Chèo

Chèo has been a popular art form of the Vietnamese people for many generations and has fostered the national spirit through its lyrical content.

The traditional musical ensemble consisted of the đàn nguyệt, sáo, and the drum, though in modern recreations, more instruments are used.

Hoa Lư – Ninh Bình is considered as the homeland of the Chèo, and its founder, Phạm Thị Trân, was a talented dancer in the royal palace during the Đinh dynasty of the tenth century.

In the 15th century, Emperor Lê Thánh Tông did not allow Chèo to be performed in the royal court.

Chèo has three characteristics, namely, folk songs were written into the plays, the language (the way of using techniques of art mobilized) and the character images.

The art features consist of dramatic elements, narrative techniques, character expressions, conventions and stylistics.

The language has its parts using traditional Chinese verses, stanzas, or folk songs with a very liberal, free-flowing eight-word distich metre lyrical form.

A number of plays originates from fairy tales and stories written in chữ Nôm, the archaic Vietnamese script.

In Chèo, the good usually defeats the evil; warm-hearted, gentle students are always promoted to the mandarin and the faithful wife eventually reunites with her husband.

The plays often containa elements of humor, as in "Thầy mù", "Hương câm", "Đồ điếc", "Quan Âm Thị Kính" and "Trương Viên".

Clown scenes are meant to convey the negative side of feudalism, caricaturing the king, mandarins and the bourgeoisie.