Seek the origin of Cantonese opera, urgently!

The Origin of Cantonese Opera and Its Relationship with Cantonese Opera

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Cantonese Opera, also known as Guangfu Opera or Cantonese Opera, originated from Southern Opera and is widely spread in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, Nanyang and Chinese communities in the United States and Canada. It is the earliest local opera in China to go to the world. It is most appropriate to use "where there is sea water, there are Cantonese people, and where there are Cantonese people, there are Cantonese operas". Cantonese opera is a comprehensive art that combines singing, doing, playing, musicians' music, stage costumes and abstract forms. Paying equal attention to literariness, musicality and drama is the basic feature of China traditional operas, including Cantonese operas. Cantonese opera is an important member of China opera family (there are more than 360 local operas in China), a treasure of China traditional culture and the essence of Lingnan culture. In the 1960s, Comrade Zhou Enlai once said, "Kunqu Opera is an orchid in the south of the Yangtze River, and Cantonese Opera is a red bean in the south of the Yangtze River". Comparing Cantonese Opera with Kunqu Opera, which is known as the "ancestor of hundreds of operas", we can see the status of Cantonese Opera in China. Since then, "Southern Red Bean" has become the laudatory name of Cantonese Opera.

First, the origin and development of Cantonese opera. There is no doubt that Guangzhou is the center of Cantonese opera and the most prosperous place for Cantonese opera activities. However, the birthplace of Cantonese Opera is Foshan, and the earliest names of Cantonese Opera are San Francisco and Singapore, which are separated by oceans. The history of China is worth pondering.

To explore the origin of Cantonese opera, we must first understand its origin and history. However, when the Cantonese Opera originated is a confusing case. It has always been said that the public is right and the old woman is right. Some people say that Cantonese opera was first formed in the late Southern Song Dynasty, because there used to be a stone platform in Foshan ancestral temple, which has a history of more than 700 years. Therefore, Mr. Lai Bojiang, an expert in the history of Cantonese opera, believes that Cantonese opera was formed in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 400 years, because "Qionghua Guild Hall, an industry organization of early Cantonese opera troupes, was established in Dajiwei, Foshan during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty ... The establishment of Qionghua Guild Hall shows that the number of Cantonese opera teams in the Wanli period has been considerable, and it is necessary to establish artists' organizations." (Lai Bojiang's History of Cantonese Opera)

Whether in 700 or 400, the origin of Cantonese opera in Foshan has been determined. The 400-year-old history is regarded as the doyen of the China opera family. Peking Opera, a "national opera", was introduced to Beijing by Huiban in the late Qing Dynasty, which was favored by the imperial court, and then formed and spread in Gyeonggi area, with a history of only a hundred years. Then, why is the birthplace of Guangdong's largest local opera not in the economic and cultural center of Guangzhou, but in Foshan? It turns out that in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, like most feudal dynasties in China's history, officials were mostly appointed by the imperial court and served in various places, that is to say, "court officials" above the county level were all foreigners. The team of officials composed of foreigners will naturally bring foreign classes, formerly known as "Waijiang classes", to compete with local classes. Without the official market and official support, it is difficult for local classes to establish themselves in Guangzhou and turn to Foshan, a commercial town at that time, so it is not surprising that Cantonese opera originated in Foshan.

Guangfu Opera started from Southern Opera and generally followed the development track of "Waijiang Opera performed by Waijiang Class-Waijiang Opera performed by local class-Local Opera performed by local class-Local Opera performed by local class in Cantonese", and the development of Cantonese Opera was basically mature.

The history of local troupes that perform local operas in Guangzhou dialect is not very long. In the 11th year of Yongzheng (A.D. 1733), a man named Qingtian wrote a book called A Trip to Guangdong, which contained: "The Fanqiao Bridge in Guangzhou is the head of a pear garden. ..... Remnant Kunqu Su Bai, similar to Wu Na. In addition, they all belong to a wide cavity, singing in unison and mixing their voices. " The "Manchu" here is the local dialect in Guangzhou, and the "miscellaneous words" were mixed in the "Opera House Mandarin" at that time. This shows that during the Yongzheng period, Guangdong local troupes began to try to perform in Cantonese, but they were only "juggling" and mostly sang in Mandarin. It was not until the 1920s that Cantonese Opera basically completed the transition from Putonghua to Cantonese. Even today, in western Guangdong and Guangxi, there are still many traditional Cantonese operas sung in Mandarin, and some of them, such as "Master Ke", are still expressed in "Opera Room Mandarin" in most operas.

The opera sung in Guangzhou dialect is of course Cantonese opera. In recent years, a photo of a Cantonese Opera Troupe performing in the United States has the words "1883 Cantonese Opera Performance at Jason Dixon Street Theater in San Francisco", which is the earliest folk record of the expression "Cantonese Opera". In the 13th year of Guangxu (A.D. 1887), Li Zhongyu, a diplomat of the Qing government in Singapore at that time, recorded that several theaters in Singapore performed Cantonese opera, which was the earliest official written record of using Cantonese opera. At this time, local troupes in the province are still soliciting business in the name of "Peking Opera". It is estimated that the money of "Peking Opera" at that time was higher than that of Cantonese Opera, and it was suspected of selling dog meat by hanging sheep's head. It wasn't until 19 18 that the Commercial Press published Clearing Money edited by Tsui Hark that the word "Cantonese Opera" officially appeared (A Brief History of Cantonese Opera edited by Lai Bojiang). Since then, the title of "Cantonese Opera" has officially replaced "Guangfu Opera" and "Cantonese Opera" and has become the largest name of operas in Guangdong.

Second, the mutual learning and absorption between Cantonese Opera and Cantonese Opera. It is generally believed that Cantonese opera is separated from Cantonese opera, but it is not. As mentioned earlier, Cantonese Opera has been developing along the track of "Waijiang Opera performed by Waijiang Class-Waijiang Opera performed by local class-local opera performed by local class-local opera performed by local class in Guangzhou dialect", so the original composition of Cantonese Opera is Waijiang Opera, that is, Southern Opera, including Kunqu Opera, Yiyang Opera and Huizhou Opera, which is why Cantonese Opera is still used as a local opera. After these southern operas were introduced into Guangdong, they absorbed local musical elements such as Nanyin and Xianshui songs and formed their own complete musical system. It is most appropriate to describe it as "Waijiang Laodou (father) went to Guangdong to marry a beautiful girl from the Pearl River and gave birth to a son called Cantonese Opera".

Cantonese opera was named Yue from the beginning, and both parents were local aborigines. The earliest Cantonese music originated from the local "eight-tone class", which is a folk music form specially played for weddings and funerals. Later, it gradually developed into rap songs in Nanyin, Cantonese, Xianshui, Muyu, Dragon Boat and Banyan dialects. After Waijiang Opera was introduced to Guangdong, Cantonese Opera absorbed the allegro and Huang Er's singing in time, so today, Cantonese Opera and Cantonese Opera absorb each other, learn from each other and depend on each other. You have me and I have you, and they are inseparable and completely integrated. But one thing should be clear: Cantonese opera is a kind of traditional opera in China, and it is a comprehensive art with "singing and dancing to tell stories" as the main narrative mode, with "telling stories" as the main theme; Cantonese opera, on the other hand, is a genre of Quyi, which takes singing as the main means and emphasizes "singing".

Based on the inclusiveness of Lingnan culture, Cantonese opera and Cantonese opera are open and innovative. Some people think that Cantonese opera and Cantonese opera are conservative and backward, which is totally unfounded. Guangdong is backed by the vast Central Plains and faces the vast ocean, where Central Plains culture and marine culture meet and merge, and finally an inclusive and open Lingnan culture is formed. When it comes to Cantonese opera and Cantonese opera, we should use "takenism", and we should feel at ease and never be soft. In Cantonese opera, we can say that we dare to use all kinds of songs and music, including domestic brother operas, western music, religious music, folk tunes and so on. It will be equally harmonious and smooth when used in Cantonese opera. For example, the Cantonese opera Romance of the West Chamber selected Fan's Moonlight on the East Wall, and used the time song "I miss you so much" in Moonlit Night on the Spring River rehearsed by Guangzhou Cantonese Opera Troupe in 2002. On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the song "Song of Ancestors" composed by Qingyuan composer Wang Jingxiang ended with the time song "Singing the Motherland".

In absorbing foreign music, Cantonese opera seems to be more unscrupulous than Cantonese opera, because any song can be called "Cantonese opera" as long as it is written in Cantonese and sung in Cantonese. Movie songs at the beginning of the last century, such as Four Seasons Songs, Night in Shanghai, The Sun Comes Again, etc. Now it has become the most commonly used Cantonese opera brand. A northern expert once joked: "Only you Cantonese opera dare to do this, and you can do the same." The openness and inclusiveness of Cantonese opera and Cantonese opera can be seen from this.

Third, the media of Cantonese opera art communication-Red Boat. Just as Beijing opera artists consider themselves "children of the pear garden", Cantonese opera artists call themselves "children of the red boat". So, what is a "red boat"?

In the early years, the performance place of Cantonese opera was mainly in the Pearl River Delta, but the river network in the Pearl River Delta was vertical and horizontal, and the carriage was absolutely impossible, so the boat became the best choice. Then why is it called "red boat" instead of "black boat" or "red boat"? There have been different opinions in the industry: First, Yong Zhengdi went south to Fujian and wanted to go to the theatre. He sent two boats to Guangdong to pick up the actors to perform. In order to facilitate the release of unscrupulous officials, the bow was painted red and used by later generations; The second is to use the homonym of "red" and "hong", because many artists were members of the Hong Men Society at that time, which meant anti-Qing and regaining sight; Third, Guangfu people think that "horse racing is a three-point risk" and paint the boat red, which means avoiding disaster. In the old days, the children of the Red Boat roamed the rivers and lakes, away from their parents and brothers, and the most important thing was loyalty. Therefore, the peers in the troupe are commensurate with their brothers and sisters, while the elders respect their uncles.

The children of the Red Boat are not only loyal, but also have lofty national spirit and revolutionary tradition. The "Erhualian" in the famous class of Guangzhou Cantonese Opera "Fengyi" witnessed the corruption in the late Qing Dynasty. 1854 Responded to the call of Heaven and Earth Society and led Cantonese opera artists to revolt in Foshan. At one time, he supported 100,000 soldiers and became the "King Pingjing". Artists regard righteousness as king, which is rare at all times and in all countries. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, many Cantonese opera artists directly participated in or supported the revolutionary activities led by Sun Yat-sen, organized the "Zhi Zhi History Class", used Cantonese opera, an art form loved by the masses, to publicize the democratic revolution, made innovative dramas, attacked corrupt officials, and even performed in Nanyang to raise money for the revolution. Many artists also joined the League to carry out revolutionary activities. Li Wenfu, a Cantonese opera actor, died heroically in the March 29th Guangzhou Uprising and became one of the 72 martyrs in Huanghuagang.