October 8, 2010 at 1:39 am
It is a really humbling experience when a little five year-old Malay child could appreciate the Chinese opera when I, a Chinese, did not know how. The child in question belongs to Anuar, one of the friendly bus drivers of the route I usually take, and he tells me his child had asked to go and see the Chinese opera, not once but twice or three times!
Some young children may be alarmed by the appearance of the performers, but not Anuar’s child who had been curious about the performances on the temporary stage by the roadside. So he had taken his child to the performance where they watched actors in thick make-up and colourful traditional costumes, walking around the stage, waving their arms around and singing in rather high-pitched tones in classical Chinese.
Chinese Opera Spectators
The Chinese opera is always staged during celebrations on the feast days (commonly called “birthdays”) of Chinese deities and also during the Hungry Ghost (Phor Thor) festival held throughout the seventh month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. These performances are held by committees of temples to honour the temple’s patron deity, and during the seventh month, they are held in honour of Tye Soo Ya, the deity in charge of the Underworld.
I don’t know very much about the Chinese opera, but I do know that it is a very highly stylised art form meaning that walking once around the stage meant travelling a large distance, for example, crossing a whole mountain range. The performers’ movements and gestures are fluid and graceful as they walk, dance and sometimes even perform simple martial arts moves on the stage.
Chinese Opera Performance
Props that the actors hold tell the audience who the character is. Costume, make-up style and colour separates male from female characters, although to the untrained eye, i.e. the general public and younger generation of Malaysian Chinese, everything looks the same, white faces with thick make-up in contrasting colours – white face powder, thick black brows, red lips and bright pink eyelids and cheeks…but to the senior citizens, classic Chinese literature comes alive before their very eyes.
Every troupe has a band of musicians as well as a certain number of actors who play several roles. They often travel from place to place, depending on where their assignment is. The stage is set up where the performance is to be, usually in the middle of a field, by the roadside facing a temple or a temporary altar set up for a certain celebration. The stage set up is simple, with painted scenes separating the stage from backstage where the actors change and put on their make-up. They do not have individual dressing rooms, and I believe their costumes are put on over the clothes they are wearing.
Chinese Opera Stage
The term “Chinese opera” is also sometimes used to include puppet shows. One puppeteer usually handles several puppets at once, while a musician plays some music. In the old days before there were TVs and cinemas, the Chinese community looked forward to these performances which were held every evening during the Phor Thor festival. People would bring their own stools and sit in the cool breeze under the stars following the story which would be presented in parts over several nights.
Anyone can watch these performances held by the roadside; there’s no need to buy tickets. All that’s needed is some interest and curiosity about the Chinese culture, like Anuar’s child, who, after that first time, was so intrigued and interested, and not only asked to go and watch the Chinese opera again, but could also mimic the gestures and sing-song tones of the opera!
Tags: Chinese, Chinese Opera, Chinese Tradition