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The Past And Present Life Of Lingao Puppet Drama

2020/10/28 10:23:00 0

Lingao Puppet PlayPast And Present

Lingao puppet show

Lingao puppet opera originated from the Southern Song Dynasty. Without cloth, actors and actresses hold puppet costumes to stage and play the same role with puppets. The performance is flexible and the singing is beautiful. It is a rare drama unique to Hainan in China and rare in the world. The audience is less than one million, but it supports seven local troupes, performing more than 1000 performances a year. Lingao puppet drama still has a broad mass base.

Riding a small electric donkey, Wang Chunrong waved to the reporter from afar. Even if he doesn't wave, it's easy to recognize him. After all, with such a bright forehead and a white and clean Chinese face, Wang Chunrong's appearance is really outstanding among a group of dark Hainan people.

Wang Chunrong is a representative inheritor of the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage project puppet show (Lingao puppet show). We begin our understanding of Lingao puppet show from Wang Chunrong.

Previous life

The local people love puppet shows, and can sing one or two sentences. Chen Jianrong, retired director of the cultural center of Lingao County, told reporters that since the county Puppet Troupe was established in 1978, it has promoted the development of local puppet shows. At most, there were dozens of troupes with thousands of performers and staff. You know, the total population of Lingao County is only several hundred thousand.

What is the biggest characteristic of Lingao puppet play? "Puppets perform on the same stage", Wang Chunrong explained to reporters. In addition to manipulating the puppets on the stage, the actors of Lingao puppet show also sing opera articles. The expressions on their faces, waist and feet cooperate with the puppets and lyrics in their hands to achieve the unity of puppets and figures.

In addition, unlike the ordinary puppet show, the stage of Lingao puppet show is not equipped with butao. Since its singing, it is mainly composed of local folk song "Aloha" and "langtan" from Taoist tune. The main accompaniment is double suona, and there are three strings (or Qin Qin Qin), coconut Hu, bass bamboo flute, middle drum, cymbal, Gong, etc., with strong local characteristics.

The biggest feature of Lingao puppet play is "puppet performance on the same stage" by Gao Jianghong

Puppet shows are found in many parts of the country. There are 28 national intangible cultural heritages, covering more than ten provinces. But why is it that only Lingao's puppet play "puppets on the same stage"? How did it come into being? When was it formed? According to the textual research of the book "general theory of Lingao's puppet show", Xu Yuwen, a famous performing artist of puppet show, believes that "people and Buddha are on the same stage" is the most original origin of Lingao's "puppet on the same stage". Xu Yuwen believes that in the late Song and early Yuan Dynasties, puppet opera was introduced into Hainan from Guangdong, Fujian and other places. In the process of learning and developing, people in Lingao put the local "Buddhist duet singing" onto the puppet stage, and gradually formed a relatively fixed form of puppet co performance on the stage, but this has become the core connotation of puppet drama.

inherit

Lingao puppet opera is sung in Lingao dialect, so there is only performance market in Lingao County and some surrounding areas. However, with less than 1 million audiences, the opera has supported seven local puppet troupes, performing more than 1000 performances a year, sometimes even 2000 performances. So far, it still has a very broad mass base.

Yan Chunlan, director of women's office of LianBo Daikun village in Lingao County, is a fan of opera. She likes to listen very much and can sing some clips herself. She told reporters that in a few days there will be a rally in the village to invite a troupe, and there will be two or three such performances every year.

Among the many puppet actors in Lingao, one of the three most famous is Wang Chunrong.

Wang Chunrong was fond of puppet show since he was a child. He used to watch puppet shows all night with his little friends in the neighboring village. He also studied for a period of time following the troupe. When he was 19 years old, he was sent to learn from the Puppet Troupe of Guangdong Province. Since 1996, Wang Chunrong has been working in Huanjie Puppet Troupe of Lingao County. He is handsome in appearance and has a wide range of voices. He can be performed by both young and old students. He has a sense of humor and appeal and is very popular in Lingao.

Another national inheritor, Mr. Chen Shaojin, 60, is the deputy head of Lingao County Puppet Troupe and a national third-class actor. As a dancer, Chen Shaojin is the best Dan actor because of his graceful posture, wide range and mellow voice when he manipulates the puppet.

Xu Yuwen is also a famous local puppet artist. He is the head of the new style Puppet Troupe. Although he is over 70, he is still hale and hearty and often performs on the stage. Xu Yuwen told reporters that in fact, he was 29 years old when he was studying puppet opera. He went to his relatives' troupe to learn from his teacher. However, he is not only good at singing and puppet operation, but also a local leader in the study of drama.

Xu Yuwen told reporters that there is no detailed script and lines in Lingao puppet show. Because of the special local language, there are more than ten pronunciation ways for a single character of "Da". The script, libretto and aria of the puppet show are passed down by the mouth of the old artists, so it needs actors to have a good memory. In addition, puppet plays also rely on the on-the-spot play and change. Although there are more than 20 categories of puppet dramas, the troupe will adjust the libretto according to the theme of the day when the local people should invite them to perform on ancestor worship, wedding celebration, birthday and children's entrance to college. In fact, it is quite a test of the actor's line skills and cultural literacy.

Xu Yuwen realized this, so for 40 years he would buy various historical novels and legends, blend them into his heart and adapt them into music. Therefore, Xu Yuwen's lyrics are incisive and beautiful, and are quite famous in the local area.

Puppet in front of the stage behind the scenes.

this life

Although there has been a glorious history in Lingao puppet drama, the youngest teachers, Wang Chunrong, Chen Shaojin and Xu Yuwen, are still active on the stage. The youngest of them is 59 years old, and there is no new backbone actor who can replace them.

The three teachers have taught countless students, but Chen Shaojin said that few of her students are in their 20s, most of them are in their 30s and 40s. Wang Chunrong admitted that today's young people are not willing to learn puppet drama, because there is no future, not to mention "money".

Chen Jianrong told reporters that in the 1980s, almost every commune in the county had a troupe. In addition, the total number of private opera troupes is expected to be dozens. At present, 13 troupes are operating in the county, including 7 puppet troupes. Generally, the number of troupes is about 18-20, including 6 band members, 8 actors, and the rest are logistics personnel. If he gets more than 2000 yuan, he can only get 100 yuan per person.

"The income is so low that no one wants to learn now." Chen Shaojin echoed.

If you can't earn any money, it's hard to learn puppetry. The actors who enter the troupe have to learn a variety of skills and memorize a large number of lines and singing. In contrast to Lingao drama, which competes with puppet shows, they can now have electronic prompts on both sides of the stage. The actors do not have to recite so many lines, and the income of each performance is as high as 3000-5000 yuan. "So more and more people don't want to learn puppet drama," Wang Chunrong told reporters. Some of his students directly transferred to Lingao Opera Troupe after graduation, resulting in the fact that every Puppet Troupe is now in a poor position.

In order to protect and inherit the Lingao puppet show, Tang Kai, deputy director of the Lingao culture and Sports Bureau, told reporters that in recent years, Hainan has set up a Lingao puppet opera training center in Lingao County, and has set up Peizhen classes from time to time to improve the performance level and performance ability of the troupe. At the same time, Lingao County Federation of literary and art has carried out a series of activities of sending dramas to the countryside, holding opera competitions from time to time, in order to increase the income of the troupe and support its development. Tang Kai also said that the county also opened an art class in vocational secondary schools, taught by experienced puppet actors. According to him, the county invests one million yuan a year.

But this million investment does not seem to be perceived by the market. In the interview, several puppet artists said that they did not feel much help from the government and were disappointed with the protection measures taken by the government. They believed that the government should give more support to puppet shows. At present, the puppet troupes are in urgent need of funds and funds to support their performances. Moreover, it is difficult for Xu Wen troupe to keep up with the old stage props and to keep up with the market.

On the other hand, the younger generation of Lin Gao people are not keen on the old school puppet show, and the market foundation of puppet show is collapsing, which makes several old puppet artists feel extra worried. In response, Tang Kai said that the government supports the creation of new dramas, increasing the number of modern dramas and attracting new audiences. However, he admitted that it is quite difficult to create modern operas for Lingao puppet plays. Let alone the problem of script, it is said that too many styles of modern opera costumes will increase the cost, and the design of trousers is not as easy to block the puppet operation in hands than the ancient dress and robe.

(if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Jinxu @ 21jingji. Com)

 

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