Mulian Opera (Nanle Mulian Opera)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Mulian Opera (Nanle Mulian Opera)

Applicant: Nanle County, Henan Province

Project No.: 231

Project No.: Ⅳ - 87

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: Traditional Drama

Region: Henan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Nanle County, Henan Province

Protection unit: Nanle County Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center

Brief introduction of Mulian Opera (Nanle Mulian Opera)

Applicant: Nanle County, Henan Province

Mulian opera is a kind of opera performance preserved in folk activities. It gets its name because it mainly plays the story of saving Mulian's mother. The story of Mulian's saving his mother was first recorded in Buddhist classics. The main content is as follows: Fu Xiang gave aid to the lonely and poor all his life, zhaibu monks and Taoists, and was granted the title of Empress Dowager. Fu's wife Liu Shi Qing Ti (also known as Liu Si Niang) disrespected the gods, broke the precepts and killed animals. After her death, she was sent to hell. In order to save his mother, his son, Fu Luobu, went to the west to seek Buddha's transcendence. The Buddha felt for him and allowed him to convert to Salmonella, changed his name to Damu Qianlian, and gave him the Yulan basin Sutra and the staff. Mulian went through all kinds of difficulties and dangers in hell, and finally found his mother and his family. For hundreds of years, after the training of countless artists, Mulian opera has been popular among the people with its extensive and complicated dramatic forms, all inclusive performance means, profound music materials, blending of feelings and scenes, and interactive performance. It was once widely spread in Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Shanxi, Fujian, Henan and other places.

Mulian opera is named after "Mulian monk saves his mother". It is the oldest opera in China and can be called the originator of drama.

Mulian opera was first formed in the Northern Song Dynasty. Menghualu in Tokyo, written by Meng Yuan of the Southern Song Dynasty, records: "since the Qixi Festival, gousi musicians have moved the drama Mulian saving his mother, which has doubled the audience." In the Ming Dynasty, there was Zheng Zhizhen's drama "Mu Lian saves his mother and persuades good people". During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, he entered the palace, and the royal family also performed this drama. When Zhang Zhao had the legend of Jinke, the main plot was that Mulian's mother was wronged for doing evil and was sent to hell, praying for Buddha to save her mother.

Mulian opera spread from Kaifeng to Nanle in Henan Province in Song Dynasty. Nanle is located at the junction of Hebei, Shandong and Henan provinces. Due to the inconvenient transportation and remote area in ancient times, the form of Nanle opera has always retained its ancient original style. Its performance form and drama program all have traces of traditional culture.

Nanle Mulian opera is a popular oral script in Nanle County, Henan Province. Its plot, ideological content and main characters are in the same line as those of Mulian Bianwen in Tang Dynasty. The drama is mainly composed of folk acrobatics, combining opera, martial arts, fireworks and magic. The costume, props, make-up and performance are unique. Because it is deeply hidden in the folk, it still retains its rough and original features.

Mulian opera, known as "the living fossil of Chinese drama", has high academic research value on the origin, evolution, development and inheritance of Chinese drama, and also provides valuable information for the study of Chinese history, literature history, folk culture and so on.

Chinese PinYin : Mu Lian Xi Nan Le Mu Lian Xi