Chinese opera theatre name sparks fears of ‘mainlandisation’

The use of a Putonghua term as part of the English name of the new Chinese opera theatre that will be part Hong Kong’s multi-billion dollar cultural hub has touched the nerves of internet users concerned about the “mainlandisation” of the facility.

As of Wednesday, hundreds of users had posted messages on the social networking website Facebook to express their concerns about the decision to call the facility “The Xiqu Centre”.

“Xiqu” represents the Putonghua characters for Chinese opera, a general term that encompasses various forms of opera from many regions.

In Hong Kong, the most popular form of the opera is performed in the Cantonese dialect and has many Guangdong-specific features. This version of Chinese opera is commonly known as Cantonese opera to a western audience.

The theatre’s English title was first revealed when the government announced the results of a design competition for the opera house on December 10.

A cultural critic and assistant professor at Lingnan University, Dr Horace Chin Wan-kan, said the term “Xiqu” was only intelligible to experts, and that general public and a foreign audience would find “Xiqu” difficult to understand.