Research On The Performance Of Folk Funeral Opera In The Northwestern Henan Province

Coming into being in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the culture of the folk funeral has an extremely long story, one of whose branches, the funeral opera, was widely disseminated during the Ming and Qing dynasties. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially since the end of the Cultural Revolution, the folk funeral opera in the northwestern Henan province had been more active than the other regions. Through the performance by the actors of Chinese percussion instruments troupes, and for the purpose of paying respects to the dead ancestors, the funeral opera in the northwestern Henan province is essentially different from the dramatics with the aim of offering sacrifices to the fire-god by means of opera activities. Based on the existent historical records and the firsthand data from a lot of investigations in the field about funeral opera activities, the essay from various angles will analyze the internal causes of people in the northwestern Henan province organizing and watching the funeral opera. Besides that, it will examine and weigh both the pros and cons of the ceremonial performance banned by the rulers in the past dynasties, and discuss in depth the reasons why the funeral opera performance can survive toughly with the constant rejection of the mainstream culture. In addition, the stage form of the funeral opera performance and the specific expressions of the performance forms, such as rival show, Ruling show etc. from other provinces, in the northwestern Henan’s funeral opera will be analyzed at large in the essay. Finally, as the funeral opera today faces many crises, the essay here will put forward some crucial suggestions on its future development.