Learn Teochew with Teochew Opera
Teochew Opera has a rich tradition and is one
of the most famous art forms associated with Teochew language and culture. As a
heritage speaker of Teochew, I found it fascinating but also very intimidating,
because the language used in Teochew opera is different from everyday
vernacular language, and it seemed too difficult to understand for a beginner.
This website focuses on providing resources to help you learn Teochew from Teochew opera, including phonetic transcriptions, translations, and explanatory notes.
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Teochew operas transcribed with phonetic spelling, Chinese characters, and translated into English.
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Guide to historical Teochew opera playscripts from the Ming and Qing eras – how to read them, links to digitized versions and full-texts
These pages are part of the Learn Teochew project. Please visit our main website for more resources to help you learn the Teochew language.
Links to external resources
Many modern Teochew opera performances can be viewed online. Some YouTube channels with Teochew opera content:
Further reading
General works on Teochew opera
- 沈湘渠，《潮剧史话》，社会科学文献出版社，2016年，ISBN 9787509782125
- 潮剧志编辑委员会，《潮剧志》，汕头大学出版社，1995年，ISBN 9787810360715
- 中華書局編輯部，《潮劇完全觀賞手冊》，中華書局(香港)有限公司，2020年，ISBN 9789888674855
Teochew opera in diaspora communities
- Helga Werle. 1975. “Notes on Chiuchow opera (潮剧).” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch 15: 71-87. pdf
- 苏章恺 Su Zhangkai. 2018. 《潮影寻迹：新加坡潮剧历史记录》 Imprints in Time: The History of Teochew Opera in Singapore. Singapore: 南华潮剧社 Nam Hwa Opera. English edition pdf, 华语版 pdf
- Beiyu Zhang. 2021. Chinese Theatre Troupes in Southeast Asia: Touring Diaspora, 1900s–1970s. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003031567
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to members of the Gaginang online community who have freely shared their knowledge and resources, and librarians and staff at the Yeo Khee Lim TCRC and BULAC for their help in using their collections.