Research On The Historical Materials Of Operas Recorded In The Local Chronicles Of Southwest China In Qing Dynasty And Republic Of China

Local chronicles,a comprehensive document,are about almost everything of a certain place.The historical materials of operas recorded in the local chronicles of Southwest China in Qing Dynasty and Republic of China are roughly related to several aspects: First,the opera materials of "Terms and Festivals","Rites of Life","Gods Worship and Village Performance" and "Folk Beliefs" recorded in "Chronicles of Custom";Second,the relevant matters of performance places on the stone inscriptions recorded in "Chronicles of Arts and Literature","Chronicles of Ancestral Sacrifice" and "Chronicles of Temples";Third,many historical materials of ethnic minority operas;Fourth,the special forms such as "Duangong Opera";Fifth,materials about the spread of operas and the living conditions of actors,such as "Opera Donation" and "Opera Sponsorship" in "Chronicles of Finance";Sixth,historical materials of opera lists related to the spread of folk operas,people’s preference for opera art and the practice of "education" of traditional opera art;Seventh,historical materials about "Broad Opera Form" under the concept of "Great Opera";Eighth,historical materials of the description of tune operas.Among them,the temple fair opera is closely connected to the strong religious belief in southwest China.The belief system of gods is diverse,and so are the types of gods.Temple fairs are held on the birthday of gods,and troupes are invited to perform operas,which not only entertain gods,but also amuse people.The religious belief of the Han ethnic group in this area has a strong realistic connotation,which is quite different from the religious worship in the general sense.At the same time,the "belief in landowners" in southwest minority areas is a relatively broad folk belief,with different gods due to different regions.Influenced by the culture of the Central Plains,the religious beliefs of ethnic minorities are rich and diverse,and religious sacrificial activities carry the characteristics of collective and joy.As an important part of the sacrifice ceremony to the gods,the temple fair operas are rich and varied in content,mainly in traditional opera performances,accompanied by local operas,song and dance performances and other forms;As far as the repertoire is concerned,it mainly focuses on the theme of historical stories;For performance tropes,local ones are generally the mainstay.During the period of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China,most officials,gentry and local chroniclers were critical of the phenomenon of temple fairs for consumption of property,mingling of people,and instability of social security.In the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China,operas of "Terms and Festivals" are embodied in "the Beginning of Spring" and " the Lantern Festival".In "the Beginning of Spring",operas are all led by the government,and they are of ethnic characteristics.In "Lantern Festival",operas have special cultural significance in the traditional society with agriculture as the main body.They are various,mainly including dragon lanterns,lion lanterns,car lights,pavilions,dressing-up stories,unaccompanied tea-picking songs and other folk tunes.In the Dragon Boat Festival,"Opera of Racing" is held,which also reflected the dual characteristics of sacrifice and entertainment.On festivals like Ghost Festival,Mid-Autumn Festival,Winter Solstice,people hold various opera performances.Its types mainly include performing shadow plays,singing drums,playing dulcimer,dancing witches,performing plays and other activities."Rites of Life" is mainly about one’s birth,adulthood,marriage ceremony and funeral rites.Influenced by Confucian funeral rites,Chinese advocated "mourning without pleasure",so the opera performance held in the funeral rites was severely criticized by the government and the literati class.However,under the influence of the concept of "Death is like life",funeral operas have become an important part of funeral rites and a common practice among the people.The main forms of opera performance in the funeral ceremony are "beating drums" and "singing filial piety songs".In addition,there are operas about wedding ceremony,birth,adulthood,birthday,and service examination passing,which are rich and diverse.According to mutual verification of cultural relics and documents,the development of performance venues in southwest China is complete,the evolution form is clear,and the forms it are quite rich in Ming and Qing Dynasties.However,due to the small scale and limited performance scope in private garden theaters,temporary theaters and ancestral hall theaters,it is difficult to attract the attention of local chroniclers.The ancestral hall theaters are mainly concentrated inside the clans,then it is reasonable that local chronicles,though almost everything of a certain place is included,ignore the guild hall theaters;In addition,traditional operas had a low social and cultural status in ancient times,and they were not valued by officials and scholars,so there were relatively few documents handed down from generation to generation.Correspondingly,the performance places recorded can be mainly divided into two categories: temple stages and guild stages.Considering the related cultural relics,temple theaters and guild theaters are different from ancestral hall theaters in the site selection,but in the plane layout,they almost unanimously adopt a symmetrical layout with strict regulations.The buildings are mainly made of wood,but in small scale.There are various types of stage beam structures,and three beam structures are adopted: lifting beam,bucket-piercing and bucket-piercing with lifting beam.Its decorative techniques are of different kinds,its decorative style is very local,and it reflects the influence of immigrant culture.The types of ethnic minority operas in southwest China include Terms and Festivals and temple fairs.The content of the performance is also quite abundant,including singing with each other,performing hundreds of plays,performing operas,and performing "Manxi Opera".The purpose of Tubot’s ethnic opera performance is to educate the people.The philistine operas focus on "making people happy".The performance of ethnic minority operas is mainly divided into three stages,the opening stage,the performance stage and the closing stage.This "three-stage" opera performance is quite coincidental with the Song Zaju Opera,which actually reflects the aesthetic spirit and connotation of the Chinese nation to a certain extent.Dancing Songs and Costumes are quite popular in southwest minority areas,which is quite similar to the "Jumping Moon" of Miao compatriots in Guizhou.From the historical materials of operas recorded in the local chronicles of southwest China in Qing Dynasty and Republic of China,it can be concluded that ethnic minority operas in southwest China are characterized by rich types,diverse performance styles and abundant forms.Besides,they have frequent exchanges with Han opera culture and they learn from each other.And at the same time,the opera culture of Han ethnic group is constantly absorbing and drawing lessons from the excellent factors of minority opera culture.The opera performance activities of ethnic minorities in Southwest China are diverse,with strong entertainment factors,and are closely related to religious activities and the lives of ethnic minorities.What’s more,the nature and function of "Duangong" in southwest minority areas are quite similar to that of "Fang Xiangshi" in traditional sacrifices,and it has a special position and important function in southwest areas.