4.藏戏

4 Tibetan Opera

1. How many other operas in the world are performed with masks?

2. How many other operas in the world are performed without a stage?

3. How many other theater types in the world can perform a play for three or five days without ending it?

4. Let's start with the legend of Tangdong Jebu, a Tibetan monk.

5. At that time, there was no bridge on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, countless cowhide boats were overturned in the wild horses off the reins of the rapids, many people wading across the river was swallowed by the roaring river.

6. So, the young monk Tangdong Jebu made a grand wish, vowed to build a bridge, for the benefit of the people.

7. Tangdong Jebu, who had nothing, invited only a burst of laughter.

8. So there is a legend, Tangdong Jebu in Shannan Qiongjie, met the seven siblings who can sing and dance, formed the first Tibetan opera troupe in Tibet, with the form of song and dance rap, performing historical stories and legends, persuade people to do good and virtuous, money and efforts to build bridges together.

9. With the majestic song resounding through the snowy wilderness, some people offer money, some people give iron, there are sent food, there are a large number of fishermen, artisans, vagrants followed them, from one frame site to another bridge site. With the wire bridge one after another to set up, the seeds of the play also spread across the snowy plateau.

10. penniless tangdong jebu so in the yarlung zangbo river left 58 iron rope bridge, at the same time, become the originator of Tibetan opera.

11. Legend has it that Tangdong Jebu stayed in his mother's womb for 80 years, and his hair and beard were white when he was born.

12. Therefore, in Tibetan opera, his mask is white, his forehead is decorated with the sun and the moon, his cheeks are plastered with short hair, and his eyebrows and mouth always carry a mysterious smile.

13. In Tibetan opera, the masks worn by characters with the same identity are basically the same in color and shape.

14. The mask of the king is red, red represents majesty.

15. The mask of the princess is green, green represents softness.

16. The mask of the witch is half black and half white, representing its two sides and three swords.

17. The mask of the demon is green-faced and fanged to show the oppression and terror.

18. The villagers' masks are sewn with white or yellow cloth, with holes dug in the eyes and lips to show simplicity and honesty.

19. The snowy mountains and rivers are used as the background, and the grasslands are used as the background. Performing Tibetan opera artists singing on the ground, no curtain, no lights, no props, as long as a drum, a cymbal for its accompaniment.

20. They ask for nothing else, as long as there is an audience.

21. The audience sits in groups, and all the drama is described by the artists through rapping. 22. The artists sing, talk and dance, and perform various stories under the masks. 23. The masks use symbolism and exaggeration to make the characters in the drama prominent and distinctive, which is one of the reasons why Tibetan opera masks have been preserved in the process of long-term development.

24. Tibet is a vast and sparsely populated region, and the pace of life is relatively slow.

25. Performance in Tibetan opera, the plot can be arbitrarily delayed, the artists' singing and dancing movements can be played at will, a play can be repeated again and again, the audience also in the food and drink to watch the play, the two sides at will, you war wandering out of the play to perform his three or five days is not unusual.

26. This is how Tibetan opera is passed on from generation to generation.