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Opera with Local Flavor  by Mo Rui Qiu
W e watched curiously as make-up artists transformed modern day
men and women into characters from the past. Two artists
worked in tandem—a woman spread light pink cream on the palm of her hand and she pressed her palm against the actors’ faces until they were totally covered, then a man put bright red paint on the heel of his hand and overlaid red on pink – over their eyelids, cheeks, and sides of the nose. Later, he used fine brushes to paint darker lines on the eyes, lips, and sides of their faces. Once he had reached the desired effect, the woman covered the face in white powder, dusted it off, and rinsed the face with water! The make-up stayed completely in place!
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The finishing touches on her opera mask!
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The orchestra warms up on local instruments.
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Backstage, the third wife gets into character.

A member of the cast was practicing his part out loud. I could tell he was speaking Zhuang. So, I asked if the script was written down and he said, “Yes, but they used Chinese characters to record the meaning of the Zhuang words.” This scene made my heart long to see them have their own writing system to record their cultural heritage.

In the same room, several musicians were practicing on traditional Zhuang stringed instruments. For tonight’s opera, there would be a live orchestra! A man skilled in rhythm created the sound effects live too.

Zhuang people adopted this style of opera when officials from the Tang dynasty (618 – 907 A.D.) were administering Zhuang lands. While the concept of an opera, and many of the costumes, were certainly gleaned from outside, the Zhuang have adapted the art form to their own language and musical styles. After so many centuries, they have completely embraced it as their own and they now call it their “local show” (土戏). Three main streams of Zhuang opera have developed according to local dialects and cultural styles: the Northern Zhuang Opera (北路壮剧), Southern Zhuang Opera(南路壮剧), and the Spiritual Master Opera(师公戏).

Here in Jingxi, we were watching a show that belongs to the Southern Zhuang Opera style. As a foreigner who is still learning the local language, it was nearly impossible to understand the lyrics when they sang. However, when the cast spoke their lines, I could tell they were speaking the same form of the local dialect used in daily life. Throughout the drama, characters tossed out witty lines that made the crowds erupt in laughter. Oh, how I wish I could catch these jokes!

For this particular opera, the story was set during the Song dynasty (960 – 1279 A.D). It tells of a rich man who had three wives. The first wife bore him a daughter, but soon after that his first wife died. His second wife bore him a son whose hands were permanently clenched shut. Then, the father received ten magic pills from the “King of Heaven” and used one of the pills to cure his son’s clenched hands. However, the third wife had no children. Because of the third wife’s jealousy, she devised a plot to kill the second wife’s small son. She gave 500 gold pieces to an older woman, telling her to find a way to dispose of the little boy. The old lady split the gold pieces with her mute uncle, giving him the boy to finish off. However, the mute uncle decided to hide the child at a blind man’s home. Meanwhile, the third wife tries to get the king’s eldest daughter to marry her nephew, so that the power would be consolidated to her family. However, the daughter refuses the advances of her nephew. In the closing scene of the opera, the mute man brings the hidden son, now grown, back to the family. The boy’s father gives the mute man one of the magic pills, and then he is miraculously able to speak. It is a happy reunion!

For me, the best part was watching the local audience be drawn into the story. That local people are enthusiastic about using their own language in this kind of art form is wonderful. Bravo to the drama troupe that uses their extra-curricular time to practice and perform the shows!