Abstract
Issues surrounding the ways in which children have affected theatrical performance in a European context have frequently generated discussion, in particular the role of children working in theater. Yet, similar issues that relate especially to traditional local theatrical performances in a non-European context have been insufficiently examined. One such example is Taiwanese opera (gezaixi: song drama). Similar to Beijing opera (or Peking opera), but distinct and unique in its modes of performance, Taiwanese opera first appeared approximately a hundred years ago.1 It continued to flourish and indeed Taiwan’s most renowned opera group, Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group, was elected as the representative family for Taiwan when UNESCO proclaimed 1994 as the International Year of the Family (IYF). This family-run troupe was founded in 1929 and has passed to the second and third generations of the family. They have not only endeavored to preserve its traditions, but have also made a concerted effort to promote the form nationally and internationally throughout the last century.2
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Notes
The direct translation of Taiwanese opera into English would be “song drama.” The song refers to the folk songs of Yilan from which Taiwanese opera emerged approximately in 1911; see Tsu-shang Lu, Taiwan dianying xiju shi [The history of Taiwanese film drama play] (Taipei: Yin hua, 1961), 233–34.
Xiu-jin Huang, Zushiye de nüer: Sun, Tsui-feng de gushi [The daughter of the founder of a sect of Taoism: the story of Sun, Tsui-feng] (Taipei: Shi bao wen hua, 2000), 4.
Chi-tun Hsu, Taiwan jin dai fa zhan shi [Modern History of Taiwan] (Taipei: Jian wei chu ban she, 1996), 43–48.
According to Yang, the early form of Taiwanese opera focused on singing the folk songs while sitting. It then combined the body movement and the music of che gu xi and Hakka tea picking. Che gu xi (car drum drama) is a comedy drama played for the purpose of divine worship and normally performed by only two players who put on exaggerated or ridiculous costumes and make-up to earn laughter. It was believed that che gu xi has more than 240 years of history. See Fu-ling Yang, Taiwan gezaixi shi [The history of Taiwanese opera] (Taichung, Taiwan: Morning Star Group, 2002), 38–46.
Harry J. Lamley, “Taiwan Under Japanese Rule, 1895–1945: The Vicissitudes of Colonialism,” in Taiwan: A New History, ed. Murray A. Rubinstein (New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 2007), 204–5.
Hsin-hsin Tsai, Cui can ming xia gezaixi ying shi san qi hongxing xiao ming-ming juyi rensheng [Little Ming-Ming’s biography] (Yilan, Taiwan: Preparatory Office of the National Headquarters of Taiwan Traditional Arts, 2011), 30.
See Steven Phillips, “Between Assimilation and Independence: Taiwan Political Aspirations Under Nationalist Chinese Rule, 1945–1948,” in Taiwan: A New History, ed. Murray A. Rubinstein (New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 2007), 282–284.
Also see Hsu, Taiwan jin dai fa zhan shi, 1996.
Xinyan Jiang, “Confucianism, Women, and Social Contexts,” Journal of Chinese Philosophy 36:2 (2009): 234.
During most of the twentieth century and even before, the job of being an actor/actress was considered the lowest rank, on a level with prostitutes and servants, in Taiwanese society. Thus, only poor families would send their children to be apprenticed to opera troupes. See Kang-yan Pien, Taiwan Fongsuizhi [Taiwan customs records] (Taipei: Zhong wen, 1994), 147–48;
and Mei-se Lin, Gezaixi huangdi: Yang Li-hua [Emperor of Taiwanese opera: Yang, Li-hua] (Taipei: Shi bao wen hua, 2007), 15–18.
Kelly B. Olds, “Female Productivity and Mortality in Early-20th-Century Taiwan,” Economics and Human Biology 4 (2006): 212.
Hsu-ling Chiu, Taiwan Yidan fonghua [Geisha arts in Taiwan] (Taipei: Yu shan she, 1999), 288–89.
See the example of Li-hua Yang and the comments of her female fans and friends at http://www.rtbot.net/play.php?id=QOhU53sfuBE , accessed November 3, 2012. See also Lin, Gezaixi huangdi: Yang Li-hua, 131; and Hsin-hsin Tsai, Yue ming bing xue xian: you qing ama Hung Ming-hsueh de gezaixi rensheng [Grandmother Hung, Ming-hsueh’s life of Taiwanese opera] (Taipei: Cultural Affairs Department of Taipei County Government, 2008), 66.
Limin Bai, “Children at Play: A Childhood beyond the Confucian Shadow,” Childhood 12:1 (2005): 10.
Wei-ming Tu, “Confucius and Confucianism,” in Confucianism and the Family, ed. Walter H. Slote and George A. DeVos (New York: State University of New York, 1998), 3.
David K. Jordan, “Filial Piety in Taiwanese Popular Thought,” in Confucianism and the Family, ed. Walter H. Slote and George A. DeVos (New York: State University of New York, 1998), 268.
Donald Chang, John D. Mitchell, and Roger Yeu, “How the Chinese Actor Trains: Interviews with Two Peking Opera Performers,” Educational Theatre Journal 26:2 (1974): 189.
Walter H. Slote, “Psychocultural Dynamics within the Confucian Family,” in Confucianism and the Family, eds. Walter H. Slote and George A. DeVos (New York: State University of New York, 1998), 47–48.
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© 2014 Gillian Arrighi and Victor Emeljanow
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Picucci, SC.H. (2014). Child Training and Employment in Taiwanese Opera 1940s–1960s: An Overview. In: Arrighi, G., Emeljanow, V. (eds) Entertaining Children. Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137305466_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137305466_11
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