Ordinary folk give Yuju Opera lively second act

Legacy protected

Yuju, or Henan, Opera, is also referred to as bangzi, or clapper opera, due to the use of percussive jujube wood clappers during the performance.

With a history dating back hundreds of years, it is one of the five major opera schools in China together with Peking Opera, Yueju Opera, Pingju Opera, and Huangmei Opera.

Yuju Opera was a highly influential genre during Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), according to the government information office.

As it developed, it took in the elements of many other opera schools and extensively absorbed the folk music, singing art, and punchy lyrics popular in Henan.

Zhao Shisheng, a 75-year-old Suzhou resident, has watched Yuju Opera since the 1980s.

He said audiences love it because its stories center on common people. The plays celebrate loyalty and justice, values that resonate with an audience, he said.

"The members of the troupe live two lives," Zhao said. "They get no pay for shows and hold no official positions with state arts institutions. Even so, many aim to reach performance levels equal to professional opera groups.

"This is how ordinary people's passion breaks through barriers of geography, age and careers," he added.

Zhao also believes that culture should not be limited by boundaries between provinces. "Migrant folk art groups breathe new life into their cities. They truly deserve more recognition and support," he said.

On Aug 1, the Henan provincial regulations on the protection, inheritance and development of Yuju Opera officially took effect. This established a legal framework for the preservation and growth of the art form.

Data from provincial authorities shows there are 163 professional troupes and around 2,000 private groups performing Yuju Opera across China, with more than 400,000 performances staged every year.

Even so, the art form faces difficulties. For instance, many old opera scripts are being lost, cultural inheritors are getting older, and grassroots groups keep struggling with money problems.

Wu Yaming, the director of the Henan Provincial Academy of Culture and Arts, was involved in every step to develop the Henan regulation on Yuju Opera protection. His contribution included doing field research, writing the draft text, going through multiple revisions, and seeing it pass into law.

"Historical data shows that Yuju Opera was once performed across 13 provinces in China," he said. "Over more than a decade of natural evolution and under the combined impact of various factors, only 11 provinces now maintain regular Yuju Opera performances, indicating a shrinking reach."

Wu said the regulation targets two long-term problems holding Yuju Opera back: shortage of funds and limited talent development. He added local governments need to include preservation of the art form in their planning and budgets.

Wider reach

Li Shujian, former vice-chairman of the China Theater Association and an inheritor of Yuju Opera, believes the art form can accommodate both professional and grassroots performers.

For decades, he has attended both national-level stage productions and amateur opera performances across the country. He said millions of Yuju Opera enthusiasts, professionals and grassroots practitioners share cultural roots and a collective identity.

Ding Jianying, head of Henan Yuju Opera Troupe, said: "State-run professional troupes create high-quality flagship productions, take part in national competitions and set official artistic standards. Amateur community troupes build public interest and keep folk-style opera alive at the local level."

Ding said the greatest value of the new regulation is that it will help maintain professional standards and also spark creativity among folk artists. "Our findings show that proper subtitle translations and background notes allow universal human feelings — loyalty, integrity, sacrifice — to strike a chord with overseas audiences. Great artistic expression has no boundaries," Ding said.

Li said the regulation helps the Henan style continue to expand across regions, social groups and generations.

He has extensive experience in international cultural exchanges and toured Italy, France and the United States with the Henan Yuju Opera Troupe.

Works including Cheng Ying Rescues the Orphan have been performed in front of large foreign audiences. With high-quality translations and background notes, universal themes such as loyalty, sacrifice and justice can resonate with audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds, said Li, who is planning performances in France in November.