Entertaining Deities and Humans with Performances of Puju (Puzhou Opera) at a Temple Fair in Yangxie Village, Southwestern Shanxi, May 29 – June 2, 2013

Abstract

ENTERTAINING DEITIES AND HUMANS WITH PERFORMANCES OF PUJU (PUZHOU OPERA) AT A TEMPLE FAIR IN YANGXIE VILLAGE, SOUTHWESTERN SHANXI, MAY 29–JUNE 2, 2013 ZIYING YOU College of Wooster On the evening of the twenty-fourth day of the fourth lunar month (June 2), 2013, the fifth day of the temple fair at the Old Temple Complex of King Tang Yao (Tang Yao guyuan 唐堯故園; for a map of the complex, see Fig. 1) in Yangxie 羊獬 Village, Hongdong County, Shanxi Province, a local Puju 蒲劇 (Puzhou opera) troupe was to give their last performance. However, a rainstorm with strong winds came up unexpectedly that afternoon, causing a power outage in the village and at the temple. The once-crowded temple soon became empty, and almost all the vendors and visitors rushed back home. I went backstage to meet the troupe members, and asked them if they would give the performance as scheduled. One actor said, “I will perform even if there is only one person before the stage watching the performance , that is how my master taught me” 台下只有一個看戲的, 我也要演, 這 是我師傅教我的. One actress said, “The plays are performed for the gugu” 戲是 演給姑姑的.1 Gugu 姑姑 (Aunty) is how Yangxie residents call King Yao’s two daughters, Ehuang 娥皇 and Nüying 女英, whom he married to King Shun. Yangxie residents believe that they themselves are the descendants of King Yao, and so they call his two daughters “aunties.” Every year, on the third day of the third lunar month, Yangxie residents go to neighboring Lishan 歷山, where King Shun’s temple is located, to invite their two “aunts” back to visit the home of their parents, King Yao and his wife, in Yangxie.2 On the twenty-eighth day of the fourth lunar month—believed to be King Yao’s birthday—Lishan residents come to Yangxie to escort Ehuang and Nüying back to Lishan. The temple fair at the Old Temple Complex of King Yao in Yangxie starts on the twentieth day, and ends on the twenty-ninth day of the fourth lunar month. Two different troupes were invited by the Old Temple Complex of King Yao Reconstruction Association (Tang Yao Guyuan Xiufu 1 This actor and actress will be introduced below, in the first section on actors. 2 For a detailed account of the activities involved during 2007, see Chen Yongchao 陳泳超 et al., “Yangxie, Lishan sanyuesan ‘jie gugu’ huodong diaocha baogao” 羊獬、歷山三月三 “接 姑姑” 活動調查報告 (A report of a survey of the activities that are part of “inviting the aunties” in Yangxie and Lishan on the third of the third lunar month), Minjian wenhua luntan 民間文化 論壇 (Forum on folk culture) 2007.3: 59–69. CHINOPERL: Journal of Chinese Oral and Performing Literature 34. 2 (December 2015): 139–161© The Permanent Conference on Chinese Oral and Performing Literature, Inc. 2015 DOI 10.1080/01937774.2015.1096554 Weiyuanhui 唐堯故園修復委員會) to perform at the temple fair in 2013; the Puju troupe performed the first five days. Their performances were well received, with a large audience for each show, but on the night in question, it was not clear whether the performance would take place at all. Eventually, however, the power came back on at 9:30 p.m., and the performance started. My host family in Yangxie sponsored the performance in gratitude for the “aunties”’ help in protecting their 19-year-old son from dying of heart disease. Before the performance started, the whole family burned incense and kowtowed in the main hall of the Temple of King Yao, and then in the main hall of Gugu Temple (Temple of Ehuang and Nüying). They saw to it that two special chairs with two big pieces of red cloth on them given by the Temple Fair Office (Miaohui bangongshi 廟會辦公室) were placed in front of the stage for the “aunties” to sit in and enjoy the performance. When the show started, fireworks were set off, attracting some villagers to come to the temple to watch the performance. Although it was very cold that evening, a decent number of Puju fans sat through the whole show from beginning to end. The Puju troupe gave a wonderful performance that evening, and the show did not end until midnight. The troupe left very early the next day. FIG. 1. Schematic Map...