The opera troupe touring rural China defending a dying art
The Yu County Jin Opera Troupe struggles to survive after government funding was cut and interest in the art form wanes among the young
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For the 50-year-old Chinese opera performer, every aspect of the dimly-lit backstage room was a reminder that things had changed.
The elaborate costumes carelessly thrown aside, the young troupe members playing with their smartphones, the half-eaten noodles abandoned in the corner - all were tokens of disorder that made Li Zhiguo grimace in his blue and gold cap.
“I get angry sometimes watching my students perform because their heart isn’t in it,” Li said.
“But when they ask me if rehearsing diligently will guarantee them a good living, I have nothing to say.”
But policy reforms in 2005 turned their government-sponsored project into a private venture without a concrete business strategy, gutting the performers’ salaries and threatening the future of an early Qing dynasty (1644-1911) opera form.
Jin opera, which is characterised by upbeat songs and wooden clapper instruments, originated in the northern Shanxi province bordering Yu county.
From the Lunar New Year holiday to the end of March, the troupe travels from village to village in Hebei, performing on ramshackle rural stages to mostly elderly crowds.
Despite their new business designation, they still rarely charge for performances - most people in the audience wouldn’t pay - and rely heavily on support from local governments.
Backstage at one of their last shows of the season, Li sighed as he recounted all the departures in recent years. Many of his students had left the troupe after struggling to support their families.
“If it’s about the art, I’ll tell them to stay,” said Li. “If it’s about survival, I’ll tell them: go.”
Liu Donghai, a former actor who now helps manage the troupe, recalled that being chosen from among more than 1,000 children had felt like winning the lottery.
His parents were thrilled because, being a state institution at the time, the troupe offered him an “iron rice bowl” - the Chinese parlance for a secure job.
Since they were stripped of their public status, however, some performers have started driving pedicabs between shows for supplementary income.
Even the most senior members of the troupe make less than 2,500 yuan (US$363) a month, while the average actor makes closer to 1,500 yuan in a district where the minimum monthly wage is 1,590 yuan.
“This is my family,” he said. “Our troupe leader is like a father to me. Whatever he says, I’ll do.”
Sometimes that means singing in freezing weather or dancing while snow settles on his elaborate costumes.
But as Geng Liping, a 30-year-old actress, said: “When you’re on stage you never feel cold.”
Jin opera recounts ancient Shanxi history, with storylines soaked in nostalgia for the province’s imperial past.
Modern audiences have different tastes, said Wang Jia, founder of the China Jin Opera Network.
“Even our notion of beauty has changed, so everything - from the costumes to the dialogue - is being adapted for contemporary viewing,” Wang said.
“Most of them don’t have health insurance,” Wang said.
“The question of whether their basic needs will be met is like a sword dangling over their heads.”
At a March performance in Yu county’s Baocao village, there were no chairs in the viewing area, but some of the audience had brought their own. Others watched from inside their cars, or found perches along a crumbling brick fence as a harsh wind blew around them.
More people used to come, the performers said, before the county’s coal plants closed and the migrants left.
Now there were about 50 mostly elderly locals, some with babies in their arms. They heard about the show through word of mouth.
One of the few young people, 20-year-old Zhang Zehui, had attended several performances with her grandmother.
“It’s lively and interesting, but I don’t really understand it,” Zhang said.
Garbed in a colourful robe, Li stood backstage, awaiting his cue.
