A Study On The Changes Of Tunpu Opera In Anshun From The Perspective Of Festival Drama

The Tunpu people in the Anshun area of Guizhou province are mainly the combination of Han immigrants from several historical periods.During the donkey’s years,the Anshun Dixi with the functions of driving away all evil spirits and disease as well as seeking for good luck became the spiritual support of the Tunpu people.Therefore,by performing the Anshun Dixi during festivals,people can enhance the ethnic and cultural identity,and at the same time,the Dixi play a role in the moral education and cultural exchange.However,with the social changes,the improvement of people’s understanding for the natural sciences and the change of the ideological concepts,the performance of Anshun Dixi has changed in time,space,and content.Therefore,this dissertation studies the changes of the Anshun Dixi from the perspective of their performance during festivals,and explores the development and protection of the festival performance based on the case of the changes of the Anshun Dixi.The first chapter is mainly about the festival culture and drama performance of Tunpu in Anshun.The traditional festivals of people in Tunpu are closely related to their religious beliefs.The festive lanterns and the Anshun Dixi are the soul and core of festivals and also essential to the chinese festival culture.Although there are changes in the form and function of the festive lanterns and Anshun Dixi performances in modern festivals,the Tunpu culture in Anshun,especially the dominant art form of Tunpu culture—the Anshun Dixi,is still the focus of public attention.The second chapter narrates the traditional form of the Anshun Dixi from two aspects,the traditional performance form and ritual process.The entire performance of the Dixi contains many ritual elements.The actor changes from ‘human’ to ‘God’ by wearing a mask.The participants gains spiritual satisfaction by enjoying the entire Dixi show.Therefore,in traditional society,people believe that the ‘God’ in the drama will bring good luck.So,they will often invite local drama teams to hold some sacrificial activities to drive away the ghosts and diseases,to seek for happiness and to pray for the Gods to bless their own lives.The third chapter mainly discusses the changes of the scene of the Anshun Dixi in Tunpu in the view of the festival drama performance.During the field research,the author found that the time and length of the Anshun Dixi performance in Tunpu had changed.The performance space had changed from ‘anywhere suitable is appropriate’ to some fixed places or stages.In addition,the form,content,costume props,actors and audiences,ceremonies,performances,troupes,inheritance methods and functions of the Anshun Dixi also developed with the changes of the time.By studying the changes of the Anshun Dixi,the author believes that the factors that caused the changes of the Dixi are complex.National policies,cultural economy,social psychology,media propaganda and the academic upsurge are the external factors that contribute to the changing of the Dixi.While the scarcity of inheritors,generations and performers themselves are the internal factors that cause the changes of the Dixi.Under the combined influence of various factors,the feature of the festival performance of the dramas had been weakened and gradually became a daily and secularized drama performance.However,it can’t be denied that these factors,especially the implementation of the policy for the protection and development of intangible cultural heritage,have enabled the Anshun Dixi to be protected,inherited and developed.In the fourth chapter,the author takes the Anshun Dixi as a case of studying festival drama performance.It analyzes the relationship between festival drama performance and other folk activities and the former one’s development trend.It is believed that with the development of the time,festival drama performance may be confronted with opportunities as well as challenges.The author puts forward some relevant suggestions and expects the festival drama performance to seize the opportunity and meet the challenges.With the guidance and support of the government and the participation of several social forces,it will change in a virtuous direction and finally realize the sustainable inheritance and development of the festival drama culture.