Feng Ye nodded, feeling a sense of awe at the allure of performing traditional operas these days.
In ten or twenty years, no matter what kind of opera troupe comes, you will never see this atmosphere of the whole village participating again.
Apart from the elderly, basically no one likes watching plays anymore.
Young people would rather stay at home watching TV or playing on their phones than go out.
They struggled through the crowd with their families, squeezed inside, and then, amidst murmurs of discontent, moved to the spot where Feng Jiaqing and Xiao Chunxiu were guarding.
Before long, the announcer appeared on stage.
Upon hearing that the play to be performed today was "Promotion Through Three Ranks," Feng Ye knew that the council had invited a troupe of Gaojia opera performers.
Gaojia Opera is a local traditional opera of Licheng and Xiamen in Fujian Province. It is one of the traditional local operas of the Minnan language family and one of the national intangible cultural heritages (2006).
Its birthplace is Licheng, and its predecessor was "Songjiang Opera".
During the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, in the coastal farming and fishing villages of southern Fujian, villagers would dress up as heroes of Liangshan and parade through the village during festivals and celebrations, and occasionally put on short performances on the spot.
This led to children performing stories about Song Jiang, who were then known as "Song Jiang Boys".
After the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty, opera troupes performed by adults were called "Songjiang Opera" by the public.
As for the name Gaojia Opera, it is said that it comes from the fact that the performance was held on a high platform, with the actors wearing armor and carrying spears, so the audience called it "Gejia Opera" (the word "Ge" and "Gao" are the same in the Minnan dialect).
Another explanation is that when the opera troupe performed overseas, the overseas Chinese referred to the operas from their hometown as "high-class operas," and when the troupe returned, they called themselves "high-class operas."
Another explanation is that Gaojia Opera has nine roles (male, female, clown, painted-face, clown, servant, servant, old man, and two other roles: Northern (painted-face) and miscellaneous), hence the name "Nine-Corner Opera".
The audience in southern Fujian refers to it as "Daban" or "Tuban".
There are more than 900 traditional plays in Gaojia Opera, and the play we are performing today, "Promoted Three Ranks in Succession," is a four-act satirical comedy.
The story is set during the Chongzhen era of the late Ming Dynasty. The story follows Jia Fugu, a scoundrel who is neither learned nor skilled, yet manages to rise through the ranks of officialdom three times due to various absurd reasons.
The play utilizes the strengths of satire to expose the absurdity and ridiculousness of the emperor, eunuchs, and ministers, and through various ingenious plots, reveals the corruption and decline of the feudal system.
Feng Ye didn't usually enjoy watching plays, but today, sitting in the crowd, he listened attentively to a play, and even seemed to enjoy it immensely.
The performance lasted for two and a half hours, ending at 8:30 p.m.
After the event ended, everyone looked like they wanted more, and the applause, which was practically free, continued for a long time.
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