The origin of Taiwanese opera

Gezai Opera is one of the only traditional operas of Han nationality that originated in Taiwan Province Province. According to the Records of Taiwan Province Province and Yilan County, Taiwanese opera originated from the boundary of Yilan Mountain.

Taiwan Province Province's "Learning Arts and Provincial Records": "In the early years of the Republic of China, there was a man whose surname was unknown with the help of a singer, who was named after a good song. In my spare time, I often sing folk songs with big bass strings to cheer myself up. The lyrics are four sentences in each section, seven words in each sentence, and the feet of the sentences rhyme, but they are not related. Although it is no different from ordinary folk songs, it is full of songs and has a unique charm, that is, the seven-character tune. Later, Gezi helped to adapt the folk songs into lyrics with plots, taught them to others, tried to perform them, and got good reviews, so someone came out to organize a troupe called Gezi Opera. In addition, "The Records of Yilan County-People's Records-Etiquette and Custom" records: "Taiwanese opera was originally a folk tune in Yilan. Sixty years ago, a member of a troupe tied his name to a helper, who forgot his last name and asked him to help young people make good music. Every day after planting the land, he plays the piano and sings, which won the appreciation of his neighbors. The busybody advised him to change folk songs into plays. At first, only one or two people dressed as casual clothes for men and women, accompanied by big shells, Qin Yue, flutes, etc., had a conversation. At that time, it was called' Taiwanese opera'. "

However, Ge Zaizhu's statement is only a record of historical documents. In fact, the brewing and formation of a traditional Chinese opera should be the result of collective creation and accumulation. According to the investigation, there may be Mao Ziyuan and Chen before Ge Zibang. At the same time, there are at least Lin Zhuangtai, Chen Aru, Yang Shunzhi, Jane Yun Si and bass eel handsome. Ge Zaifu was just a famous local artist.

The origin of Taiwanese opera has a history of more than one hundred years. According to legend, Gezi Opera is developed from the "Gezi" in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, which combines the image of car inspiration with local ballads. "Gezi" was originally a kind of rap art, which spread in Zhangzhou from the Ming Dynasty. Jin songs are four folk songs (seven or five are one sentence). At first, they were just songs describing daily life, but later they developed into local stories. "Car Drum" is a kind of song and dance drama, which is deeply loved by Fujian people. With the spread of immigrants, Gezi music and car drum play were introduced into Taiwan Province Province. At that time, the "Nanguan" sung in Quanzhou dialect was popular in Quanzhou immigrant areas such as Mengga, Lugang and Tainan, while about 93% of Lanyangping were Zhangzhou immigrants, so the "Gezi" and "Chegu" circulating in Zhangzhou merged into "local Gezi" in Yilan. At first, local singers may just sit in the form of oratorio, and then add foot color drama and car drum movements to form a small musical with a little embryonic form of drama.

The performance of local singers is performed in the temple open space or along the street, so it is called "sweeping the floor"; At that time, the actors were all amateur actors, with no clothes and costumes; Before the performance, an actor appeared on the stage, walked around the performance area and outlined the singing plot as the opening. At that time, there were only four repertoires: Shan Bo Ying Tai, Xi Shi Ji, Lv Mengzheng and Chen Sanwu Niang. "Local Taiwanese opera" is the original performance form of Taiwanese opera. Later, it absorbed and merged the essence of other operas, and black powder appeared in ancient costumes, forming the so-called "Taiwanese opera".