A Study On The Secularization Of Religions In

The Mulian opera is collectively referred to all operas based on the story thatMulian saved his mother. This opera originated in the Song Dynasty, which is morethan a thousand years ago. Therefore, it is known as the living fossil of Chineseoperas. The Mulian opera now spreads across the country. It includes an independentopera that specially performs the story that Mulian saved his mother and other operasthat consist of the story and other related stories. What we refer to as the independentopera is Qimen Mulian opera.Qimen Mulian opera is prevalent mostly in Qimen county which is in the southpart of Anhui province (Huang Mountain). It stemmed rfom the Buddhist Scriptures,and also advocates for Buddhism. It assimilates Confucianism and Taoism and is alsobranded with Neo-Confucianism. This kind of traditional art, integrating the greatestthoughts in ancient China and combining local customs and habits in Qimen,embodies local culture.Some repertory of Qimen Mulian opera and religious music shared a deeprelationship in originality, and some repertories came from local folk tunes. Mostcharacters originated from gods and disciples, but there is secularity in thepersonalities of these characters and some plots of the opera. In the past, QimenMulian opera was a part of local religious rites. However, with the disappearance ofmost religious rites in modern society, there is only the secular performance of QimenMulian opera. This process illustrates that the music and content of Qimen Mulianopera combines both religiosity and secular ity, and that the performance is changingfrom religious to secular forms.In2006, Qimen Mulian opera was listed in the first batch of National IntangibleCultural Heritage.The study of Qimen Mulian opera will not only have positive effects on thespread and protection of some local genres of opera, but also help us understand localculture and religious culture in Qimen more directly. Moreover, it sees thedevelopment of Chinese operas, and also acts as the theoretical basis of the protection, inheritance and development of intangible cultural heritage.This paper is composed of three parts:The first part is chapter1，and the main content is listed as follows:1.Brief introduction of the origination of the Mulian opera, the change of themes,and the enrichment and development of scripts.2.Summarization of the basic forms of the Mulian opera, taking local customs ofQimen into consideration.The second part consists of chapter2and chapter3，and the main content islisted as follows:1.Analysis of the musical forms of Qimen Mulian opera, based on previousresearches of scholars; comparison of different troupes and their repertories in Qimen,and the reasons that lead to these differences.2.Analysis of the religiosity and secularity of the music of Qimen Mulian operabased on the samples of the music scores.3. Analysis of the religiosity and secularity of the repertories of Qimen Mulianopera.4. The change of the form of performance of Qimen Mulian opera, which provesthat the opera has changed from a religious one that mainly entertains the gods into alocal one that mainly entertains people.The third part is composed of chapter4and chapter5，and the main content islisted as follows:1.Identification and discussion of the problems of Qimen Mulian opera based onits current development.2.Rational reflections on the protection and development of Qimen Mulianopera; the probe of the most appropriate way to develop the opera and the brought-upof reform ideas.