Cantonese Opera development

As described in my last article, there have been difficult times for all troupes in Cantonese Opera. Some of the information could be regained by searching for old local gazettes. One of these has been the Local Gazette of Panyu County by Ding Renchang.

As described in these historical references, most troupe members lived in pairs of Red Boats, and they adhered to straight rules and norms, which as well, where the conduct and lifestyle of the members. I didn’t find any photograph of this time, nor seems there to be paintings. If you go to one of the museums handling this area, you will find some reconstructing they have done on the recount of old members of this time—these Red Boats were self-sufficient entities indeed.

This gloomy time of Cantonese Opera came to an end in the Tongshi reign (1862 -1874) as the viceroy for the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi successfully got the consent of the imperial court to lift the ban on performances. As the former leading guild, the Lotus Guild had been destroyed a new guild and new headquarters where build in Guangzhou and started to be the new center of Cantonese Opera. Many of the performers had been acting in different troupes, especially in Beijing troupes, but they had not forgotten their old artistic techniques and brought on top new inspirations.

This gave the reform of the Cantonese Opera a significant push. At the same time, Guangzhou was one of the first cities opened to foreign trade and attracted as well as politicians like Dr. Sun Yat-sen and Kang Youwei with their new ideas. The challenging environment inspired the troupes to new themes and new forms of Cantonese Opera. New scripts often reflected and discussed social evils and part of modern ideologies. Nowadays many people think that Cantonese Opera only reflects old stories of the past. Still, there are as well some signs of introducing new themes once again and modern influences into this ever-changing form of theatre.