Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 232 4th International Conference on Arts, Design and Contemporary Education (ICADCE 2018) The Rise and Decline of Chinese Opera in Indonesia* Tao Zhang Overseas Education College Xiamen University Xiamen, China 361102 Abstract—There are two types of Chinese Opera in Indonesia: literature. 1 As literary script, they are only available to the the Chinese local opera and Malayu opera. This article attempts reader. Some are special for the performance of professional to trace the historical process of Chinese Opera in Indonesia, opera troupe, and could be adapted according to the needs of analyzes the concerning questions, supplies some materials for actors, dance and realist events at that time. further study on the oversea spreading of Chinese opera and its localization as Malayu opera. Indonesian Chinese Malayu opera starts from 1880s. At that time, they mainly translated Chinese classical operas, such Keywords—Indonesia; Chinese; opera; Malay opera as, Chen San and Wu Niang (1886), Bao Gong Case (1887), Generals of Yang Family (1887) and Mulan (1893).2 These I. INTRODUCTION Chinese classical masterpieces first spread in the form of "puppet show" for more than half a century, and become an Chinese immigrants moved south to Indonesia, which can indispensable part of Indonesian Chinese cultural life at that be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, time. Every Chinese New Year and other festive days, all Chinese immigrants settled in Indonesia have taken shape. temples would launch various forms of entertainment. In Some traditional local operas in China, especially in Batavia (now Jakarta), Chinese puppet shows were often given. Guangdong and Fujian and other coastal cities, have been In some busy streets, also often appear some drum entertainers. introduced to Indonesia from the early Qing Dynasty, and The storytelling contents are also collected from Chinese blended with traditional Indonesian operas, becoming a part of classical novels. Among these stories, Liang Shanbo and Zhu local multicultural organism. The Indonesian Chinese opera Yingtai is the most widely circulated and most far-reaching can be divided into two types. One is the primary Chinese one. "There is no doubt that for the Chinese living in Indonesia opera, and the other is the localized Chinese opera which is the legend has been spread mouth to mouth and known to performed by the language of Malayu. every family before the appearance of the translation of Java script and Bali script. In the early 19th Century and 20th II. MALAY CHINESE OPERA OF INDONESIAN CHINESE Century, storytelling, puppet play and opera had a very important influence in the artistic life of the Chinese Indonesian Malayu is also known as "popular Malayu 3 language". Compared with the Indonesian aristocratic Malayu, Indonesians. it is characterized by a mixture of Malayu, Chinese, Indonesian In 1906, the native Chinese class founded an opera troupe dialects, Dutch and English, and a lot of Fujian dialects. In the called SOEI BAN LIAN. People called it TJIA-IM. The owner Nineteenth Century, all sectors of people in Indonesian society was Shen Demei. They performed Wang Zhaojun’s Distant widely used this kind of language in communication. Native Marriage, Madame White Snake, Xue Rengui, Liang Shanbo Chinese writers also used the language for opera creation. and Zhu Yingtai and other operas. After that native Chinese Chinese Malayu opera is a unique opera type, which is Indonesian founded a lot of opera troupe. They often selected considered to be unorthodox for a long time without being paid the familiar places to perform publicly, and performing attention. In 1981, Claudine · Salmon, French Female Scholar, published a novel “Chinese Malayu Literature in Indonesia” in 1 Lin Wanli. Malayu Literature of Indonesian Chinese, recorded in Paris, with a surprising number of rich and detailed data. It works of Yegu · Sumaer. Translated by Lin Wanli. Research on Malayu convincingly demonstrated the historical status and Literature of Indonesian Chinese. Huoyi Publishing Business Co. Ltd., contribution of the Malayu literature, which has attracted the October 1998, Page 18. attention of international academic circles. According to 2 Lin Wanli. Malayu Literature of Indonesian Chinese, recorded in Salmon’s incomplete statistics, there are 806 native Chinese works of Yegu • Sumaer. Translated by Lin Wanli. Research on Malayu writers and translators born in Indonesia, with a total of 3005 Literature of Indonesian Chinese. Huoyi Publishing Business Co. Ltd., October 1998, Page 19 - 20. works. Among them, there are 73 opera books. Some of these 3 opera books are wrote in the pattern of script, and provided to [Australia] George Quinn. Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai - a Chinese folk love stories in Java and Bali, recorded in [French] Claudia amateur opera troupe for fund-raising performance. They are Salmon, Yan Bao’s translation in Chinese Tradition Novels in Asia, used for raising fund for charity. Some are of the need for International Culture Press, 1989. Quoted from Wang Lieyao and Kong Xiangwei’s Rewriting Love Stories in China in Memory - a popular narrative *This article is the stage achievement of the annual national art science in Indonesian Chinese literature, recorded in Journal of Jinan University project for the tenth five-year plan titled in "the history of Chinese opera in (HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES EDITION), 2004, Issue 4, Page Southeast Asia"). 73. Copyright © 2018, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). 39 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 232 contents mainly were Chinese classic stories4. These stories performed by artists on the stage with the form of story. It is reflect oppressed people against the dark rule of the feudal essentially "drama".7 struggle, or whip feudal code of ethics destroying young men and women, or praise upright, selfless and indomitable spirit In the late Nineteenth Century and early Twentieth Century, and rites Confucius and Mencius advocate in their theories. Chinese theatrical troupes in Indonesia were all professional. Native Indonesian Chinese love to see and hear these stories Their performances were basically not based on the fixed for they encourage them to survive and develop in alien land. literary script, but on the free exertion of actors. In 1911, there This is also an important reason why Indonesian Chinese have appeared Chinese amateur theatrical troupes organized by set off the upsurge of Chinese classics translation. Chinese charities. They couldn't play like professional actors. They needed script for rehearsals and performances. In order From the translation to the adaptation, the classical Chinese to get a more sound development of drama at that time, some opera stories tend to have an obvious localization tendency. In Chinese Malayu writers began to write scripts, and offered order to cater to the audience, the stage performances are them to the amateur dramas enthusiasts at that time. Therefore, flexible in form. They often use traditional Indonesian opera in the first half of the Twentieth Century, the Indonesian forms people are familiar and love to perform Chinese Chinese Malayu drama was developed flourishingly. classical opera. It often produces new content and has a new The first Malayu script for performances of amateur taste. “Oral circulated story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai originally appeared in Stambul, also known as Bang Sawa, and troupes was "Dangerous Wealth", published by Batavia Sandi Wata. In reserved Stambul plays, this story has a Huaxiang Printing Press in 1912. The long complete title is prominent position”.5 This form of art integrates Chinese opera script of fundraising play of Chinese Dekelong Renhe Society, and local Indonesian play together, and is deeply loved by the a story of dangerous wealth; a good admonishment will Indonesian Chinese and the local people. There is a kind of become a model. The author is unknown, and the purpose of Indonesian Peking Opera, which is performed in Indonesian. It the performance is to raise money for charity. This is a script was first performed among Indonesian Chinese. There is a created for the need of rehearsal, so it explains how to open Ketobera play in Indonesia. The themes are very extensive, and close curtains, and the rules that the actors should follow including historical stories and folk legends, modern life on the stage. The play followed the style of urban traditional fragments and many adapted Chinese opera. For example, drama of that times that actors made a self introduction to the localized Chinese opera Xue Rengui and adapted it into audience whenever a new role came out. There are many Ketobera play. In the play Xue Rengui was renamed to Sudiro beautiful scenes in the play and the sound of singing for Prono. The adapted Ketobera play was performed in the folk coordination of the actors, which could create a quiet romantic and also very popular.6 atmosphere. It was the way of expression of the traditional drama at that time. For example, when Shen Guayao dated Theatrical performances are popular among different ethnic with his widowed sister-in-law in the garden, they talked love groups in Indonesia. In early 1891, there appeared a kind of in the form of antiphonal singing. In other different scenes, opera troupe, called "STAMBOEL", similar to Chinese touring singings were often interweaved.8 troupe. They gave touring performances on the small and medium-sized cities in Indonesia. People gradually know and The early Twentieth Century was the most prosperous love them. In 1910, the small and medium-sized cities began to period of Chinese Malayu plays in Indonesia. The main appear a play called "KOMEDIE", which was equivalent to dramatists were Li Jinfu, Guo Dehuai, Bao Qiu’an, Chen comedy.