ChineseToday | Art rooted in paddy fields: Yangxi Opera artists in SW China's Chongqing
이 글자크기로 변경됩니다.
(예시) 가장 빠른 뉴스가 있고 다양한 정보, 쌍방향 소통이 숨쉬는 다음뉴스를 만나보세요. 다음뉴스는 국내외 주요이슈와 실시간 속보, 문화생활 및 다양한 분야의 뉴스를 입체적으로 전달하고 있습니다.
(240524) -- CHONGQING, May 24, 2024 (Xinhua) -- Yangxi Opera artist Leng Dingxiang (R) talks with a fellow artist in Qingquan Village of Tonggu Township, Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, southwest China's Chongqing, May 16, 2024. In Qingquan Village of Tonggu Township in Youyang, there is a group of opera artists consisting of local farmers of an average age of nearly 70, who perform the ancient Yangxi Opera on the courtyards and dams as the stage, and among the paddy fields, mountains and forests as their background in the village about 1,000 meters above sea level surrounded by mountains and waters.
Around the time of May, the white-haired opera troupe members plant rice seedlings in the paddy fields as their routine work, when the day's work draws to a close, Chen Yongxia, one of the leading artists, is heard singing Yangxi Opera in his resonant voice that echos in the mountains.
? ? After washing off the soil on their bodies and putting away farming tools, the artists sit around a sweet cinnamon tree in front of Chen's house that provides a refreshing place to have a nice rest in the busy farming season, also an area for the opera troupe to rehearse.
Every time the troupe receives an invitation to perform Yangxi Opera, Chen will gather the artists from the paddy fields, discuss the repertoire, assign roles, change costumes and put on masks, then rehearse the plays telling stories about great heroes and heroines.
Youyang Yangxi Opera, also known as Youyang Tujia Masked Yangxi Opera, is a local opera of Youyang with a long history. When local people of Tujia ethnic group encounter major events in their lives, they usually invite a troupe to perform Yangxi Opera. The performance will last for one to three days. The performers will choose the corresponding repertoires according to different occasions as domestic events like wedding, funeral, birthday, recovering from illness, coming to age, public affairs like praying for rain, even to celebrate when a local student topping certain important exams.
Most of the roles played in Yangxi Opera are required to cover their faces with white cloth wrapping around head, revealing only eyes. A wooden mask then would be worn on the forehead, leaving a width of two fingers between the lower edge of the mask and the eyes, so as to allow the performers to observe the stage. During the performance, the artists portray the characters and interpret the plots through body language and chanting dialogues.
The repertoires are mostly passed down orally through generations. Over the past decades, Chen and his predecessors have been collecting and organizing Yangxi Opera texts. Thanks to their efforts, more than 200 repertoires have been preserved.
In Tonggu Township, people of Tujia ethnic group have been hearing and practicing Yangxi Opera for generations. In 2021, Youyang Tujia Masked Yangxi Opera was listed as one of the fifth batch of the national intangible cultural heritages.
Nowadays, more and more young people are attracted to Yangxi Opera, and a younger leader for Chen Yongxia's troupe has been ready to take on the job. But for Chen and all the other elder artists, the stage of Yangxi Opera has no curtain call. When the gongs and drums start to sound, they continue to live on their opera life in the fields they love. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)
▶제보는 카톡 okjebo
Copyright © 연합뉴스. 무단전재 -재배포, AI 학습 및 활용 금지
- 대법, 견미리 남편 주가조작 무죄 파기…"중요사항 거짓기재" | 연합뉴스
- 횡단보도 건너던 50대 남매, 배달 오토바이에 치여 사망(종합) | 연합뉴스
- 30년 된 서울대공원 리프트 추억 속으로…곤돌라로 교체 속도 | 연합뉴스
- "올림픽에 오지 마세요"…파리 시민들, SNS로 보이콧 운동 | 연합뉴스
- '뚝배기 라면'·'맞춤 전통의상' 준비…우즈베크의 국빈 대접 | 연합뉴스
- 홍준표 "총선 망친 주범들이 당권 노린다"…한동훈 저격 | 연합뉴스
- 군가 맞춰 춤춰볼까…6살 루이 왕자 英왕실 행사 또 '신스틸러' | 연합뉴스
- '제자 성폭행' 성신여대 前교수 2심 징역 4년…1년 늘어 | 연합뉴스
- '명품시계' 태그호이어, 해킹으로 한국 고객 정보 2천900건 유출 | 연합뉴스
- "강간범보다 피해자 낙태 형량이 더 높아진다" 브라질 부글 | 연합뉴스