Di Opera, or Dixi in Chinese, Ground Opera or Earth Opera
in Chinese meaning, usually performed during the Chinese Spring Festival
in Anshun County, Guizhou Province.
This Di Opera trace back to 1382 (the 14th year of Emperor Hongwu's rule
during the Ming Dynasty). The players perform not on stage but on vacant
land near the village, with the size of playing area determined by the
number of masked actors involved in the performance. Usuall about 40-50 to
more than 100 masks in an oprea, and audience stand around on the high
land for a better view of the performance. Batles are a traditional
favourities as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, History of the Sui and Tang
Dynasties, and Generals of Yang Family.
Di Opera is one of the oldest operas in the world, living fossil of opera
art, and still performance in the Anshun, usually performed in Caiguan
village.
Masks for Di Opera are usually carved together with helmets into singular,
exaggerated expressions representing stock characters such as soldiers.
Dragons decorate the helmets of male generals, and phoenixes adorn female
generals' helmets. At least two or three and sometimes even nine pairs of
dragons decorate a single helmet. Constellations of stars, magpies, bats,
and metal (copper) coins may also be used as decoration, depending on the
needs of the different charaters.
Caiguan Village, there Longgong (Dragon Palace) cave located there, and
best famous for its Di Opera performance. There is a Di Opera
Museum, displays many wooden masks used in performance.
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