Caidiao Opera: Stories of Folk Memories

By Wei Yingling

If the fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then the fastest way to the heart of a Chinese place could well be through a stage show. In the long years before television was a part of Guangxi people’s daily lives, going to the theatre was one of the most awaited pleasures after dinner. Once people heard that a Caidiao opera was going to be staged, they would have an early dinner, move their stools under the open-air theatre, and wait for the gong to be sounded.

A stored dialect tradition

Caidiao opera, or Color Tune, is one of the main genres widely spread in both urban and rural Guangxi and stems from the songs, dances, and raps in rural areas of Guilin. It belongs to the flower lantern drama genre, absorbing the artistic characteristics of Hunan flower drum dramas, Jiangxi tea picking operas, Guangxi mountain songs, and other plays. Among the many opera art forms in China, the Caidiao opera is like a “county order” that does not reach the heights of the Spring Snow but is quite grounded. Compared with Peking Opera and other opera art forms, Caidiao opera is more concise and distinctive in character settings — mainly clowns. It was indeed “no clown, no drama”. Chinese fans, handkerchiefs, and ribbons, known as the “three treasures” of the Caidiao opera, are common stage props for actors to imitate other materials, bringing the audience a greater sense of fantasy. 

To the untrained eyes, Caidiao may look like traditional Chinese opera. But those who speak mandarin will have a hard time understanding. That’s because Caidiao opera is sung entirely in the Guiliu dialect — a dialect spoken by most people in Guilin and Liuzhou. In the performance of the Caidiao opera, the footwork, turning, appearance, fan flowers, and hand flowers of the clown and Dan (female lead heroine) are rich in their characteristics, especially the footwork. 

Tips：

1. Caidiao Opera also called “Naho Hi” or “Yiho Hi” due to their frequent use as lining words. 

2. The Spring Snow is a highbrow song from the state of Chu during the Warring States period, which is also a metaphor for the arts or literature selected among the best.

A joyful kind of opera

Caidiao opera is often referred to as a joyful kind which expresses life heartily and vividly. It tends to “speak people’s words, do people’s affairs”. A folk song, a dance, and a flower fan can write the happiness of the common people all over their cheeks. The joy was first brought by a group of villagers living in the muddy fields. Life in the past was impoverished, so the Zhuang people turned to the art stage to discover what they lacked in reality and recorded delighting stories to build a spiritual home filled with bliss. Nourished by the people’s wishes, the opera sprouted a happy soul and mapped from fields, villages, and fairs to the ears and hearts of thousands of families. 

In addition to the meaning of “happiness”, there is another expression included — hilarious. Deeply rooted among the rural people and closely combined with the local folk tunes, the Caidiao opera formed a performance style with humorous contents and lively form, especially the comic and ridiculous performances of the clowns in the opera, which fulfilled the people’s need for pleasure and spiritual solace. The clownish painted face is one of the identified characteristics of the opera, which was used in different types of roles to express their personalities. The gourd-painted face, for example, is on behalf of the talented boy, the spider for the fool, the butterfly for a dandy, and money for the matchmaker, forming a specific language of the opera.

Music for the ears, balm for the soul

Most of the Caidiao plays take labor, love, and family life as their themes, and most performances are held at temple fairs. During these gatherings, actors give uninhibited performances that tell historical folk stories. For example, The Five Sons sharply depicts the shameful behavior of Daban and Erdiu, who refuse to make filial devotion to their family; at the same time, it promotes the national virtues of the Zhong brothers and Xu Huai Bing, who respected the elderly and put righteousness before profit. The Carpenter’s Dream of Piano is a story about A De, a rural carpenter who leads the villagers to make a piano. He wants to make the piano ring out across China to thousands of towns and villages, and eventually, his dream comes true. 

Of these plays, The Liu Sanjie is the most well-known and has been performed abroad many times. The Caidiao opera Liu Sanjie tells the story of a Zhuang song fairy who fought tenaciously with folk songs in order to maintain freedom and dignity, which has become a classic work on the Chinese art stage. For more than half a century, Liu Sanjie has become synonymous with Guangxi’s national culture and beautiful images. She is like a character who combines the truth, goodness, beauty, and wisdom of all Guangxi women. In 2018, the New Liu Sanjie in the New Era made its premiere. What the continuous exploration of the play wants to tell its audiences is, there is a Liu Sanjie in all of us. Listen to Sanjie’s songs just as we read Li Bai, Dickinson, and Akhmatova, which could inspire our yearnings for love, ideals, and a better life.