Chaozhou Local Customs

Chaozhou music includes six main classes which are the music of gong and drum, the ancient music of flute, delicate music, the music of temple, the music of string and the music of Han Dynasty melody. It dates back to Sui Dynasty. This “live fossil” is not only classic but also live.
It’s thought that Chaozhou music is a kind of music with richest classes and highest level of instrumentalization in Chinese traditional music. Chaozhou music is elegant but vulgar. It’s the quintessence of Chinese folk music. Natural harmony is its realm. That’s why we think that the color of Chaozhou music is green-the color of nature and life.

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Chaozhou is the home town of wire puppets play. This “subminiature Chaozhou Drama” as an old traditional art form which developed from shadow play is a singular puppet kind.
The roles of the Chaozhou Wire Puppets Play are from the Chaozhou Drama. When their faces of the puppets are drawn to various types of facial makeup and their bodies are worn different dresses, they become the vivid drama characters.
The troupe need to build a stage which is about ten feet square rises some five feet above the ground before performance. Traditional wire puppets troupe consists of nine people-three puppeteers, three singers and three musicians. Puppeteers usually sit cross their legs behind the curtain. The puppeteer who sits on the right of the stage is one who controls the play. Most of the themes of the plays are history, novels and myths. Acrobatic stunts such as juggling weapons, wielding cudgels, balancing pots on the head and spinning plates are often performed to enliven the stage atmosphere.
During Spring Festival, the puppets plays are showed in many villages of Chaozhou. The Chaozhou Wire Puppets Play is not only popular in Chaozhou but also famous in the international puppets play area. The best Chaozhou Wire Puppets troupe used to perform in some of the European countries such as Germany and received highly praises. With its rural and distinctive performance skills and exquisite music for voice, the Chaozhou Wire Puppets Play is reputed as the gem of the rural arts in China and will keep carrying forward.

The parade of deities must be the local custom with most festal ambience during Spring Festival in Chaozhou. Today, these parades can still be seen in the villages of Chaozhou.
The day of the parade varies in different villages. But it is usually among the first month of Chinese traditional calendar. Some villages have a changeless day for the parade. Some villages choose a good day variously every year. the route of the parade is the main roads of the village.
The elders with noble character and high prestige of the village walk in front of the parade. They take a barrel of water with some branches of pomegranate in it and use the branches to asperse on both sides of the road. The next part following the elders is the procession of colorful flags. Besides the small flags, there are still some big colorful flags with Chaozhou embroidery. Behind the procession of colorful flags, here comes the leading actor of the parade- the images of the deity sitting in the litters which look magnificent. When the images of the deity are coming, villagers set off the firecrackers in front of their house to salute the deities. And it’s believed that touching the images of the deity can bring good luck. The following are all kinds of drama characters with play clothing. They are not played by the real actors but some of the villagers :) these plays bring people a lot fun. Sure the Chaozhou Gong and drum are indispensable in such activity. They are in the last of the parade and add great jollification for the parade.

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As the important part of the Chaozhou music, the Chaozhou Big Gong and Drum with boundless and majestic verve quakes people’s heart. The Chaozhou Big Gong and Drum is a kind instrumental ensemble form of orchestra, which takes the big drum as the center, acts in concert with multiple percussions and accompany the Suona as the melody lord. The big drum leads the whole play as the conductor of the symphony orchestra. Traditional plays of the Chaozhou Big Gong and Drum divide two types. One type is often seen on festivals and pageants. The other type originates from the music of drama and most of its themes are historical stories and dramas.
This old art which can be traced back to Tang Dynasty still reformed and brought forth new ideas in recent years and will keep demonstrating its infinite charm.

There are various sacrifices in Chaozhou from the beginning to the end in each year. In the Chaozhou custom, the ancestors and many deities are the ones who should be sacrificed. The laborious Chaozhou women play an important role in all kinds of sacrifices. They become very busy during Chinese traditional festivals. Besides those sacrifices on festivals, they still need to sacrifice the Land deity one or two times every month.
Different sacrifices are offered different sacrifices. However, incenses, candles and paper which is made to resemble money and burned as an offering are necessary in every process of sacrifices. At the beginning of the sacrifice, people should worship on bended knees and impetrate the blessing from the deities or their ancestors. And then wait for the incenses burning out. When the incenses burn out, people start to burn the “paper money”. That’s the end of the sacrifice.

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Chaozhou Drama which developed from South Drama of Song and Yuan Dynasties is one of the tree local dramas in Guangdong and also one of the ten big kinds of dramas in China. It has a history of over 400 years. In the long-term developing process, Chaozhou Drama widely absorbed the folk music and folk arts of Chaozhou and gained the strength of other dramas, gradually became a kind of dramas which has the local style. Chaozhou Drama is the marrow of Chaozhou culture. This drama full of local characteristic is not only refined but also exoteric. It’s a link between the local people and the Chaozhou people living abroad.

Spring Festival is the most important festival to Chinese. As China is a big country, the customs of Chinese New Year are different in different areas. I’m sure the customs of Chinese New Year in Chaozhou keeps a lot from the ancient times.
The days near New Year become very busy. People go back to their home town before New Year as possible as they can. Business about people’s living is very good during this time. We buy new clothes and have hair cut to greet the New Year. The markets are full of people busy with preparing the goods of New Year. Flowers are also very welcome during this time. They are brought to decorate the house. The Christmas trees are a part of Christmas while tangerine trees are a part of New Year in Chaozhou. People believe tangerines can bring auspiciousness.
We usually choose a good day before New Year to clean the house. On New Year Eve, the spring festival scrolls are changed on the door of every house. In the afternoon of New Year Eve, we hold the sacrifice for our ancestors. After the sacrifice, it’s the time for family reunion dinner. Distributing “Money Pouch” to the children and the elders is also a traditional custom. In the past, every household set off the firecrackers in front of their house for lustrating bad apparitions.
In the morning of the first day of New Year, people wearing new dresses visit their relatives and friends to pay New Year calls. Today in some villages of Chaozhou, you can still see that people exchanges the tangerines to every household they visit. It is believed that stands for auspiciousness. When the guests visit one’s home, the host presents the candies and the Chinese olives for the guests as the candies and the Chinese olives bring best wishes.

Chaozhou has a long history of handicrafts. It is famous in the world for its traditional drawnwork, Chaozhou embroidery, pottery, porcelain, and woodcut which sell well both on foreign and domestic markets. With unique styles, the Chaozhou Drama, Chaozhou Music and Chaozhou handicrafts are not only well received by local people, but also loved by overseas Chinese in South-east Asia.