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Title |
The Study of Taiwanese Ei-Ga, the Fine Art Performance, and Dressing Exhibitions during the Japanese Colonial Era |
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Author |
Tsai, Hsin-Hsin |
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Professor, Department of Chinese Literature, National Chengchi University |
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Abstract |
When first appeared in Qing Dynasty's historical documents then developing and evolving through Japanese colonial age and post WWII. Taiwanese fine art performance, also as known as “Ei-Ga”（藝閣）, is strongly influenced and mixed with the evolution of social, economical and cultural changes, thus it fulfills the characters of anthropology, sociology, folklore, science of culture and craft to be researched. The study of this article based on the documents of ancient times, newspapers and periodicals during Taiwan's colonial age. The first procedure of this research is trying to figure out the rooting and deriving the name and interior of Taiwanese fine art performance. It was basically inherited of the “Stage Performance”, or “Tai-Ga”（臺閣）from southern Fujian Province, so as to realize that their styles of performing environments and dressings are quite similar. The reason why Taiwanese changed this performing art's name from its original one “Tai-Ga” into “Ei-Ga” was the appearing of “Art conceptions” were to constructed on scholars’core ideas “poetry” and were built up through the complex of picture-drawing and artificial sculpture. There is no solid evidence to identify that geisha, the performers' name, were not existing during the Emperor Kang Xi（康熙，1654～1722 A.D.）era; but in the Emperor Xianyang（咸豐，1850～1861 A.D.） era, prostitutes played the roles as geisha was a common situation. The perspective of Taiwanese fine art performance added many new elements as Taiwan under colonization by Japanese, it inherited traditional celebrations, festivals and worship ceremonies from Qing Dynasty, also it mixed with Japanese worships, authorization memorials, and even economic exhibition activities all together, thus to become a newly developed performing site and era, and also it vaporized different subjects through variable dressings, appearances, and functions; subjects cover from poetry and customs to novels and plays; it, too, covers from Taiwanese historical events to Japanese customs; players were composed of children, actors and even prostitutes. “Ei-Ga” represents and reflects traditions, customs, thoughts and emotions in one hand, and it settle a function to recognize history and to regulate and educate people that couldn't be done at schools; moreover, it even has a purpose of propaganda and match-flaunting. Lastly, the mobilization and organization of “Ei-Ga” was constructed on socialized interpersonal networks of family bloods, similar communities and colleagues relationshiops. |
