Revolutionary Theatre, Temple Fairs, and Traditional Culture in Wartime Shaan-Gan-Ning

During the mid-1940s the Chinese Communist Party established a theatrical presence in the countryside of the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region. Its geographic coverage was inevitably somewhat concentrated in areas near county and district administrative centres, but it also targetted rural markets, horse-and-mule fairs, and temple fairs. Beginning in1944, the Party made a concerted effort to establish its presence at temple fairs. Rather than simply provide performances of dances, yangge and opera, Party troupes also coordinated with medical teams and other CCP-sponsored operatives to target practical issues of concern to the rural population. In doing so, it generally made efforts to harmonise its messages and style with those of rural society, and to avoid any controversial themes that led to confrontation with local power-holders. In terms of theatrical forms, the Party troupes used whatever fitted the local circumstances, including yangge but also forms of little opera like North Shaanxi daoqing and Meihu, and big opera forms such as Qinqiang and Peking Opera. The initial result, at this stage in the implementation of Party cultural policy in the countryside, was a cultural amalgam in which new plays sponsored by the Party were incorporated in local repertoires.

關鍵字

North Shaanxi Yangge ； temple fairs ； CCP cultural policy ； song-and-dance ； revolutionary theatre

並列摘要

二十世紀四十年代中後期，中國共產黨在陝甘寧邊區的廣大鄉村，開展了以秧歌、歌舞、小戲為主的大規模群眾性戲曲活動。這一群眾性活動，覆蓋地區廣泛，幾近擴及邊區每一村落。本文通過分析當時的各種資料，特別是各地報紙的新聞記載，印證了以下事實：即此戲曲活動的推展，雖稍偏重於縣、區行政中心周圍的村莊，但新秧歌隊的活動，實已深入諸多鄉下集市、騾馬大會、及香煙大會。自一九四四年始，共產黨即積極動員農村劇團及秧歌隊，於各地廟會演出。而在廟會活動中，這些演出團隊不僅表演秧歌、戲曲，還為解決農民關心的實際生活問題，與醫療隊及共產黨組織的其他助農團隊協同工作。戲曲表演團隊通常會努力使其表演內容及表演形式，符合當地的風俗人情，以避免任何可能出現的糾紛及繼而引發的與當地耆老的衝突。在戲曲推展活動中，表演團隊採用了陝北秧歌、陝北道情、郿鄠戲、秦腔及京戲等多種適合當地民情的曲種。通過上述推展活動，共產黨在落實其文化政策的工作中，取得了如下初步成果：即在農村地區促成了新舊戲曲共存的局面；而此推展活動的長期成果則是：新秧歌及其他共產黨推動的一些新戲曲劇目，終被納入邊區農村每年表演的活動中。