Teochew Opera (Chaozhou Opera)

Introduction

A branch of southern drama sung in Teochew

Teochew opera, also called Chaozhou or Chaoyin opera, is sung in the Teochew dialect and descends from Song-Yuan southern drama (nanxi); in the Ming it was called the Chao tune, and the Tale of the Lychee Mirror, printed in 1566, is the earliest surviving performance script in the Quanzhou-Chaozhou tune. Its music is built mainly on linked qupai suites, with beat-pattern (banqiang) music added after the mid-Qing, and its singing is soft and lyrical. The clown role has ten types and its own skills, such as the fan technique and the ladder-sliding technique. Plays include the Tale of the Lychee Mirror and Su Liuniang, with excerpts such as Sweeping the Window and the Hairpin Quarrel especially well known. It is performed in eastern Guangdong, southern Fujian, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Teochew communities across Southeast Asia.

Timeline

1. 1566OriginIn 1566 the Tale of the Lychee Mirror was printed in the Quanzhou-Chaozhou tune; telling the story of Chen San and Wuniang, it is the earliest surviving Chao-tune performance script.
2. 1900EvolutionBy the end of the Guangxu reign there were over two hundred Teochew opera troupes, and the form had followed Teochew migrants to Southeast Asia.
3. 1958ImpactThe Guangdong Teochew Opera Theatre was founded in 1958.

Heritage Listings

1. 2006National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · IV-4 · nominated by Chaozhou and Shantou · Guangdong
2. 2008National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage, extension2nd batch · IV-4 · nominated by Jieyang · Guangdong