A Study On Beilu Zhuang Opera And Its Inheritance And Protection

Originated in the Ming Dynasty and formed in the Qing Dynasty,Beilu Zhuang Opera is an important branch of Zhuang Operas.Widely popular in places like Tianlin,Longlin,Lingyun and Xilin in Guibian Cultural Area Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,the opera is one of the most developed ancient operas among Zhuang ethnic operas,with distinct regional and ethnic characteristics.After being included in the list of China intangible cultural heritage protection,the protection of the opera was strengthened with the positive support of Guibian Cultural Area,which greatly activated the development trend of the opera.However,under the background of the general decline of traditional opera,the Beilu Zhuang Opera was also trapped in the tide of the times,facing many problems and urgently needing protection.This paper consists of five chapters,including the main inheritance areas of the Beilu Zhuang Opera and its natural and cultural backgrounds,formation and development process,composing elements,inheritance and protection.Based on previous research results,extensive data collection and combined with field research,this paper conducts in-depth and systematic research on the Beilu Zhuang Opera and its inheritance and protection.The formation and development of Beilu Zhuang Opera cannot be separated from the unique natural and cultural environment of the Guibian Cultural Area.The Baiyue Ancient Road provides convenient transportation conditions,prosperous commercial activities,and frequent cultural exchanges,which have became the “catalyst” for the birth of Beilu Zhuang Opera.The language and characters with unique ethnic characteristics,the folk customs with strong regional characteristics,the rich and colorful oral traditions,and the harmonious and diverse folk beliefs provide a fertile soil for the Beilu Zhuang Opera.Beilu Zhuang Zhuang Opera originated in Jiuzhou Town,Tianlin County.It was developed from the forms of Bayin and Jiuzhou folk songs and dances.The formation of the Beilu Zhuang Opera experienced a embryonic stage,the development stage,and the mature stage.In the embryonic stage,there were indoor sit-and-sing forms like “Bayin Troupe”,“Bayin Sit-and-Sing”,and “Bench Play”,with small performance venues,few actors,and storytelling performances.In the development stage,there were courtyard play,ground play.The plays are generally short,the performances are simple and full of strong life atmosphere.In the mature stage,“Platform Plays” were formed,which was performed on the temporary platforms,professional troupes and community organizations have been created,complete professional system and performance programs formed.The ideological content,artistic and ornamental quality of the script have been improved.After the formation of Beilu Zhuang Opera,it experienced six periods of development: growth,prosperity,stagnation,recovery,decline and renaissance.During the growth period,it was infiltrated by Guangfu Opera,and its artistic form was constantly improved.During the prosperity period,the performance area was expanded and blossomed throughout the Yunnan,Guizhou,and Guangxi region.During the stagnation period,the troupe was disbanded,and the artists went through a catastrophe,Beilu Zhuang Opera was disappeared.During the recovery period,The Beilu Zhuang Opera was full of vitality and had frequent performance activities.During the decline period,it was constantly shrinking under the impact of modern diversified forms of entertainment.During the renaissance period,after being included in the China intangible cultural heritage protection list,Beilu Zhuang Opera faced new opportunities and challenges.Beilu Zhuang Opera is a highly comprehensive art form composed elements such as script,characters,performances,facial make-ups,stage,props,costumes,music,etc.This paper has collected and sorted out the plays of Beilu Zhuang Opera from its formation to 2018,categorizes and discussed the sources and themes of more than 500 plays,and further sorted out the sources and characteristics of the play.The Beilu Zhuang Opera mainly consists of four professions: Sheng(Male role),Dan(Female role),Wu(Martial Arts role),and Chou(Clown role),with over 20 characters.Among them,the clown is the main character,and they are commonly known as “first Chou,second Dan,third Sheng,forth Guan(Official role)”.The classification of Dan profession draws on the classification methods of Sichuan Opera and Yong Opera,and the distinction between the positive and negative characters in the Beilu Zhuang Opera is relatively detailed.The characteristics of the special profession classification under Sheng profession are relatively obvious according to their identity classification.The roles of Guan is classified separately and are relatively important,which highlighting the uniqueness of Sheng profession in Beilu Zhuang Opera.The mountain king in Wu profession is classified separately,with distinct ethnic characteristics.Based on daily life,the “Si gong wu fa” and Walk-through of the Beilu Zhuang Opera have formed a performing art with the aesthetic characteristics of Zhuang ethnic group.The facial make-up of Wu,Chou profession and Sea Dragon King role,the Baogong role,and the Huaguang Emperor role are quite vivid and unique.The traditional stage scenery is simple,with only a curtain,a table and two chairs,while modern stage scenery has become more diversified and aesthetically pleasing.The props used in the civil play performance have a strong sense of liveliness,directly drawn from real life,which directly drawn from real life.The variety props shared by civil play and martial play are plays a rich role in shaping the character image.After the reform and development of artists in various dynasties,the music of the Beilu Zhuang Opera has now reached more than 50 tunes.[Zhengdiao] tune is the main singing tune of the Beilu Zhuang opera,developed from Jiuzhou folk songs.The main accompaniment instrument is Ma Gu Hu,which is a unique instrument in the traditional operas of ethnic minorities in western Guangxi with its unique tone in the singing tunes of Beilu Zhuang Opera.Since the birth of the Beilu Zhuang Opera,it has gone through ten generations of actors,each of whom has made significant contribution to its development.Some of actors have created and developed the tune names and singing tunes;Some have reformed and improved their performance programs;Some have improved the playing skills of musical instruments;Some are adept at performing,maintaining and developing the characteristics of Beilu Zhuang Opera;Some are enthusiastic about passing on their skills,and have put in great effort to promote the Beilu Zhuang Opera,expanding the scope and influence of its dissemination.There are three ways of inheritance among Beilu Zhuang Opera actors:bloodline inheritance,geographical inheritance,and profession inheritance.The bloodline inheritance is mainly based on family tradition,which is the main way of inheriting Beilu Zhuang Opera.The geographical inheritance is a collective inheritance based on villages,which expands the scope of horizontal dissemination of Beilu Zhuang Opera.The profession inheritance,also known as the inheritance from teachers,has been passed down within the troupe to this day.The three ways of inheritance are mutually penetrating and integrating,which support the inheritance and development of Beilu Zhuang Opera together.The troupe have had a great influence on the development and inheritance of Beilu Zhuang opera.With villages as the unit,the troupes of the opera are mainly amateur,which have a distinct spontaneous nature and are combined with various folk celebrations and entertainment activities,enriching the spiritual and cultural life of the people.At present,various places in Guibian Cultural Area have taken many measures to protect Beilu Zhuang Opera from aspects like development of theatrical troupes and talent cultivation.However,it has become an indisputable fact that the inheritance of the Beilu Zhuang Opera still faces many difficulties.Based on field research and in the context of intangible cultural heritage protection,this paper puts forward five measures for the protection of Beilu Zhuang opera,including conserving the cultural ecology of Beilu Zhuang opera,giving full play to the principal role of the government,cultivating inheritors of Beilu Zhuang Opera,combining tradition and innovation in play creation,and cultivating audiences through multiple channels,looking forward to promoting the further development of Beilu Zhuang opera.