x W: 31.3 cm
Titled Wang Fu Shi, this opera performance depicts the moving story of a wife’s steadfast albeit fruitless wait for her husband’s return from the army; he never returned, and the wife eventually turned into a rock after years of looking out for him while standing on a hilltop. Chinese opera, otherwise known by its Malay term ‘wayang’, which means ‘performance’, can be traced back to the 19th century with the arrival of Chinese immigrants to Singapore. Together with other folk mythologies that form a big part of opera tales, romance stories such as Wang Fu Shi very often struck a chord with the common people, who were able to identify with the hardship and sufferings portrayed in the opera performances. Indeed, up to the 1930s, wayang was a popular performing art, both as a platform for religious worship, as well as a cheap form of entertainment.
