Communications in Humanities Research

- The Open Access Proceedings Series for Conferences


Communications in Humanities Research

Vol. 17, 28 November 2023


Open Access | Article

The Living Inheritance and Moving Progress of Contemporary Cantonese Opera from the Perspective of Communication

Qi Wen * 1 , Jiajun Zhong 2
1 Taylor’s University
2 Dongguan City University

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Communications in Humanities Research, Vol. 17, 52-58
Published 28 November 2023. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by EWA Publishing
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Citation Qi Wen, Jiajun Zhong. The Living Inheritance and Moving Progress of Contemporary Cantonese Opera from the Perspective of Communication. CHR (2023) Vol. 17: 52-58. DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/17/20230817.

Abstract

Between July 3 and July 28, 2023, Television Broadcasts Limited released the Hong Kong drama Unchained Medley, which used a small village in the countryside and Cantonese Opera as the backdrop for the drama. It tells a tragic and touching story of human-ghost love between pop musician Ivan Zhang and the female ghost Wan Lau Fong (Cantonese transliteration is used). Artistic elements in Unchained Medley - Cantonese Opera is an ancient form of traditional Chinese theater, a local performing art that employs Cantonese as the language of performance, singing, acting, reciting and traditional folk music, along with distinctive stage costumes and abstract forms. When reviewing Chinese and English papers published between 2019 and 2023, research on the analysis of Cantonese opera primarily focused on the transformation of performance forms and the creation of Cantonese opera repertoire content. However, there needs to be more in living inheritance with Cantonese Opera. This paper utilizes James W. Carey’s ‘The Ritual View of Communication’ as a theoretical framework. The article mainly adopts methods such as literature review, case studies, and comparative analysis to elucidate the significance and complex dilemmas surrounding the vibrant communications of Cantonese opera in the post-COVID world. It then consolidates and summarizes research experiences related to the protection and universal transmission of Cantonese opera in every aspect, laying the foundation for the in-depth development of Cantonese opera research.

Keywords

Cantonese opera, living heritage, digital humanities, intangible cultural heritage, dramatic intangible heritage

References

1. Wu, R. The Rise of Cantonese Opera: Provincial Hong Kong and Overseas Stage Before World War II, Hong Kong: Zhonghua Book Company (Hong Kong) Limited, 2019.

2. Rao, Y. Cantonese Opera Across the Ocean: Chinese Theaters in North American Chinatowns, Guilin: Guangxi Normal University Press, 2021.

3. Zhou, D. (2022). Review of overseas Cantonese opera studies, Yue Sea Breeze, 54-58.

4. Wang, K. (2020). Ten years of protection experience of Cantonese opera art heritage, China Intangible Cultural Heritage, 80-88.

5. He, X., Lin, W., Wei, H., Zhang, Z., Gao, X. and He, J. (2023). “Supplementing, integrating and connecting”: a realistic choice for Cantonese opera to be accepted by young people, Culture Industry, 37-41.

6. Xie, W. and Wen, Y. (2023). The integrity and innovation of Cantonese Opera -- interview with Ou Kaiming, representative inheritor of the national “intangible cultural heritage” of Cantonese opera, Cultural Heritage, 151-158+154-155.

7. Li Zhuolin, Li Xiaomin & Zheng Zhixin.(2021). Research on the market operation status and model of Cantonese Opera Cultural Industry in Guangzhou. Age of Fortune (11),110-111.

8. Rao, N.Y. (2022). Listening Practice and History: Sound, Erasure, Kalfou: A Journal of Comparative and Relational Ethnic Studies, 9, 307-317.

9. Carey, J.W. Communication as Culture, Revised Edition: Essays on Media and Society Routledge, 15, 2008.

10. etwork, C.n. (2022). The Cantonese opera film “The Legend of the White Snake Love” is re-released and the boom of “breaking the circle” continues. Retrieved from https://www.dutenews.com/p/6793848.html?isRecommendHref=1

11. Studio, M.o.t.Y.F. (2023). Zawa Kabuki ZERO FINAL Cinema live!! Changes in box office receipts and attendance. Retrieved from https://kenken-movie.com/takizawakabuki-zero-final-lv-income/

Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the International Conference on Global Politics and Socio-Humanities
ISBN (Print)
978-1-83558-167-4
ISBN (Online)
978-1-83558-168-1
Published Date
28 November 2023
Series
Communications in Humanities Research
ISSN (Print)
2753-7064
ISSN (Online)
2753-7072
DOI
10.54254/2753-7064/17/20230817
Copyright
28 November 2023
Open Access
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Copyright © 2023 EWA Publishing. Unless Otherwise Stated