More Than Chicken Rice: Hainanese Performing Art

Written by Simeon Neo

When we think of Hainanese culture, we think of the famous Hainanese chicken rice that has made it as Singapore’s national dish. Despite being the last of the Chinese dialect groups to migrate to Singapore, the Hainanese have established themselves as being known for their culinary ingenuity such as the creation of the Singapore Sling and kopi. Yet, food is only one aspect of the Hainanese’s rich culture. Hainanese art, in the form of performing art and music plays a huge role in Hainanese culture. When the Hainanese left Hainan Island to settle in Singapore during the late 20th century, they brought along the Qiong Opera and Hainanese Rod Puppetry. 

Like most Chinese operas, the lyrics in Qiong Opera are performed in the Hainanese dialect, a language that is fading from Singapore as its young generation becomes less exposed to it. Qiong Opera was born out of various influences, both local and imported, including “Zhengzi opera”, “Liyuan opera”, “Gaoja opera” and “Chaozhou opera”. In fact, the history of Qiong Opera dates back three hundred years, originating in Hainan Island. While theatre halls with Qiong Opera performances grew between 1740s to 1790s, it only gained popularity after the appearance of famous Hainan opera singer, Huang Kuang Sheng. 

The opera style consists of five roles; the “male”, “female”, “the painted face”, “the ancient one” and “the clown”, with many Qiong Opera titles such as Inscribe a Poem on a Red Leaf, Zhang Wenxiu, Searching the Institute, and Gold Hairpin in the Dog’s Mouth reprising these roles. These plays tell the stories of the Hainanese people and the life they led, as they incorporated their own personal experiences into the stories told in Qiong Opera. In Singapore, Qiong Opera remains alive and active at the Singapore Hymn Rhyme Sing Opera Club (新加坡琼联声剧社) which was founded in 1957. In 2017, the Hainanese opera troupe celebrated Singapore’s 52nd National Day and its 60th anniversary at the Kallang Theatre with a performance of Snow After Snow (雪后艳梅). The troupe included a total of 250 performers between the ages of 20s to 70s. Yet, the Singapore Hymn Rhyme Sing Opera Club remains one of the only two Hainanese troupes in Singapore. 

Another traditional Hainanese performing art that remains in Singapore is Hainanese Rod Puppetry. Hainanese Rod Puppetry has traditionally been performed in Singapore as an offering to the gods, with performances sung in the Hainanese dialect. One of the oldest surviving puppetry troupes, the San Chun Long (三春隆) Puppetry Troupe has been active since the 1920s even before it was officially established in 1947. It is now the second of the only two Hainanese performing troupes left in Singapore. In the years just after the second world war, San Chun Long held many shows as an offering to the gods as a prayer for peace. These shows were so popular that they would be fully booked every night for a whole month leading up to the seventh lunar month. The Hainanese rod puppets are larger in size when compared to the Teochew iron stick puppets or the Henghua string puppets, and are held up by a thick wooden rod which supports the weight of the puppet’s head and body. The costumes and headpieces adorned by the puppets are anything but plain, sewn with a multitude of rainbow-coloured sequins and elaborate headpieces.

While many of the puppets were destroyed during the cultural revolution in China, some of these puppets were brought over to Singapore and reserved. The puppets seen in the shows by San Chung Long had been restored over the years by members of the troupe and are seen as treasures by the leader of the troupe, Peter Chew. In the past, women were excluded from learning the art of Hainanese rod puppetry and only men were allowed to perform and sing both male and female parts. Today, the troupe is made up of both men and women performers, though the age range of the members remain between the 50s to 60s.  

Hainanese traditional music can be seen in Hainanese opera and puppetry shows. Known as the Hainan Eight Tones, the Hainanese style of music is a collection of eight local instruments which consist of; the yehu, trichord, surna horn, pipe, flute, gong, and drum. The history of the Hainan Eight Tones can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty and even as early as the Han dynasty, which deems this musical tradition as one of the oldest musical traditions in China. Musical pieces played in the Hainan Eight Tones is separated into four distinct categories; “heavy blow and beat”, “light beat with cymbal and drum”, “ballad” and “drum play”. While the Hainan Eight Tones originated from Hainan Island, south of China, the musical tradition is an offshoot of the traditional music that originates from the mainland. 

Sources

Qiong Lian Sheng, The Straits Times, Tropical Hainan, Roots, SCMP.