Listening to Intangible Cultural Heritage Stories | Youth Blossoming in the 600 Year Inheritance of Tibetan Opera
2024-05-07
During the May Day holiday, in Zhaxi Qudeng Community, Naidong District, Shannan City, Xizang, the local Tibetan opera team gave special performances to tourists from afar. On the central stage of the square, the drums are light and the sound of cymbals is resounding. Tibetan opera performers wearing yellow faced white hair masks sing with high pitched and passionate voices; Off stage, the audience was focused and occasionally laughed along with the actors performing. Nima Ciren and his disciples performed the Yalong Zhaxi Xueba Tibetan opera "Prince Norsan" in the Zhaxi Qudeng community. Tibetan opera is a comprehensive art that combines singing and dancing, performance, rap, and literature, with a history of over 600 years. It is said that in the 15th century AD, Tang Dongjie Bu, the founder of Tibetan opera, decided to build a solid cable bridge on every river in Xizang to benefit people in the snow covered areas. In order to raise funds for building the bridge, the versatile Tang Dongjie Bu wrote his own plays and composed music, organized a singing and dancing group composed of seven beautiful and virtuous sisters, and went to various places to perform and raise money. While building roads and bridges, he cultivated a brilliant pearl for the snow culture - Tibetan opera. The birthplace of the first Tibetan opera team, Zhaxi Qudeng, is also known as the "First Village of Tibetan Opera". Through generations of performances, such as "Princess Wencheng", "Suginima", "Prince Norsan", and "Dun Yue Dun Zhu", which are based on historical events or draw inspiration from folk myths and legends, they often reflect people's indomitable resistance and pursuit of "truth, goodness, and beauty", and have become traditional Tibetan opera productions. In 2006, Zhaxi Xueba Tibetan Opera became one of the first Tibetan opera schools to be included in the national intangible cultural heritage list. "Until today, Tangdong Jiebu's thangka is still hung on the stage," said Nima Ciren, a national representative inheritor of Zhaxi Xueba Tibetan Opera. The traditional Tibetan opera has only one set of costumes from beginning to end, and actors do not need to wear makeup, mainly performing with masks. Overall, Tibetan opera can be divided into white mask opera and blue mask opera. In the same Tibetan opera, different colored masks such as red, white, blue, black, and yellow may appear, representing different identities. "For example, the blue mask represents hunters, and the yellow mask represents high monks, officials, and so on," said Nima Tsering. Zhaxi Xueba, who mainly wears yellow masks, is an outstanding representative of Tibetan opera with white masks. This is the Tibetan opera performance in Norbulingka Scenic Area on May 1. "Here, everyone can perform Tibetan opera and enjoys watching it." Nima Ciren, 52 years old, started learning Tibetan opera at the age of 16. In 1996, he put on a yellow mask and made his first appearance as the protagonist, almost 30 years later. Nowadays, as a inheritor, he leads a team of over 30 actors to guide young people in rehearsals at the Tibetan opera training base every day. 29 year old Awang Rob is the latest apprentice to join the team. In order to improve his level, he practices singing for several hours every day. "Tibetan opera has always been a favorite of Xizang people. One day, I will wear a mask with yellow face and white hair to show the charm of Tibetan opera to audiences at home and abroad," said Awanglop. In the inheritance of Tibetan opera, while respecting and preserving the essence of traditional Tibetan opera, Nima Ciren's team also utilizes modern technology such as sound, light, and electricity, accompanied by rolling Tibetan and Chinese subtitles, to integrate traditional and modern elements. "To make people love watching Tibetan opera more," said Nima Tsering. In the past, Tibetan opera was mainly based on the Tibetan calendar
Edit:Lubaikang Responsible editor:Chenze
Source:Xinhua News Agency
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