Puxian Opera

Introduction

A living fossil of Song-Yuan drama, grown from Xinghua zaju

Puxian opera, formerly called Xinghua opera, is performed in Putian, Xianyou and other Xinghua-dialect areas of Fujian and is one of the oldest surviving Chinese opera forms. Under the influence of Song zaju, Xinghua zaju arose there in the Southern Song; in the early Ming it absorbed the Kunshan, Yiyang, Yuyao and Haiyan tunes to form the Xinghua tune, and in 1954 it was renamed Puxian opera. Of more than five thousand surviving traditional plays, Zhang Xie the Top Graduate and Wang Kui keep the character of nanxi, and the seven-day Mulian play preserves early staging. Its music is qupai-based, and its stylized movements, some echoing puppet theatre, include the snake step and the sparrow hop.

Timeline

1. 1200OriginIn the Southern Song, Xinghua zaju, combining song, dance and speech to tell stories, arose in Putian and Xianyou under the influence of Song zaju.
2. 1400EvolutionIn the early Ming, Xinghua zaju absorbed the Kunshan, Yiyang, Yuyao and Haiyan tunes and formed the Xinghua tune of Xinghua opera.

Heritage Listings

1. 2006National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · IV-3 · nominated by Putian · Fujian