Putian is a famous hometown of opera at home and abroad. The local people have a special liking for the ancient opera Puxian Opera. Over hundreds of years, many unique folk opera customs in Puxian have been formed. The so-called opera customs refer to folk opera acting and opera viewing customs. Its customs and red tape are very complicated, but its content is extremely rich and has the local characteristics of Puxian. For example, there are more than ten kinds of performance customs, such as the ritual of dropping the shed, the colorful shed, the spell to clean the shed, performing the Eight Immortals, dancing and crowning, performing the Five Blessings, attracting wealth and finding things in the cold mountains, the number one scholar in the street, and Tian Xianggong stepping on the shed. There are also more than ten customs of watching the opera. On New Year's Eve, there are many ways to watch "The Opera", invite the opera, attend the civil and military tents, date in front of the tents, eat before the theater, etc. Among the more unique ones are the following opera customs. Performance customs include the canopy ceremony, colorful canopy, playing with the Eight Immortals, dancing and crowning, and the number one scholar parading through the streets. Falling ceremony. In the old days in Puxian, every newly organized theater troupe would choose an auspicious day to hold a canopy ceremony after hiring child actors and backstage players. At midnight on this day, all the child actors dressed in foreign cloth or Guangdong jade gowns, led by the ugly and old lanterns, the raw and dandy ones beat the gong, and the clean-legged ones held the shrine of Marshal Tian Gong, and arrived at the designated location. Please place incense. After the incense was returned, Jingji immediately pretended to be a general who was opening the way, letting out smoke, handing out paper money, and setting up a colorful booth on the stage. After the booth, people dressed as students and dandies came on stage. As they entered and exited, they each sang a piece of Puxian opera "Jin Ting Fang". Then they sat and talked with each other, and met cordially to increase mutual understanding, enhance mutual feelings, and wish each other good luck. Color shed. In the old days, Puxian opera performances, whether day or night, consisted of four plays, namely three excerpts and one script, commonly known as a three-excerpt performance. At the beginning of the play, the color booth must be performed first. The drummer will hit the drum three times, blow "Zhida" twice on the suona, and play "Bianbian" twice on the gong, which is called Baogu, as a notice of preparation for the performance. When the troupe is ready, they will set off firecrackers and three gongs and drums, commonly known as "three gongs and drums". The three gongs and drums are combined with wind and singing, and the tune is "Missing My Mother's Home" (also known as "Flying the Damp Moth"). The lyrics do not use dialect, but are close to the official tune. There are originally nine sections of music and lyrics, and usually only three sections are sung. Only when singing in the Wenwu Sheng of a Taiwanese opera, in order to show off one's skills, the whole nine sections are sung. Then the backstage chanted four lines: Jiangnan scenery in the prosperous age, the spring breeze and the bright hall in the day. A branch of red peony blooms in the house. Every time a sentence is read, gongs and drums are played; after the color booth is completed, a verse without lyrics and music is played, and the text of the song is only three characters of Luo Lilian, which is repeatedly played and sung. It is said that this is a legacy song of the Song Dynasty, and some people say that it is a mantra used to play Marshal Tian. After singing, the backstage shouted the word "Facai", and a Wen Laosheng with three black beards appeared. According to legend, this figure was Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty. He bowed his hands to the audience and read four lines of the closing poem: A yellow scroll of the Hanlin Academy, many articles from the Ministry of Rites; The sound of spring snow on the piano attracted the attention of the princes, princes and ministers. End of reading. In the old days, the Puxian Opera Troupe performed in the colorful booth, mainly to drive away evil spirits and protect the peace of the theater troupe and the countryside. Get the Eight Immortals. In Puxian, every time the City God is born, most villagers ask theater troupes to perform the Eight Immortals in the temple. During the performance, the Eight Immortals came on stage one after another, followed in order by Li Tieguai, Han Zhongli, Lu Dongbin, He Xiangu, Cao Guoshu, Zhang Guolao, Lan Caihe and Liu Haichan. In Puxian's teasing of the Eight Immortals, there is no Han Xiangzi, only Liu Haichan. He wears a square scarf on his head, a cloth belt around his waist, and carries money tied with a rope. He is the golden toad with bangs hanging in Puxian folklore. According to relevant expert research, during the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Chinese Taoism formed two sects, the Northern and the Southern. Beizong Taoism has Wang Chongyang, Zhong Liquan, Lu Dongbin, Wang Xuanfu, and Liu Cao (Hai Chan) as its founders, and they are called the Five Northern Ancestors. The Eight Immortals that are popular today were finalized in the early Ming Dynasty. In Puxian Opera "Nong Eight Immortals", Han Xiangzi is replaced by Liu Haichan, which shows that the repertoire of Puxian Opera "Nong Eight Immortals" is a legacy of Southern Opera before the early Ming Dynasty. Puxian Opera "Nong the Eight Immortals" is divided into "Nong the Big Eight Immortals" and "Nong the Small Eight Immortals". In "Playing with the Eight Immortals", the eight immortals usually appear one after another. Each person introduces himself and sings a song before exiting. If there is a big bustle on the birthday of the City God and the Jade Emperor, the Eight Immortals will be made. That is, in addition to the Eight Immortals, there are also the Queen Mother, two maids, the Dragon King, the Shrimp Soldiers, the Crab General, the Turtle Prime Minister and the Aquatic Tribe. Jump and crown. Before the Puxian Opera Troupe performed a big play, in response to the request of the village people, the performance was performed with a twist and a crown. There are different types of crown dancing for men and women. It is not only used for birthdays, weddings, full moon and other festive performances, but also for the birthdays of the Jade Emperor, City God, Queen Mother and Guanyin Bodhisattva. It is said that the performance of Puxian Opera with jumping crown is a play handed down from the Tang Palace Jiaofang. The number one scholar parades through the streets. This is a play that young men and women in Puxian must perform when they get married. The plot mainly reflects the story of Wenquxing (the number one scholar) who was reincarnated into the folk world, and also reflects the mentality of rural people who hope to have a son early and be safe, and to become the number one scholar when they grow up. During the performance, there were a number one champion and two sergeants. After they came on stage, they sang Puxian Opera "One River Wind" to round things off. Then the sergeant knelt down and said, "Master number one scholar, the parade is over. Where can the deacon reincarnate?" the number one scholar replied. Said: "The deacon went to the × house (referring to the surname of the married person) to reincarnate." He also read: "Apricot flowers are fragrant for thousands of miles, and the champion returns home like a flying horse." Then he left the stage with his whip flying, went to the door of the host's bride's room, and shouted praises. At this time, there was a square table across the door of the bridal chamber. First, the mother-in-law took the child (prop) to the groom and put it on the bed; then the number one scholar handed the court clothes and crown to the groom on a plate. Assemble and place on top of the rack. Finally, the Earth God shouted a compliment, and the whole class of actors cheered for it line by line. Before leaving, Master Zhang held a bow and shot three arrows at the door of the bride's room, which meant to get rid of the demons and tengu so that the newborn child could grow up safely. The main customs of watching operas include "watching "The Opera" in the dark on New Year's Eve, inviting people to perform at the opera, dating in front of the civil and military tents, and having omnivorous meals before the opera.
"Watching "The Opera" in the dark on New Year's Eve." In the old days of Puxian people, if a child developed hemp or plague (commonly known as beads), he or she would suffer from smallpox or measles. In order to pray for the child's recovery, the parents would make a wish to the government. After the child recovered from the illness, they would hire a puppet troupe to perform a "drama" to pray for the child's recovery. Thank you to the master of the house. "The Play" is a multi-scene play, with seven plays in total. It mainly talks about the fairy aunt Chen Jinggu who exorcises demons and saves the world. Subdue the child-eating spirit (tiger spirit) and protect the child from growing up safely. The story is vivid, the plot twists and turns, and fascinating. In the old days, people in Puxian would invite puppet theater troupes to perform "Drama" on New Year's Eve.
In addition to praying for the health of the child