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Temple Theatre

Temple Theatre

One of the public activities held in temples of Macao is to give performances to eulogize the merits of the gods and commemorate the anniversary of the gods. At present, the temples that invite theatrical troupes every year to give performances include A-Ma Temple, the Temple of Land of Patane, the Ancestral Temple of Fude of Horta e Mitra, the Temple of Brook of Lotus, the Temple of Pak Tai (the North Emperor), the Temple of Tam Kung of Coloane and others.

The verified history of giving performance in Macao has more than one hundred years. This phenomenon once aroused the attention of western painters. In 1860 of Tongzhi Reign, the English painter Edward Hildezandt painted “Pavilion of Theater” on a woodblock, which reflected the spectacular event of A-Ma Temple. Until now, the painting has got a history of one hundred and forty years. Besides, there also are ancient boards of Guangxu Reign in the Temple of Lotus and in the Palace of Empress, recording the organizational structure of theatrical troupes of that time.

The performance of eulogizing the merits of gods can be regarded as the earliest theatrical activity of the Chinese in Macao. This kind of public activity that brings happiness both to gods and to people has lasted for at least one hundred years and hasn’t declined, which shows the strong vitality of this artistic form loved by the masses.

Through Macao lies in a remote corner and is small in both plan and scale, it is the only city in China that has been opened continuously to the outside for the longest time. Thus the Chinese and Westerners have coexisted in Macao, the Chinese residents account for major part. The people from all corners of country had brought the Chinese civilizations into Macao and after generations of development and accumulation, they finally created a miracle. The complete system of the temples of the Ming and Qing Dynasties of Macao, the eminence of their characteristics and the abundance of cultural of cultural relics, are enough for Macao people, Lingnan people and the descendants of the Chinese nation to cherish and take pride in. It exerts a profound and lasting significance to study and reveal the connotation and the value of the system of the temples of Macao.

(Excertps from: Macau Temples by Chan, Lei and Chendra published by IACM SAR 2002). Back to Macau Temples

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