settle down to live a life and establish emotional connections with each other.In a village,there is always a public space in dominant position which integrates and guides the interaction forms and communication methods of people in other public spaces.“Clan villages” are the typical ones that are managed and integrated by ancestral halls functioning as the dominant public space.In Jiangxi,there are a lot of clan villages,which leads to the flourishment of ancestral-hall culture and ubiquitous ancestral halls,just as the saying goes that “every family has its ancestral hall,and every village has its ancestral hall”.The history of the clan culture in Jiangxi has gone through the following stages.First,from pre-Qin to Sung Dynasty,clan culture experiences its origin and development.Then,Yuan,Ming and Qing Dynasties witness the prosperity and formation of clan culture.At last,from the Republic of China to modern times,clan culture undergoes its decline and renewal.In the first stage,Jiangxi area was in a relatively peaceful and stable environment.Under such a condition,people of central plains migrated to Jiangxi,which promoted the economic growth in this region.At the same time,these immigrants from various northern clans rebuilt ancestral shrines in local area to commemorate their forefathers.As the clans continued to expand,they have been playing an increasingly important role in social development,which led to the gradual standardization and systematization of such activities as repairing genealogy,building ancestral shrines and worshiping ancestors.In the second stage,the clans in Jiangxi experienced their prosperity and the customs and institutions of them became fixed.It has to be mentioned that since the mid-Ming Dynasty,the change of government’s policy concerning ancestor worship not only created a favorable environment for the construction of patriarchal clan system and ancestral halls in the following periods,but also promoted the in-depth development of the clan system in Qing Dynasty.During the third stage,namely from the Republic of China to modern times,clans in Jiangxi went through ups and downs and gradually declined.Since the reform and opening up,the local government has strengthened the protection of ancestral halls and other cultural heritage of the same sort while exploring and developing them,which sets off a great wave of repairing genealogy and building ancestral halls in different local areas and makes clan families regain flourishment.Clan ancestral halls,as the symbol of clans,are very typical and important public places in the village society of Jiangxi.They are not only the places where the local people worship their ancestors,but also the carriers of entertainment activities.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties,the ancestral halls in Jiangxi villages,as the center of the public spaces of local clans,are also the theaters where the traditional local opera is performed.To some extent,the traditional opera performance and the ancestral theaters co-exist on the basis of mutual promotion and influence.In other words,the prosperity of traditional opera accelerates the building of ancestral hall theaters,while the improvement of the conditions and facilities in these theaters promotes the boom of traditional opera again.The development of the ancestral theater buildings in Jiangxi has experienced four stages,they are the rise of ancestral theater buildings in Ming Dynasty,the prosperity in Qing,the decline in the Republic of China and the re-rise after the reform and opening up.Judging from the distribution of existing ancestral theater buildings,the main characteristics of them in Ming and Qing Dynasties are: first,ancestral theater buildings are relatively concentrated in the northeast,northwest,east and north of Jiangxi,but the development of them shows imbalance among different regions.There are more such kind of buildings in northeastern and northwestern Jiangxi than in other regions.Second,“Qing Yu Tai”(also called two-side stage,namely the stage with two platforms which can be used to perform operas alternately in sunny and rainy days)emerged in this period.During the Republic of China,the ancestral theater buildings are ruined due to years of wars and the opera performance at these buildings also declines.Since the reform and opening up,economic support,policy inclination and cultural prosperity have created a favorable precondition for the rebirth of the ancestral opera performance.The ancestral theater buildings in Jiangxi are characterized by distinctive architectural form and ornate decoration.In terms of site selection,most of them are built in the center of villages,some are built at the entrances to villages;in terms of layout,the ancestral theater buildings are mainly courtyards which are in an axisymmetric form.On the central axis,the gate,stage,courtyard,Xiangtang(memorial hall)and sleeping chamber(main hall)are arranged in turn;in terms of decoration,the brick carvings,stone carvings,wood carvings,clay sculptures,colored paintings etc.are mainly used to form exquisite decorative patterns of the ancestral theater buildings.In a word,the decorative techniques of the ancestral hall buildings are the best embodiment of the local cultural characteristics.The ancestral operas are generally divided into two categories: the operas related to religious rituals and the ones related to secular life.The themes of the former ones are always worshiping gods and myths and legends,while the latter ones are always about seasons and festivals,etiquette in life and historical stories.The repertoire of the ancestral opera in Jiangxi is extensive and diverse.Even the same motif and storyline may have different versions of operas.Each type of opera has a corresponding performance repertoire,and each type of repertoire has its own functions,such as expressing respect and admiration for ancestors,expressing hope for family unity,promoting regulations of the clans,congratulating childbirth and marriage and celebrating the success of clan members in passing the important examinations.The content of the ancestral opera performance is closely related to the lives of local people as well as the local customs and etiquette,which is the most distinctive feature of the combination of ancestral hall theaters and local culture in Jiangxi.Based on this,the functions of the ancestral operas can be summarized as: worshiping gods,honoring ancestors with gratitude,instructing and enlightening the descendants and maintaining the unity of the clans.The characteristics of the ancestral opera performance in Jiangxi are the following aspects:firstly,celebrations concerning worshiping ancestors,repairing genealogy,weddings,funerals and birthdays are all held in the form of opera performance in the ancestral halls.Secondly,judging from the existing stage inscriptions at the ancestral hall theaters,the operas are always performed at night,even though night opera activities were banned explicitly by the local government.The reasons are probably that the content of the operas is related to the historical stories promoted by the government,therefore the government chooses to selectively neglect the night opera performance.Thirdly,the ancestral opera performance combines the functions of worship ceremonies and entertainment.As an integral part of sacrificial ceremony,the opera performance at the ancestral hall theaters becomes an effective interaction with the ritual activities.Lastly,the development of ancestral operas synchronizes with the development of clan culture.With the local economic and social development,the ancestral hall theaters,as the integral part of public space have been faced with extinction.The academic study of clan culture,ancestral hall theaters and opera activities in Jiangxi provides a very useful reference for restoring environment of local opera performance,enriching local literature materials,constructing local culture and promoting rural cultural development.