潮州“关戏童”与潮剧戏神田元帅信仰考——兼驳“关戏童”为潮剧鼻祖说

Guanxitong and the Belief in Martial Tian, the God of Chaozhou Opera——Refuting the Theory of Guanxitong as the Origin of Chaozhou Opera

"关戏童"是潮州的巫术仪式,它通过戏神田元帅降神附体于戏童进行歌舞及戏剧表演,具有一定的娱人功能。萧遥天《潮州戏剧音乐志》认为"关戏童"是潮剧的鼻祖,吴真《潮剧童伶制探源》主张"关戏童"是潮剧童伶制的源头;事实上,就"关戏童"的戏神田元帅和所表演"戏"的来源看,从关戏童班到潮音戏的演进之路难通。但"关戏童"作为一种具有巫术色彩的仪式演剧,考察其与潮剧的关系,不失为反思巫术仪式向戏剧演化路径论证的绝佳例案。

Guangxitong is a magical ritual of Chaozhou with some entertainment features,in which Martial Tian,the God of Chaozhou opera descends and possesses children players to sing,dance or perform a drama.Xiao Yaotian regards Guanxitong as the originator of Chaozhou opera in his Records of Chaozhou Opera and Music,ad Wu Zhen holds Guanxitong as the beginning of the underage player system of Chaozhou opera in his On the Origin of Chaozhou Opera’s Underage Player System.However,research shows Martial Tian and his performance do not necessarily advance children’s performance to Chaozhou opera.Despite of this,study of the relation between Guanxitong and Chaozhou opera can function as a good case study of the route from magical ritual to dramatic performance.