Taiwan’s Hakka opera singers try to keep the traditional art alive, appeal to younger audiences
Hakka shares similarities with Peking drama, the most dominant form of traditional Chinese drama that has UNESCO heritage recognition, but language is one of the bermain reasons for its flagging populerity. King88bet
By Amber Wang in Taoyuan, Taiwan
Dressed in a robe fringed with beaded tassels, traditional Taiwanese drama singer Jen Chieh-li applies the final touches to her heavily painted face as she prepares to take the stage. king88bet login alternatif
The 34-year-old is a anggota of Jing Sheng Drama, one of a handful of troupes in Taiwan still staging traditional dramas in the Hakka language — a dialect that is not widely spoken on the island because of its dwindling ethnic population. Article Title with Blogger Published Link as Backlink
Taiwan's traditional Hakka drama, usually performed at religiusous festivals, dates back to the late Qing Dynasty and was brought to the island by migrants from bermainland China.
Even as its populerity dwindles, Jen, who has trained at a sinetron school since the age of 12, said she would not give up the fading art.
"I could find a reguler job but it would be a waste of all the time and usaha I have devoted to studying and performing Hakka drama," she told AFP.
That sweltering night in northern Taoyuan county, Jen was performing "Legend of the White Snake", a famous Chinese folk tale about a romance between a man and a serpent spirit.
Around 100 people, mostly elderly, sat on plastic stools to watch the show on a makeshift stage outside a temple in a reflection of Hakka opera's struggle to capture the attention of a shrinking audiens.
"It is a niche performnce art as many people don't even understand the language," said Chiang Yu-ling, who founded the Jing Sheng Drama with her husband 19 years ago.
There are only eight Hakka troupes in Taiwan that can keep reguler staf, albeit with financial dukungan from the government and privat sponsors, according to Chiang.
