Clowing around

Four Gaojia opera plays won special applause this week at the National Culture Theater. The marionette-style dancing by a troupe of chou, the clown role in Chinese opera, was the delight on the night. "I was really impressed by the physical comedy of the actors. To a Westerner, the theater seemed slightly stylized, but funny and moving all the same," said Jonathan Goodman, a freelance writer from New York who specializes in writing about contemporary Chinese art.

It was also the first time many Chinese in the audience had seen this genre of theater, which originates in Fujian province, acted exclusively by clowns, distinctive for their traditional black and white faces. Plays with a simple plot provide a vehicle for the various chou to performed acrobatics to the accompaniment of various percussion instruments.

Originally an improvised aspect of a religious procession, chou opera emerged at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It embodies elements of Hui and Beijing opera and Yiyang music.

Gaojia opera is accompanied by music in the south Chinese style, in turn, influenced by Liyuan opera.

In the play "Riding a Donkey to Visit the Daughter," a male clown plays a role of a mother who, worried about her beloved daughter's family life, witnesses what appears to be ill treatment of her at the hands of her mother-in-law. The two "mothers" quarrel and fight, only to discover later there has been a huge misunderstanding. The audience was helpless with laughter throughout this Gaojia style comedy of errors.

Gaojia Opera is most popular in south Fujian, Taiwan and the areas of southeastern Asia where Minnanhua is spoken. The government has designated it an aspect of China's intangible cultural heritage. Fujianese of older generations treasure Fujian opera for this very reason, but there are few in younger generations who are willing to devote their whole lives to performing, thereby perpetuating, Fujian opera.

"Although I could only understand it through my friend's translation, I like it for being so different from anything I've ever seen before. The Chinese people must keep it alive," Goodman said.

The Gaojia Opera was one of the performances touring the capital during celebrations of the 3rd National Culture Heritage Day, whose purpose was to acquaint citizens with lesser known strands of Chinese opera and cultural treasures from other parts of China.

There are folk opera, dancing and singing performances at the Nationality Culture Palace, Chang'an Theater, Beijing Music Hall, and Nanxincang starting from June 11 to the end of August. Dates to note are June 14 to June 16, when a folk dancing and singing troupe from Sichuan will give a show that includes local Qiang and Tibet Minority performances at the Nationality Culture Palace. It is a token of appreciation for the nation's disaster relief work in Sichuan.

(China Daily 06/14/2008 page6)