A Study of Hakka Opera With the “Legend of the Three Mountain Kings” by Rom Shing Hakka Opera Troupe as an Example

• Main Authors: Huang Chao-Feng, 黃兆鋒
• Other Authors: Tu Chin-Jung
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/t38hx4

碩士 === 國立聯合大學 === 客家語言與傳播研究所 === 104 === Abstract The major ethnic group of Taiwan is Minnan, but comparatively, there is a general lack of a Hakka speaking and using environment. In recent years, fewer and fewer young people are speaking Hakka. Regarding the legacy of Hakka culture, unknowingly, it is fading fast. Many years later, there will be serious a emptiness of “Hakka opera”. In recent years, many traditional opera troupes have presented “improved” versions of traditional titles to satisfy modern audiences. However, if there is over-innovation, leaving the traditional behind, it will create chaotic conditions for “Hakka opera”, because it may be mixed up with musicals and drama. At present, for many people, “Hakka opera” is still very unfamiliar to them. They even think that it is “Hakka-style Taiwanese opera”. It is worried that many years later, this situation will become worse. In 2012, “Rom Shing Hakka Opera Troupe” invited a director and scriptwriter from China to produce a whole new “Legend of the Three Mountain Kings” with the folk belief of the “Three Mountain Kings” as the theme. The researcher also participated in the performance and observed production as a coworker, trying to find out how to satisfy modern audiences under the conditions of Hakka folklore being preserved without losing tradition. Revised repeatedly in two years’ time, the tour of this Hakka opera was sponsored by the “Hakka Affairs Council” in 2014. This research regards the “Legend of the Three Mountain Kings” as an object of study with focus on the difference of staging, textual contents, stage design and contents, as well as the thirteen performances from 2012 to 2014 to analyze the problems encountered in presentation means and creation process. The object of this study, the “Legend of the Three Mountain Kings” contains trails that have never been seen in Hakka opera before. In the new production of this old title, the elements of puppet and clown in Gaojia opera and face changing in Sichuan opera are added. During the tour, adjustments are made in lighting, setting, and the transition of scenes according to different facilities and conditions on different stages: open areas outdoors or in theaters indoors. With tradition as the root, innovations have been made. Considering the change of times, this opera has been arranged from the audiences’ perspective. Keywords: Hakka opera, Three Mountain Kings, Legend of the Three Mountain Kings, Rom Shing Hakka Opera Troupe