The National Nan Opera Exhibition was held this year and I watched the show for three consecutive years. Finally, I established a cognitive framework for the Song and Yuan Nan Opera. At the same time, I continued to discover fresh highlights in these ancient plays and deeply felt the emotional warmth.

　　Why is the "Yuan Drama" of Southern Opera "marriage"

　　Generally speaking, "Southern Opera" refers to the opera art that was spread in southern China from the late Northern Song Dynasty to the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. In the past 200 years of development history, Nan Opera is mainly folk creation, and there are few opportunities to print and print. Among the 238 Southern dramas that are worthy of examination, less than one-tenth of them have been passed down to this day, of which more than one-third are the dramas with marriage as the theme.

　　At first I felt that the drama always revolves around the "meta plot" such as the male protagonist's divorce after passing the top scorer, which is a bit monotonous. Later, I read history and learned that although a major innovation in the "Imperial Examination System" that changed the solidification of ancient Chinese classes originated in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it really flourished in the Song Dynasty. On average, there were only more than 20 Jinshi admitted to the Tang Dynasty every year, but it increased by 10 times by the Song Dynasty. Emperor Taizong of Song reigned for 21 years, and nearly 10,000 officials were appointed as officials from the imperial examination. Among the 71 prime ministers of the Northern Song Dynasty, 4 were founding heroes, 64 were all Jinshi or from the imperial examinations, and only 3 were not appointed as prime ministers.

　　This "variable" that brings huge changes to the individual class leap and their family's fate will inevitably trigger an impact on the family, marriage and ethical aspects. With the support of many realistic stories, it can also bring ultimate dramatic effects on the stage. It is natural that Southern Opera focuses more on the theme of marriage (especially after the top scorer in high school) for men.

　　What does a play rely on to save a genre of drama?

　　"Zhang Xie's Principal" published in the 13991 volume of the Ming Dynasty's "Yongle Encyclopedia" is the "representative work" of this type of work. It is the earliest and most complete ancient Chinese opera script discovered so far, and it is also the only fully preserved Southern Song opera script. It is known as "China's No. 1 drama" and "living fossil of opera". In the 2025 National Nan Opera Exhibition and the 3rd Maritime Silk Road Quanzhou Drama Week, two performances are related to the play, including "Zhang Xie's Top Scholar" from the Yongjia Kun Opera Troupe, the birthplace of the Southern Opera.

　　"Zhang Xie's Top Scholar" by Yongjia Kun Opera Troupe was created in 2000. There are no silk strings but only gongs and drums. The band is also responsible for singing. 6 actors play 12 roles. Actors can change their clothes on the spot, or they can bow and recite the performance props. Even on the contemporary drama stage, these performances are quite innovative. On the surface, this is a predecessor of the Yongjia Kunqu Opera Troupe and a move to overcome all difficulties when creating the Yongjia Kunqu Opera. However, in fact, it is also the "operation method" that has been written in the ancient book "Zhang Xie Zhuang Suan".

　　One person plays multiple roles, and three or five actors can act in a big show; there are not many props on the stage, and there are not even tables and chairs, and people play them. These are the original performance forms of the early Southern Opera. This performance method is not only fun and interesting, but also presents the rough and economical characteristics of early opera performances, and is also in line with the aesthetic characteristics of freehand and blurred opera. In recent years, we often see some small European tour troupes combining suitcases into various props to replace physical objects with physical performances - this is a similar principle. The minimalist stage with few people and few things has greatly developed the assumption and imagination of drama on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is also conducive to reducing costs and being able to survive among the people. Therefore, the drama that Yongjia Kun Opera Troupe arranged 25 years ago is really worthy of being called "one play saves a genre of drama (referring to Yongkun)."

　　Another performance related to "Zhang Xie's Top Scholar" is the sub-show of Putian Opera "Zhang Xie's Top Scholar: Died in the Midway". Compared with the rap amusement of Yongjia Kun Opera Troupe, the performance of Putian Opera is simple and elegant, and the characteristics of the opera that are deeply influenced by puppet shows are more prominent in this story.

　　This turn is about: the land god in Wuji Mountain follows the will of the Jade Emperor to match Zhang Xie and the poor girl Ding Sue, and ordered the tiger god to lead Zhang Xie to the ancient temple to meet the poor girl. "Meeting a Tiger" is slightly different from "Meeting a Thieves" in Yongle's "Zhang Xie Zhuang Sui". The tiger god's appearance is unique and is only seen in Putian opera. The actor who plays the tiger god wears a red vest, wears a tiger's head and mask, arches his body, and uses two short sticks to support the ground to extend his upper limbs. He does not pursue realistic and similar shapes, but uses minimalist symbols to summarize the charm of the tiger. It is simple and cute, and the virtual and real are created. Zheng Chaofan, the actor who plays Ding Su'e, performs the slithering step when picking wild vegetables on a snowy day, and the workmanship is delicate and exquisite; his singing style is also full of affection, gentle and moving, and the complaining song is particularly empathetic.

　　How can one man defeat thousands of troops?

　　The rich and diverse programs of opera provide actors with sufficient external protection and grasping, but if the performer lacks internal emotional support, these external programs are like empty shells or shackles, trapping the characters and unable to liven up. Only when the performers use abundant emotions to activate the lyrics and programs can they form a sense of perfect harmony between the inside and the outside.

　　In another major drama in the National Southern Opera Exhibition this year, the Wu opera "The Legend of the White Snake", Teacher Lou Sheng, who has been acting in this drama for 20 years, amazed me. Before meeting Bai Suzhen, Xu Xian, who played him, appeared for only four sentences, but instantly calmed down. The family background of both parents and the youthful state of youth are all presented in these four sentences and his gait, which clearly creates a scholar who is alone among the flowers in spring and has a lot of thoughts.

　　His "thirteen falls" in "Broken Bridge" is truly a combination of singing, reciting and fighting. A series of difficult actions such as kneeling, hanging hair, grabbing back, and slapping tigers, cooperating with his shock and fear of Xiaoqing's pursuit, wanting to reconcile the old longing with Bai Suzhen. The perfect skill combined the characters' inner emotional waves, panic and helplessness in difficulties, and it was almost like sucking my eyes on the stage and breathing with him and sharing the same fate.

　　This play made me fully aware of the ultimate charm of Chinese opera. You must have such good actors and superb skills, and at the same time, you can perform sincerely for twenty years and withstand the tempering of the stage, so that you can use your own strength to overwhelm the "water flooding of gold mountains" in which dozens of people fighting on stage!

　　How to help newcomers learn old dramas

　　Such acting skills are rare and precious.

　　Zeng Jingping, the founder of the National Nan Opera Exhibition and Liyuan Opera performance artist, said when talking about the "thoughts" of launching this event that her initial idea was to see how many people could perform in Nan Opera. Now that the exhibition has been held for the third year, the lineup has been continuously expanded. This year, in addition to Quanzhou's local opera, rare dramas in six provinces and cities across the country have been linked together, bringing together 13 Chinese Drama Plum Blossom Award winners and 42 classic dramas. But even so, she still feels regretful, such as a folk theater troupe I have always wanted to invite, because the main actors are busy digging bamboo shoots in the mountains at this time and cannot come to participate in the exhibition. The "No. 1 troupe in the world" (that is, one troupe in one genre) that is on the verge of losing is not uncommon among the current genre lineup of Nan Opera.

　　At the same time, the cultivation of newcomers is still a problem. If you don’t hurry up and learn old operas, the old artists will leave one after another, and some operas will be lost forever. Out of this sense of crisis, a special unit was set up in this year's National Southern Opera Exhibition, called "Ancient Dramas Have Appointment". The Puxian Opera "Zhang Xie's Top Scholar" mentioned above, as well as the tune "White Rabbit Records·Hunting" and the Puxian Opera "Fengyi Pavilion Meeting" are the three plays in this unit. The starring actors of these three short plays were all young people with great potential that Zeng Jingping noticed during the performance of the Southern Drama Exhibition last year, so she made an agreement with them to let them go back and learn an old play for a year, learn it well, and come to act this year.

　　The three young men Zheng Chaofan, Chen Tao and Brigitte Lin arrived as promised, and in addition to the performance, they also shared their experiences in the process of learning opera. Zeng Jingping also expressed her concerns again, admitting that the Southern Opera is facing the dilemma of inheritance: First, ancient operas like Putian Opera have retained a large number of traditional Southern Opera dramas, but there is still a risk of "people are outstanding" due to the death of old artists; second, there are too few "mirrors" that can help young actors grow continuously. Sometimes young actors want to learn, but they don't know where to learn or who to learn. It is precisely because of this original intention and action that the National Nan Opera Exhibition has received support from the National Art Fund for two consecutive years, and has contributed a little to the passing of ancient operas through this platform.

　　Can tradition connect modernity find new life

　　The National Nan Opera Exhibition is held every year during the May Day holiday. Not only does it have a large number of professional performances and forum exchange activities, but it also strives to open up the situation in the direction of cultural and tourism integration. Outdoor performances, creative markets, food park markets and other forms give the ancient Nan Opera the opportunity to enter the vision of the people and tourists, and can also become the city's cultural business card outside the artistic level.

　　At the launch event of this year's National Nan Opera Exhibition, in addition to the traditional ceremonies such as "Four Generals Opening", Quanzhou line-lifting puppets and intelligent robot dogs performed the "Cyber ​​Nan Opera". The traditional kewalks of the Liyuan Opera collided with modern street dance. The popular Yushu robot of the Year of the Snake Spring Festival Gala ended with the actors on the spot. These diversified connections between traditions and modernity have attracted the attention of some non-opera audiences to a greater or lesser extent.

　　After all, in today's world where entertainment options are so rich, fast-paced lifestyles and various advanced scientific and technological means are constantly challenging the viewing and performance relationship formed by ancient opera in the era of agricultural civilization; "competing for" young audiences has also become one of the important tasks of Chinese opera in addition to inheritance and innovation. During the National Southern Opera Exhibition, the immersive Liyuan Opera "Chen Sanwu Niang" performed in two places, Weiyuan Tower and Yuqing Tower, is precisely such a work that attracts young audiences - the first IP of Liyuan Opera. Coupled with the young actors from the Fujian Liyuan Opera Inheritance Center, it integrates the cultural and tourism scenes of Quanzhou, and is supplemented by humorous and modern styles, allowing the audience to enter this ancient opera and play more easily. Young actors have also been trained and started a new cultural and tourism integration model. Such win-win may become a choice for future ancient operas to seek new life.

　　Photo provided by Crystal/National Southern Opera Exhibition

[Editor in charge: Tang Wei]