Zhangzhou Teochew Opera with Zhangzhou accent

Teochew opera is one of the main types of local opera in Zhangzhou. It is also called Quanchao Yadiao, Chaoyin opera, Baizi opera, etc. It is now popular in Zhao'an, Yunxiao, Dongshan, Zhangpu, Pinghe, Nanjing and other counties in Zhangzhou City, the Chaoshan area of ??Guangdong, and the Chinese-inhabited areas in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Zhangpu and Nanjing should be the mainstream of Xiang opera, Pinghe is also where Xiang opera and Chao opera exist, and the five counties in Zhangbei are dominated by Xiang opera. Not all Hokkien-speaking areas in Guangdong Province are popular in Teochew opera. The Hailufeng area in Shanwei is dominated by Hokkien and is geographically close to Chaoshan. However, only some villages and towns in Lufeng are popular in Teochew opera. Hailufeng also has three types of operas: Baizi, Zhengzi and Xiqin. .

Chao script is the main opera type in Guangdong, and is sung in the pronunciation of Fucheng, Chaozhou, Guangdong (now the ancient city of Chaozhou).

The three counties of Zhao'an, Yunxiao and Dongshan belong to Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province. The dialects of the three counties also belong to the Hokkien and Taiwanese dialects. They belong to the same area as the Zhangzhou dialect and do not belong to the Chaoshan dialect. However, local operas are It's called Teochew Opera (Chaozhou Opera). There are several Teochew Opera troupes in the county, but no one listens to the orthodox opera "Zhangzhou Diao". Why it has been spread in southern Fujian for a long time has profound historical, geographical, language, folk custom and other reasons. Historically, there have been many immigrants from the Central Plains who entered the Chaozhou area in southern Fujian. For example, in the late Jin Dynasty, people "moved their clothes and clothes southward" and moved to Ngee'an (today's Chaoshan and southern Fujian areas). During the reign of Emperor Zongzhang of the Tang Dynasty, Chen Zhengti's army went south, and a large number of northern soldiers and civilians went south to Zhangzhou. In the Ming Dynasty, fishermen from Zhejiang Province also poured into southern Fujian and eastern Guangdong in large numbers to avoid Japanese chaos. Therefore, the Yuedong clan surnames in southern Fujian have the same ancestral origin and have the same cultural heritage.

From a geographical perspective, Tanchao and Tanchao once belonged to the same administrative region in history. It belonged to Yangzhou in ancient times and later to Jieyang. It was also under the jurisdiction of Lingnan Road, Guangdong for a long time. From the perspective of linguistic factors, Tanchao belongs to the Hokkien language family, with similar pronunciation and the same tone (both have fifteen tones and retain the entering tone).

From the perspective of folk customs, both places have the custom of performing to reward gods, and the "Chaozhou Song Album" has long been popular among the people. In addition, the cultural exchanges between the two places are very close. Guangdong Teochew Opera Troupe has performed in southern Fujian for a long time. Southern Fujian Teochew Opera is still mainly active in eastern Guangdong. It can be seen that the reason why Teochew opera can sprout and thrive in southern Fujian is inevitable.

Southern Fujian Teochew opera sprouted in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, and has developed to this day and has a complete system and a certain scale. There are not only four county-run professional Teochew opera troupes (Dongshan, Yunxiao, Zhao'an, and Pinghe Teochew opera troupes), a provincial art school Teochew opera class (the class is located in Zhao'an), but also more than 100 private professional Teochew opera troupes active in southern Fujian. The vast urban and rural stage in eastern Guangdong.

The late 1980s and early 1990s were the golden age in the development history of Fujian Teochew opera. Its main sign is the emergence of a large number of creative plays that have great influence in Fujian Province, and have successively won high awards in various awards in this province and even in East China. Representative repertoires include "The Treasure Mirror" and "The Siege of the City" by the Yunxiao Teochew Opera Troupe, "The Mother-in-Law" and "The Love of the White Lotus" by the Dongshan Teochew Opera Troupe, and "Jie Yi Suo" by the Zhao'an Teochew Opera Troupe. Among them, the play "Fortress Besieged" won the first prize for the script and the Outstanding Performance Award at the 18th Fujian Provincial Drama Competition, and the second prize for the script at the East China "Tian Han Drama Award". In addition, there are also a number of outstanding Teochew opera actors who are influential in the theater circles in Fujian Province, such as Chen Yu and Chen Baoling of the Yunxiao County Teochew Opera Troupe, and Zeng Youlu of the Dongshan County Teochew Opera Troupe. They have all won the Fujian Provincial Young and Middle-aged Actor Award. Competition gold medal. At the same time, Fujian Teochew Opera Troupes have also gone abroad to perform in Southeast Asian countries. Dongshan County Teochew Opera Troupe, Yunxiao County Teochew Opera Troupe, and Pinghe County Teochew Opera Troupe have performed in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries, and have been well received by local audiences.

However, in the late 1990s, Fujian Teochew opera also experienced a "landslide" phenomenon. Mainly manifested in the shrinking space for Teochew opera activities, the decline in the quality of the repertoire, and the lack of talent successors. In the past, Fujian Teochew opera popular areas spread all over southern Fujian. Not only are Zhao'an, Yunxiao, Pinghe, Dongshan, Zhangpu and Nanjing in Zhangzhou popular, but Teochew opera is also often performed in theaters in Quanzhou and Xiamen. But now, Nanjing and Zhangpu have become popular areas for Xiang opera. Quanzhou and Xiamen can no longer hear the sound of Teochew opera.