08-06-21
A man that is stretched too much by a new tech world shall go back to the old definitions of what was a good life.
Yueju opera (Cantonese Opera粵劇) combines traditional Chinese operatic skills and beautiful Cantonese artistic styles. They are beautifully enjoyable. Artists act and sing in Cantonese dialect. The opera has a history of more than 1,000 years and it is popular in the provinces of Guangdong (廣東) and Guangxi (廣西) in the south-eastern region of China. Yueju is characterized by a combination of string and percussion instruments with the emphasis on the latter which controls the tempo of the performance. There are also colourful costumes and symbolic face makeup. Loud music and strong emotions are in parallel. The repertoire is a rich collection of historical romantic epics. In rural communities, Yueju is often part of the religious ceremony which is believed to bring luck into the village and drive ghosts away. Around the world, Yueju is a common cultural bond among the Chinese. Foreigners in different cities are happy to go to their Chinatown to watch the Yueju performance and appreciate the cultural appeal of the opera.
My good friend Loong Koon Tin (龍貫天) is an outstanding and well-liked Yueju artist in Hong Kong. He is tall, burly, intelligent and helpful. In the 70s, his loving mother took great care of a family of 3 kids by working in a printing factory when the father of Loong passed away at his age of 14. Loong fell in love with Yueju whilst he was a student. With the need to bring home the bacon, Loong worked in a bank after finishing high school and declined the chance of studying abroad. ‘Be a voice, not an echo’ was a drive to get him finally determined to be a performer on stage and not just an audience. He joined training classes and served as an apprentice to great Yueju masters. In 1986, Loong quit his banking career. He said, “With my resignation, I felt fulfilled because the art career in front of me will be my true strength and passion.”
I asked Loong why Yueju is interesting. He put it simply, “Yueju crosses a number of art genres. A performer covers a wide range of skills: singing(唱), acting(做), dialoguing and rapping(唸), acrobatics(打) and dancing(舞). Yueju is a talent show and may be compared to a musical. It is never boring. Young people may not like it because the gulf between Yueju and the kind of modern music they are used to has become too wide. Since Yueju is the cultural treasure of Hong Kong, young people should learn to accept and love it.”
Loong paused, “The next beauty is the vast collection of Yueju’s literature including stories, poems, novels and folklore, opening up a world’s inspiration and creativity while also developing your literacy skills which are essential for an educated person.” I agreed, “The vocabulary that I learnt from Yueju improves my listening, speaking, reading and writing. Our traditional but useful Chinese vocabulary is often forgotten.”
Loong highlighted the attractiveness of Yueju music, “Yueju places emphasis on percussion instruments such as drums, gongs and bells. They keep the lively rhythm of Yueju songs and make it blend well all other instruments together, creating one cohesive loud sound of Yueju music which is the special feature of the art form.”
Be that as it may, to love Yueju is to experience its pangs or raptures. Loong said, “Yueju opera is full of love which is expansively romantic in terms of music and stories. The story grammar is usually about 2 characters, a handsome man and a pretty lady, meeting in a fairy-tale place but at the wrong time. They kick off the opera with love and after many difficult events, end up with love again.” I laughed, “The whole purpose behind watching a Yueju opera for many, including myself, is to seek dreams, dreams of love!”
Loong went further to discuss, “Yueju can also teach positive values. Our stories are mostly decent and moral. The frontiers closed off to our plot is that bad people must be punished and good people will be rewarded. The good message of Yueju stays with the audience and such message will transform and humanize a person.” I agreed, “My grandparents were not well-educated but generation after generation, they shared with us the Yueju moral stories with valuable lessons.”
He drank off his wujiapi wine and said, “Yueju is modern and accommodatingly improvisational and some thought its spirit can be close to jazz, very free. In Yueju opera, actors and musicians all know the tunes, scripts and dramatic needs extremely well. When the performance goes on, they will create improvised variations for oneself or others, depending on the audience’s reaction. Surprisingly, all can co-ordinate and act in concert with the teammates very well. Other traditional Chinese operas do not use western musical instruments. Yueju is however flexible. Violin, guitar, saxophone and banjo etc. are used.” I was excited, “Yes, Yueju music is a fascinating fusion!”
Loong made his last comment, “The stage makeup and costumes of Yueju are also fascinating. We use bright and colour pearl slices, jinyinsi lines, crystal ornaments, silk fabrics, bead decorations and sequins on our clothing. Makeups are also full of different colours and combinations. They are symbolic and each design carries a hidden moral implication of the character in question. That is a lot to learn, explore and enjoy!”
Master Loong Koon Tin is a convincing expert having an abundance of the specialized knowledge about Yueju opera. He acquired the old skills of the art form but will improve it to attract more young audience.
Yueju, as an ancient art, is never going to be very mainstream but it takes in the rich mythology, and wisdom of our artists, passed from one generation to the next. The understanding and acceptance of different art forms is a crucial step for you to break the gap between yourself and the world outside Hong Kong.
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