ChineseToday | Yangxi Opera artists in SW China's Chongqing

CHONGQING, May 30 (Xinhua) -- In Qingquan Village of Tonggu Township in Youyang, there is a group of opera artists consisting of local farmers with an average age of 70, who perform the ancient Yangxi Opera. In a village about 1,000 meters above sea level surrounded by mountains and waters, the courtyards and dams are their stages, and the paddy fields, mountains and forests serve as the background.

Around May, the white-haired opera troupe members plant rice seedlings in the paddy fields as their routine work. When the day's work draws to a close, Chen Yongxia, one of the leading artists, will begin to sing Yangxi Opera lyrics in his resonant voice that echoes in the mountains.

After putting away farming tools and taking a relaxing bath, the artists sit around a sweet cinnamon tree in front of Chen's house, a refreshing place to have a nice rest in the busy farming season, as well as an area for the opera troupe to rehearse.

Every time the troupe receives an invitation to perform Yangxi Opera, Chen will gather the artists from the paddy fields, discuss the repertoire, assign roles, change costumes and put on masks, then rehearse the plays telling stories about great heroes and heroines.

Youyang Yangxi Opera, also known as Youyang Tujia Masked Yangxi Opera, is a local opera of Youyang with a long history. When local people of the Tujia ethnic group encounter major events in their lives, they usually invite a troupe to perform Yangxi Opera. The performance will last for one to three days. The performers will choose the corresponding repertoires according to occasions ranging from domestic events such as wedding, funeral, birthday, recovery from illness, coming of age and celebration of good school exam results, to public affairs like praying for rain.

Most of the roles played in Yangxi Opera require the performers to cover their faces with white cloth wrapped around the head, revealing only the eyes. A wooden mask then would be worn on the forehead, leaving a width of two fingers between the lower edge of the mask and the eyes, so that the performers can see the stage. During the performance, the artists portray the characters and interpret the plots through body language and chanting dialogues.

The repertoires are mostly passed down orally through generations. Over the past decades, Chen and his predecessors have been collecting and organizing Yangxi Opera scripts. Thanks to their efforts, more than 200 repertoires have been preserved.

In Tonggu Township, people of Tujia ethnic group have been hearing and practicing Yangxi Opera for generations. In 2021, Youyang Tujia Masked Yangxi Opera was listed in the fifth batch of the national intangible cultural heritages.

Nowadays, more and more young people are attracted to Yangxi Opera, and a younger leader for Chen Yongxia's troupe has been ready to take on the job. But for Chen and all the other elder artists, the stage of Yangxi Opera has no curtain call. When the gongs and drums start to sound, they continue to live their opera life in the fields they love.

Reporters: Tang Yi, Li Aibin, Zhang Ziyu, Lang Huaying

Editors: Meng Chenguang, Geng Xinning, Chen Liqun, Lyu You, Xin Mengchen, Liu Lingyi, Li Mangmang, Wang Haijing

China Story Studio■