Xiangju Opera Version's "The Three Scholars of the Zhang Family"

Fans of Hokkien Gezi opera will not be unfamiliar with "The Three Scholars of the Zhang Family" (一门三进士), as it's considered a gem of the genre, and has been an all-time favourite among local Gezi opera lovers.

This show, however, is seldom performed in Xiangju version. Today, I was lucky to find one on Tudou.com. There're 2 surprising points to note: it's performed by a Xiangju opera troupe from Quanzhou (Quanzhou is not a strong base for Xiangju, to start with), and secondly, the songs sung are exactly as they were in the Yang Lihua version decades back. Of course, however, their songs have more Xiangju feel, for afterall this is Xiangju and not Gezi opera. Although this troupe came from Quanzhou, they do not spot the typical Quanzhou accent as like in Gaojia opera, Liyuan opera or Dacheng opera. The reason for this was because Xiangju opera spread there during the period of time when Xiangju master Shao Jianghai was recuperating in that region. Shao Jianghai started teaching Xiangju opera there, and since he had stayed in Zhangzhou long enough, naturally he spotted a Zhangzhou accent, and his students picked up this characteristic as well.