Taiwanese Opera (歌仔戲) - Josh Ellis Photography

The Taiwanese opera doesn't rely on high-flying acrobats or high-pitched singing voices like its Chinese counterparts - Performances are often ... Taiwan Street Landscape Temples TempleEvents JapaneseTaiwan Galleries Nepal Iceland Scotland Ireland England Italy Philippines Okinawa Vietnam Thailand Film Blog RecentWork Maps About About Links Contact Disclaimer Menu BlogMap|部落格地圖TaiwanLocationsKeelung|基隆NewTaipeiCity|新北市Taipei|臺北Taoyuan|桃園Hsinchu|新竹Miaoli|苗栗Taichung|臺中Tainan|臺南Kaohsiung|高雄Yilan|宜蘭Hualien|花蓮Taitung|臺東CategoriesTemples|宮廟Hiking|爬山JapaneseColonialEra|日治UrbanExploration|廢墟探索Europe|歐洲 Searchthisblog Viewfullsize Idon'tgoonrantsonmyblogveryoften,butherewego- WhenyouthinkofthingsthatareuniquelyTaiwanese,whatcomestomind?Nightmarkets?Bubbletea?Stinkytofu? Iaskthisbecausewhenmostofusthinkofthingsthatare“Taiwanese”,thefirstthingthatcomestomindisusuallyfood.Thatisn’tnecessarilyabadthing-Taiwaniswithoutadoubtaworld-famousfood-crazedcountry, butwhatelsecouldwepresenttopeoplecomingtoTaiwanassomethingthatyoucanonlyseehere? Iwouldarguethatanexcellentexampleofsomethingthatyouwillonlyfindhereisthenativetheatricaloperawhichhasevolvedovertheyearsintoanimportantpartoftheculturalidentityofthecountry. TherearesomepeoplehoweverwhoinsistthattheTaiwaneseoperaisactuallynot"Taiwanese”atallandconstantlyrefertoitasthe"Chineseopera"tofittheirownspecificnarratives.  Viewfullsize Viewfullsize Sohere’sananalogyforyou:InCanada,theearliestEuropeanswhoarrivedafewcenturiesagocamefromtheUnitedKingdomorFrance.IwonderifanyofthesepeoplewouldusethisknowledgetoaccusemeofnotbeingCanadian?WouldtheysaythatbecausemycountryhasinfluencesofBritishorFrenchculturethatweareinfactnotCanadianatall?Wouldtheysaythatmaplesyruporourloveaffairwithhockeyaren'tactuallyCanadianatall?Ihighlydoubtit. WhenitcomestotheTaiwaneseopera,Idon’tthinkIhavetomakesillyanalogiestoreallyprovethattheoperaisuniquely“Taiwanese”,butduetotheprecarioussituationofTaiwanese-sovereigntythiscausessomepeopletohavetheinabilitytograsptheconceptthatthepeoplelivinghere,muchlikethepeoplelivinginCanadahaveformedtheirownuniqueidentityandculturalinstitutionsthatdifferentiatethemfromthelandwheretheirancestorshailedfrom.Withourcollectivehumanhistory,Iwonderifwecanwetrulyarguethat,justbecausesomethinghas“influences”fromanotherlandthatitcannotreallybeauniqueandcelebratedaspectofanotherculture?  Viewfullsize RoadsideOpera(路邊歌仔戲) So,letmetalkabouttheoriginsoftheTaiwaneseoperaandtrytoshedabitoflightuponwhyitis100%Taiwanese.ItwouldbesillynottostartoutbymentioningthatChinaclaimssovereigntyoverTaiwananddespitetherealityofthesituation(Taiwanbeinganindependent,freeanddemocraticcountry),thePRC’sclaimalsoincludesmorethanjustsovereigntyovertheland,butalsothingslikeBubbleTeaandtheTaiwaneseoperaastheirveryown. Takingthatintoconsideration,youmighthearpeoplesaythatsince'TaiwanisactuallyapartofChina',thenofcourseTaiwaneseoperais"Chinese."Theactualrealityofthesituationhoweveriscompletelydifferentandifarelivinghereyoushouldknowfullwellthatthisisnotthecase. TaiwanisnotapartofChinaandthePeople'sRepublicofChinahasneverheldsovereigntyovertheislandoritspeople. IsupposethenextargumentyouwillseefrommostofthesenaysayersisthattheTaiwaneseoperaisinfluencedbythefolk-talesofsouthernFujianProvince(福建省)inChina,whichisoneoftheareaswheretheearlyimmigrantswhocametoTaiwanoriginated.  Viewfullsize Pleasedon'tdisrespectmyculture IfyouropinionisthussolelybasedonliteraturecomingoutofChina,orbecausethesettlerswhocametoTaiwancenturiesagowere“Chinese”,thenIwouldarguethatitwouldbebestforyoutostopreadingpropagandaandmakeanefforttoactuallyattendaperformanceofaTaiwaneseoperatroupeandthenalsooneofTaiwan’svariousPekingOperatroupeswhichregularlyperformsinTaipeisothatyoucanseewithyoureyesthedifferencesbetweenthetwo. OneofthemostimportantdifferencesisthattheoperahereisperformedentirelyintheTaiwaneselanguage(台語) ratherthaninMandarin.Adifferenceinlanguageisprobablynotenoughtoprovemyargumentthough,especiallysincethepeopleI'mrantingaboutlikelyspeakneitherMandarinnorTaiwanese. ItwouldbeextremelydifficultforthemtofullyunderstandthepoeticcomplexitiesandwordplayoftheTaiwaneseoperaasopposedtostylesfoundinChina- butthevisualaspectsanddifferencesbetweenthetwoshouldbemorethanenoughforeventhemostuninitiatedtonotice. Viewfullsize Viewfullsize Historically,thefirstrecordedinstanceofanyformofoperabeingperformedinTaiwanwasin1624-FromthattimeonseveralperformancestylesandformsofsingingandactingwerebroughttoTaiwanbyimmigrantsfromvariousregionsofChina.Thepeoplelivinghereatthetimetookthesevariousstylesandcombinedthemtoformtheirownoperaandoperatroupesbeganformingaroundthecountryinordertooffersomeentertainmenttothemainlyagrarianpopulation. TheTaiwaneseoperathatweknowtodayoriginatedinwhatisnowYilanCounty(宜蘭縣)andwhileearlyperformancesusedfolkstoriesfromFujianprovince,theoperaquicklyevolvedandstartedusingfolk-songsandstoriesthatweresetinTaiwananddealtwiththesometimesharshnatureoflivinginthecountryatthetime.Thesestorieshavehelpedtonotonlypreservehistoricaleventsontheisland,butalsoactanimportanteducationaltoolabouttheculturalheritageoftheisland.WhilethedevelopmentoftheuniquelyTaiwanese-styleoperaisinteresting,thehistoryoftheoperahasbeenoneofsurvivalandadaptationthathasseenitspopularityriseanddeclineduetosocialtransformationsinthecountry(Ex:Japanesecolonialism,WW2,TheChineseNationalisttakeoverandamodernentertainmentindustrytocompetewith.) Viewfullsize Viewfullsize Attheheightofitspopularity,theoperawasperformedbothonstagesinsideandoutside,aswellasontheradio,inmoviesandontelevision.Oneofthemainreasonswhytheoperahasbeenabletosurviveisduetoitsabilitytoadaptandmodernize-WhichIwouldargueisanareawherethePekingOpera(anditsrigidsystemofrules)hasfallenbehindwhenitcomestoappealingtomodernaudiences. TheresurgenceoftheoperaoverthelastdecadeisalsoinpartduetothesuccessandhardworkoftheworldfamousMingHuaYuanOperaTroupe(明華園總團)whichiswellknownforcombiningintricateperformanceswithmoderntechnologyandhasmadetheoperamoreappealingandaccessibletoyoungerTaiwaneseaswellaspromotingTaiwanesecultureandarttotheglobalcommunity. ThephotosI’msharingtodayarenotfromMingHuaYuan,butasmalltravellingOperatroupethatperformsontheroadsideduringtemplefestivalsorwheneveranyonecontractsourtheirservices.ThecoolthingaboutlivinginTaiwan,andoneofthemajordifferencesbetweenthiscountryandChinaisthatitisquitecommontoseetheseamazingperformancesontheroadorattemplesduringfestivals.Theoperatroupeperformingintheseshotsisthe“HongMingOperaTroupe”(鴻明歌劇團)whichperformedafewdifferentoperasforaverysmallaudienceoutsideofKeelung’sLaoDaGongTemple(老大公廟)whichIwasvisitinginordertogetshotsoftheGhostGatebeforeGhostMonthfinishedup.  Viewfullsize Viewfullsize RoadsideoperaperformancesarequitecommoninTaiwanandwhiletheactorsareperformingoutofamakeshiftstage(thattheypackupeachandeveryday)theyputonexcellentliveperformanceswithmusicperformedbyanin-housebandandarealwaysfreeofcharge(orpaidforbylocaltemples.) TheTaiwaneseoperadoesn'trelyonhigh-flyingacrobatsorhigh-pitchedsingingvoiceslikeitsChinesecounterparts- PerformancesareoftenquitelaidbackandrelyonshortHaiku-likesentencesoffiveorsixwords,facialexpressions,handgesturesandtheimaginationoftheaudience. Ifyoutakeawayallthemoderntechnologyandtheradioandtelevisionperformances, themodernoperacontinuestobegroundedinitsgrassrootsoriginsandisstillfaithfultothestoriesaboutthesimplicityofearlylifeontheislandfortheimmigrants.ThissimplicityiswhatcontinuestomaketheoperaendearingtoTaiwanesepeopleandisalsoindicativeofboththehistoryofthecountryandtheculturalidentityofthepeoplelivinghere. Theprecariousnatureofthepoliticalsituationofthiscountrycanbesolvedanotherday,butthequestionastowhetherornottheTaiwaneseoperaisuniquelyTaiwaneseshouldn'tbeupfordebatebyanyonebothinsideoroutsideofthecountry.  Viewfullsize Iwouldhopethatthroughthisrant,thatthepeoplewilllookattheTaiwaneseoperainadifferentlightandrespectthepeopleinthiscountrywhoformedtheirownstyleoftraditionalentertainmentandhavekeptitalivethroughhardworkanddedication. IwillbeshootingMingHuaYuan, Taiwan'smostfamousoperatroupenextmonth,soexpectsomemoreshotsofthesegreatactorsandactressesandsomemorepromotionofthisimportantpartofTaiwan'sculture. I'membeddingaYoutubevideobelowthatexplainsabitoftheoriginsoftheTaiwaneseoperainEnglishandChinese(withsubtitles)andtalksalittleaboutthedifferencesbetweenTaiwan'snativeoperaandthatoftheoperainthatothercountry. Asalways,ifyouhaveanyquestions,commentsorcriticisms,pleasecommentbeloworgetintouchwithmethroughthecontactsectiononthemenubelow.  Gallery Jul16,2022 XinxikouSuspensionBridge(新溪口吊橋) Jul16,2022 Jul16,2022 Oct30,2021 TaoyuanPoliceDormitories(桃園77藝文町) Oct30,2021 Oct30,2021 Oct2,2021 TheDaxithatJapanleftbehind(日本留下的大溪) Oct2,2021 Oct2,2021 Aug14,2021 LongtanTeachersDorms(龍潭國小老師宿舍) Aug14,2021 Aug14,2021 Feb6,2021 TaoyuanMartyrsShrine(桃園忠烈祠) Feb6,2021 Feb6,2021 Nov21,2020 ZhongliElementaryTeachersDorms(壢小故事森林) Nov21,2020 Nov21,2020 Sep19,2020 PigsofGod2020 Sep19,2020 Sep19,2020 Aug22,2020 GuishanLingyunTemple(靈雲寺哲學廟) Aug22,2020 Aug22,2020 Jun27,2020 YixingSuspensionBridge(義興吊橋) Jun27,2020 Jun27,2020 Mar7,2020 CherryBlossomsatLalaMountain(拉拉山櫻花) Mar7,2020 Mar7,2020 ←TUBAChurch(基國派老教堂)TimefortheGhoststogoHome→