The voices of the voiceless: the Cantonese opera music community in Guangzhou, China

Abstract

Purpose Since Cantonese opera was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, the Chinese government has carried out different policies to “develop” Cantonese opera in Guangzhou. Through state-initiated reforms, the local performing art was homogenized, institutionalized and nationalized in many ways. In this process, the government authorities took the lead and the Cantonese opera music community was not involved in the decision making of the future of their own tradition. This paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach Based on intensive fieldwork conducted in 2011, the paper examines the meaning of heritage to the local music community, as the art form was recognized by UNESCO in 2009. Apart from studying the policies made by the government, this paper looks into the socio-political impact brought to the Cantonese opera music community from a bottom-up perspective. Findings Cantonese opera performances in Guangzhou as well as performers’ own social life changed drastically in recent years. Musicians faced a dilemma of whether to follow the government’s market-oriented plan or to preserve their traditional lifestyle with their own initiative. Originality/value This paper reveals the voices of the “voiceless” music community and investigates the consequences resulted by the heritagization of the art form to the music community.