''Hát tuồng'' (,

Chữ Nôm Chữ Nôm (, ) is a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represented by new characters ...

: 咭從) or ''hát bội'' (,

: 咭佩) is a form of

Vietnamese theatre Theatre of Vietnam comprises many traditional forms of drama which survive and retain their popularity to varying degrees. It formed during the Đinh dynasty, when the Đại Cồ Việt state was born. Water puppetry is a distinctively Vie ...

. Hát tuồng is often referred to as classical " Vietnamese opera" influenced by

Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...

. Tuồng is distinct from the older hát chèo genre of

which combines dance, song and poetry, and the more modern

cải lương ''Tuồng cải lương'' (, Hán-Nôm: 從改良) often referred to as ''Cải lương'' (Chữ Hán: 改良), roughly "reformed theater") is a form of modern folk opera in Vietnam. It blends southern Vietnamese folk songs, classical music, ''h ...

folk musical.

History

The origin of ''tuồng'' is still unclear. It is believed that it was imported from China around the 13th century when Vietnam was warring against the Mongol

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

. A famous actor named Lý Nguyên Cát (Li Yuanji; ) was imprisoned by the Vietnamese. The imperial court asked him to spread his knowledge of Chinese theatre to the children of the elite, thus explaining how tuồng had first had its beginnings in Vietnam in the royal court. Later on, it was adapted to travelling troupes who entertained commoners and peasants. However, the first one to lay the foundation for the art of tuồng in Vietnam is Dao Duy Tu. Under the

Nguyen dynasty Nguyễn (阮) (sometimes abbreviated as Ng̃) is the most common surname of the Vietnamese people. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as ''Nguyen''. By some estimates 30 to 39 percent of Vietnamese peopl ...

which he served for, tuồng reached its highest point and was favored by Nguyen kings. Many great playwrights including Đào Tấn were also in this time. Along with '' Hát chèo'', ''tuồng'' was one of the highly popular art forms for commoners until 20th century. With the arrival of Cai Luong and modern theatrics, tuong gradually lost its position.

Storylines

Stories in the opera tend to be ostensibly historical and frequently focus on the rules of social decorum, and can include legends from either the

history of China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Make-up

''Tuồng'' employs the use of

stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences recognize across many narratives or as part of a storytelling tradition or convention. Th ...

s who are recognizable from their make-up and costumes, which are typically very elaborate and extravagant. Usually, a character's personalities can be revealed through three features: the color of the face, the eyebrows, and the beard.

Color of the face

* Red: dignified, outspoken, and courageous characters. * White: characters with a beautiful look, usually calm and good-natured. * Blue: haughty characters - can be applied to both antagonists and protagonists. * Green: disloyal characters. * Golden/Metallic: immortals, fairies, supernatural characters. * Bone white/light pink/grey: adulators. * Peach cheeks: loyal characters. * Black and white striped: hot-tempered characters. * Striped lines with parts painted in red: devils and monsters.

Eyebrows

* White eyebrows: elders and fairies. * Soft, simple eyebrows: good-natured characters. * Long, curving eyebrows: haughty, arrogant characters. * Straight eyebrows: hot-tempered characters. * Short eyebrows: antagonists in general. * Scowling eyebrows: pessimistic and gloomy characters.

Beard

* Long, green/black beard: scholar-bureaucrats. * Long, white/grey beard: military generals. * Red beard: foreign generals. * Curly, black beard: hot-tempered characters. * Anchor beard: farmers, woodsmen, and supporting characters. * Painted beard: glamour boys.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hat Tuong Culture of Vietnam Dance in Vietnam