Xiangju Introduction: Zhangzhou's Shaoquan Gezi Opera Troupe

Zhangzhou Shaoquan Gezi Opera Troupe was established in 1990 by Xiangju opera actor Zhuang Shaoquan. Although the troupe had got a relatively short history, it was nevertheless one of the more well-known one among the professional, non-government sponsored troupes. Not only were their scripts well written, their performances were of high standard. The troupe also have have young actors, many of which were either 3rd-graders or had won awards in opera competitions before.



This clip featured here is taken from their show "Qing Zhu Si", adapted from a popular folklore from Anxi region, Quanzhou. It tells the story of Xiauo Chunju, the wife of trader Wang Xiang, who had an affair with a local scholar ("Ju Ren"). After their extra-marital affair was discovered by Wang Xiang, Chunju and her lover tried to poison Wang Xiang by forcing a poisonous snake "Qing Zhu Si" down his throat. Anxi Magistrate Huang Tizhong wanted to solve the case, but could not find any visible evidence on Wang Xiang's body. One night, the Cheng Huang God appeared in Huang's dream, and tipped him off. With the clues given by Cheng Huang God, Huang finally crack the mystery, and had the real culprits nabbed.



When I first heard of this troupe, I wasn't very confident of the troupe. For one, the troupe is from Zhangzhou, and second, it's a non-goverment sponsored troupe. I've watched a few Zhangzhou troupes' performances before, and so far there were only one or two troupes which I can consider good. For those "blacklisted" troupes, either their costumes were a disaster, or the actors could not sing to save their lives, or that their scripts were simply non-exsistence. For Shaoquan Gezi Opera Troupe, fortunately all these negative points were not applicable. In terms of script, I find that it was well-written, without being too lengthy (as with many other similar troupes; a simple story can actually span into a 2-day show!). As for the music, I find it very soothing to the ears, especially their "zasui" tune. At times they sounded quite like the "duma" tune of the Taiwanese opera in the 60s, and I find it very nolstagic. Most importantly, when they combined traditional Xiangju tunes with Taiwanese opera tunes in their show, they are able to blend in with one another, instead of sounding weird. In terms of acting, I think the actors were competent in their respective roles, though I find that the actors who took on the roles of the local scholar and Wang Lanying (Wang Xiang's sister) just average. One thing I had to say is that the actress who acted as Xiao Chunju (featured in this clip above) acted and sang quite well. At lease she doesn't have the squeaky voice like many typical Zhangzhou dans. As for their costumes, their wardrobe had better looking costumes than some other Zhangzhou troupes. Some other troupes which I've seen tried to imitate the costumes worn in Taiwanese opera, but in the end turned out to be a fashion disaster.

In short, I find that this troupe has got a strong cast, music ensemble and production crew. This gave me more confidence in the standards of non-government sponsored Xiangju troupes in Zhangzhou.