The origin of Qiong opera

Hainan Culture and the Origin of Qiongju Opera

The origin of drama has always been an interesting topic in the history of world culture. Compared with western drama, although China's drama did not directly originate from religious sacrificial ceremonies and its history is not as long as that of western drama, its origin is more complicated and thorny, and there are still different opinions. As one of China's operas, Qiongju can only be originated from China's operas.

There are at least four views on the origin of Qiong Opera: (1) The representative theory, whose representative is Annals of Hainan Island. His ambition says: "The drama is in Hainan. In the Yuan Dynasty, there was a hand-cranked wooden class singing from Chaozhou. In the middle and early Ming Dynasty, natives imitated and local operas flourished. " In other words, Qiongju is an imitation of the popular puppet show in Yuan Dynasty by Hainan people in the early Ming Dynasty. This statement is actually a copy of China's opera Dian Lun. The "dream of a secluded place" in the pre-Qin Dynasty and the puppet show in the Song Dynasty are both considered as the origins of China's traditional drama. (2) The "theory of imported products", whose followers are mostly old artists of Qiong Opera. Fan Jingle, an old artist in Yacheng, said: "The predecessor of Qiongzhou local opera is zaju, which originated in Fujian. People in the Asian and Zhou Dynasties used to call Qiong Opera Minnan Zaju and Qiongzhou Zaju. " Li Douguang, an old artist in Qiongdong, said: "Qiongju originated from Chaozhou Andrew Opera. After learning Chaozhou Opera, Qiongyin was sung in the literary opera, and there was Mandarin in the martial arts opera." As for the origin of China opera, some people once thought that there was no opera in China, while China opera was influenced by Indian Brahma opera in the Han Dynasty. (3) The "nativism" which is quite influential in Qiong Opera. The person who clearly put forward this statement is the author of An Introduction to Hainan Han Opera, Cen. He believes that Qiongju originated from Hainan local folk songs and is a kind of local art. There are many people who support this statement. He thinks that "there is no middle board, no Qiongju" circulating in Qiongju circles is evidence of this statement. They believe that, as the core of Qiong Opera, "Zhongban" precedes Qiong Opera, and its source is Hainan folk songs. Chen's "A Brief History of Qiong Opera" holds that: "After Hainan local opera came into being, it absorbed local folk songs, songs and dances, and even abandoned the qupai, only retaining the rolling part, thus gradually showing local color." In other words, there are Hainan local operas first, and then local operas absorb and transform Yiyang operas such as Liyuan Opera. (4) "religious theory". When writing this book, the author has repeatedly investigated the origin of Qiong opera to fans of Qiong opera, and almost all of them said, "Qiong opera originated from Taoism." This view is actually Wang Guowei's "witchcraft theory". Wang Guowei pointed out in the Textual Research of Song and Yuan Dynasties: "Later generations of operas should be superior to their own skills." "The difference between witchcraft and superiority: witchcraft delights in God and superiority delights in people; Witches mainly sing and dance, and the best thing is teasing; Witches are made for women, but better for men. " He also believes that the relationship between China traditional opera and witchcraft is closer than that between witchcraft and Excellence: "Although witchcraft is prevalent in the world of emperors, it is far behind." "Witch", in Shuo Wen Jie Zi, is interpreted as "I wish you a good day. Women dance for the invisible, and those who drop their spirits are also." Although the viewpoint that Qiongju originated from Taoism lacks strong arguments, it cannot be ignored.

Although these four views on the origin of Qiong Opera have some truth, they are not necessarily accurate. Just like the origin of China Opera, the occurrence and formation of Qiong Opera can not be attributed to a single factor, but should be understood from the multicultural background. In fact, just as China's traditional opera has matured in the Southern Opera period, Hainan Island, which is in a peaceful corner, still doesn't know what drama is. Su Shi used his concise poetic language to provide us with the historical facts of Hainan folk songs and dances in the Northern Song Dynasty. Su Shi said in his poem: "The wild old man sang for half a year and wanted to banish the minister from the book." Weng Fanggang, a poet in A Qing, wrote a poem about Su Shi's departure: "Ligeman dances to wish the Duke a return." "Folk Songs", "Li Ge" and "Wu Man" are enough to show that there were only songs and dances but no drama in Hainan at that time.

There is a drama (puppet show) in Hainan, which should be the earliest in the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty. The nomads from the south and the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty increased the number of Qionglai immigrants who fled the war. Among mainland immigrants, wandering puppet actors is not allowed to set foot in. Simple props and easy-to-master performing arts make it easy for puppet shows to land in Hainan Island. Puppet puppetry originated in Kaifeng in the Northern Song Dynasty and then flowed into Lin 'an. On the verge of extinction in the Southern Song Dynasty, he drifted to southern Fujian with Jianghu artists, and finally passed through Qiongzhou Strait in eastern Guangdong to Hainan Island. At that time, it was difficult for us to know the popular form of puppet show in Hainan Island, but judging from Wenchang and Qiongshan today, puppet show was still used to worship ancestors, worship gods, marry and bury, which shows that puppet show at that time was nothing more than appreciating gods and entertaining people. However, the puppet show at that time was definitely different from the present Hainan puppet show. The former is a part of Zaju in Song and Yuan Dynasties, and the latter is already a part of Qiongju culture, and its language singing, business, gongs and drums are no different from Qiongju.

It was the fact that puppet shows were popular in the Yuan Dynasty that gave birth to the theory of "imitation" that Qiongju originated from puppet shows. "Hainan Island Records" holds that: "Therefore, today's local drama class is called wood class as teacher history." Before Qiongju appeared, Hainan people prayed for peace mainly by singing and dancing "Nuo". After entering Hainan, "wood lessons" replaced the original songs and dances and became the main form of "fasting" for Hainan people. Because the origin of drama is closely related to religion, people mistakenly think that the object of learning Qiongju is puppet show. According to the law of drama, it can only be said that puppet show has an important influence on the formation of Qiong opera, but it is not the source.

Secondly, let's take a look at the "foreign theory" of Qiong Opera. Za Wan Li appeared in Hainan only after the puppet show. Around the middle of the Ming Dynasty, there were "Zaju" performances in Hainan. In the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Deqiong's Records of Taiwan said: "Every Spring Festival, the government guards go to Yingchun Pavilion in the eastern suburbs, and Wuyi each gives a play." On May 11th, Weisso disguised himself as Guan. "Fu Wei" and "Wei Suo" were military camps in Hainan during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and there are still villages and towns named after Wei Suo and Tun in the west of Hainan Island. Of course, it is impossible for soldiers stationed in Joan to play professional zaju. Their purpose is only to entertain themselves through the performance of zaju, so as to alleviate their anxiety about the hometown of the Central Plains. The zaju they performed belongs to the same system as the Zaju in Song and Yuan Dynasties, which is a kind of drama performed in "Mandarin", with no emphasis on tone and simplicity. Because it is a military performance, this kind of "zaju" which emphasizes science and martial arts is called "legionary teleplay"

In addition to Miscellaneous Wan Li, many operas belonging to the Southern Opera of the Song and Yuan Dynasties were introduced into Hainan. In particular, Liyuan Opera, Minnan Gaojia Opera, Andrew Opera and Yuedong Chaozhou Opera were widely called "Huguang Opera" at that time, which had the greatest influence. After the middle of Ming Dynasty, Fujian and Guangxi businessmen who came to Qiong benefited a lot. In order to ensure the safety of trade, they invited the gods of their hometown to Hainan, and invited the troupe of their hometown to perform during the festival. According to records, the commercial atmosphere in Haikou in Ming Dynasty was extremely prosperous. "The vast number of ships in Fujian call at Baishajin, and Huguang Opera often sings all night." Hainan Han people originally came from southern Fujian and eastern Guangdong, so these performances are very popular. Foreign artists not only act, but also run classes and museums, collect and spread art, and cultivate the earliest drama inheritors in Hainan. "Geography of Haikou" said: "Ding 'an County has always been the hometown of local operas, and opera masters from Fujian and Chaozhou have come here to teach and settle down". Cen, who advocates that Qiong Opera originated from Hainan ballads, also said: "1932, the author visited Wu Fafeng, an old writer of Tujia Opera in Hainan. According to the cloud, the original Tujia opera in Hainan really sang the four-character board of Chaozhou, and the narrative style of Tujia opera today still uses the four-character board. "There is no doubt that Qiong Opera is closely related to dramas circulating in southern Fujian and eastern Guangdong.

However, even if mainland drama artists set up a museum in Hainan to teach drama, they would not teach the later Qiong opera. At that time, Hainan Island was actually a testing ground for various operas. Imitation is not creation. Imitate any kind of "foreign" drama, there will be no new drama. Only by combining "foreign" dramas, such as puppet shows, orthodox operas, Liyuan operas, Gaojia operas, Chaozhou operas, etc., with local dialects and folk songs and dances in Hainan according to the actual life of Hainan people and their favorite habits, can it be possible to form a local drama-Qiong Opera after a long historical evolution and artistic actual combat. Qiong opera can't be completely foreign.

Thirdly, let's simply judge the "nativism" of the origin of Qiong Opera. The so-called Qiongju opera comes directly from Hainan folk songs, but actually only sees the nature of the opera "Qu" and ignores the more important nature of the opera. If there are only folk songs without the stimulation of various operas from the Central Plains, dialects are just dialects, and ballads are just ballads, not dramas. The existing traditional repertoire of Qiong Opera, almost all of which come from Zaju, Nanxi and Legend, is the best illustration. As a comprehensive art, opera cannot be formed without any factors and links.

Finally, let's analyze the "religious theory" of the origin of Qiong Opera. Although different people have different views on the origin of drama, people basically admit that the origin of drama cannot be separated from the profound influence of religion. Dong Kang's Preface to the General Catalogue of Quhai said: "Opera originated in Nuo's hometown". Nuo, a ritual of "beating the drums and beating the epidemic ghosts", is said to have originated in the era of the Yellow Emperor. The Book of Rites describes Nuo in detail: "In December this year, Fang wore tiger skin and four eyes of gold, attracting Yi Danshang (continued) to hold Levin shield, handsome and boy, enter Nuo, take refuge in the room, and fight against epidemic ghosts." Nuo in the Western Zhou Dynasty is divided into spring Nuo, autumn Nuo and winter Nuo according to seasons. It is recorded in Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals that spring Nuo is "Chinese Nuo" and "Bi Chun reports it"; Autumn Nuo is "Tian Zi Nuo" and "delivering autumn air"; Dongnuo is "big promise" and "send air conditioning". Pre-Qin Nuo was divided into rural Nuo, ethnic Nuo and military Nuo according to the occasion. In rural areas, it is called "hometown furniture"; In the palace, it is called "national Nuo"; It is called "military Nuo" in the military camp. In the final analysis, "Nuo" is a religious ritual of dressing up, holding props and driving away ghosts and diseases with strong action rhythm. Although it is not a drama, its function is nothing more than entertaining the gods, exorcising ghosts and seeking peace, which has already included the bud of drama. Nuo entered the temple from the countryside, and there was a mass meeting to meet the gods, which weakened the nature of entertaining gods and enhanced the role of entertaining people, and finally evolved into Nuo opera. Nuo opera is a combination of religion and drama. In interdependence, they get the information and strength of life from each other. Therefore, drama is not only a derivative of religion, but also a carrier of religious spirit. The existing Nuo opera in Guizhou is a "living fossil" of the origin of drama.

Religious consciousness has existed in Hainan since ancient times. When Baiyue people crossed Qiongzhou Strait, it was during the Yin and Shang Dynasties when witchcraft was prevalent. "Book of Rites. "Table Record" said: "Yin people respect God, lead people to deal with ghosts, ghosts first, then rituals". In the changeable natural environment, the ancestors of Hainan can't help but fear the mysterious natural forces, so it is inevitable to worship ghosts and gods. Every major event, not only good or bad fortune is predicted, but also it appears. For example, the "soul dance" is held in spring, summer and autumn every year, which evokes the souls of cattle, rice and people respectively. Li people believe that everything is animistic, and only "evoking spirits" can drive away evil spirits and avoid epidemics and pray for peace. Another example is "ghost dance". Every time Li people encounter a disease, they ask Daogong or Niang to exorcise ghosts. In the sound of gongs and drums, they recited spells, held swords and arrows, and performed ghost hunting while dancing. It's like "Mother's Dance". If the child is ill, she will be asked to sing and dance to exorcise ghosts. When dancing, two or four women line up in a vertical line, or hold flowers and plants, while dancing and singing, or hold a wine bowl high and clap with chopsticks. Hainan people are not called "Nuo", but they are the same. Wearing beautiful costumes and holding weapons, everyone danced, drummed and chanted, exorcised ghosts and chanted spells. Perhaps the only difference between them and Nuo in the Central Plains is that they have no masks. Moreover, the evocation dance three times a year is strikingly similar to Nuo in the Western Zhou Dynasty. In addition, the Li people also have a mass religious song and dance "Yong", which is a sacrificial dance, with the purpose of expelling heroes and praying for God and rain. Nuo and Yu both originated from primitive witchcraft. Some people think: "This is the original work of Qiong Opera." Although we admit that religion played an important role in the occurrence of drama, it does not mean that Qiong Opera originated directly from Nuo Opera and Yu Opera. From religious customs to drama, the middle link is Nuo opera. There is only Nuo opera in Hainan, but there is no Nuo opera. Nuo and Yu are just embryos of drama. Without the stimulation and promotion of various operas from the Central Plains, perhaps Hainan Nuo Opera and Yi Opera will eventually become Nuo Opera.

Therefore, the representative theories of origin, foreign origin, local origin and religion of Qiong Opera are not comprehensive enough. In the process of its formation and development, Qiong Opera has imitated various operas introduced into Hainan, but these operas are only the "stream" produced by Qiong Opera, not the "source". Only "imitation" can not produce unique artistic charm. In addition, the "imitation" of Joan's plays is quite different from western plays. The latter "imitation" refers to the imitation of the original labor process. Although the "foreign" drama has an important influence on the production of Qiong opera, it was not formed as soon as it entered Hainan. The production of Qiong Opera was completed by Hainan people in their long-term production and artistic practice through the release of "foreign" dramas and their localization in Hainan. Only the influence of "foreign" factors is emphasized, while the sunshine, water and soil that are most needed for the growth of Qiongju are ignored. Although the "nativism" is completely opposite to the "exoticism", the mistakes made are similar and cannot be impartial. The relationship between Qiong Opera and religion is indeed very close, but the comprehensive artistic characteristics of Qiong Opera make it impossible to be influenced by only one factor. Before Nuo Opera and Yi Opera developed into Nuo Opera, the profound Central Plains culture, one of its manifestations, had been continuously spread to Hainan Island, thus cutting off the connection between Qiong Opera and Hainan's primitive religious consciousness.