The Tradition, Reformation, and Innovation of Huaguxi: Hunan Flower Drum Opera

Abstract

Traditional Chinese opera-xiqu-is one of the oldest theatrical artforms in the world, with beginnings over two thousand years ago. The form of xiqu best known in the West is Beijing opera, but there are in China people of more than 50 ethnicities and more than 300 kinds of xiqu. Huaguxi is the form of xiqu native to Hunan province, of which Changsha is the capital city in south-central China. Huaguxi is known in China for its earthy quality and is often called the spicy xiqu. Huaguxi is referred to as early as 1695, during the Qing Dynasty (I66I-I9II). At that time male performers, often costumed as tea-picking women and other peasants, dressed in colorful clothing and with painted faces, sang popular songs, and danced in the streets celebrating the spring festival (Chinese New Year) alongside lion and dragon dances, magic acts, and acrobatic shows. The amateur huaguxi performers were farmers, available to perform only in nonfarming seasons. Their performances did not tell specific stories of specific characters. The extreme popularity of these singers-dancers led to further development of huaguxi as a theatrical form. Integrating stories with music and dance began during the early Igth century. Two types of roles were developed: xiao chou, a small male clown, and xiao dan, a vivacious young girl, both played by men-there were no female huaguxi performers until the early 20th century. Typically, the xiao chou wore a costume of colorful red or green baggy silk pants with a scarf tied around his waist, and a small, round, brimless straw hat. His face was painted with red cheeks and a small white square, triangle, or animal on the bridge of his nose-roughly the same style used for the clown role in many xiqu. The xiao dan had a porcelain-white, delicately painted face, and wore a pink silk traditional sidebuttoned outfit with a colorful apron and silk-decorated shoes with a ball atop the big toe. The xiao dan was played in an uninhibited fash-