Beijing Opera
6 min readChinese opera is the only survivor of the three ancient dramas in world history. The other two, Greek tragedy and comedy, and Indian Sanskrit drama have become history. Traditional Chinese opera is the cream of the Chinese culture. It came from the songs and dances of the primitive society. The birth of Zaju in the Yuan dynasty marked the maturity of traditional Chinese opera. During the reign of Emperor Jiajing of the Ming dynasty, Kun Opera, otherwise known as Kunqu, came into being. As one of China’s representative classic operas, it nurtured and nourished many other operas, hence the mother of operas. It was during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty that Beijing Opera emerged.
Beijing Opera
Beijing Opera is the most popular and influential opera in China with a history of almost 200 years. In the course of its formation, it assimilated the best from many other local operas and was affected by Beijing local dialect and customs. Beijing Opera, once called “Peking Opera”, is now regarded as China’s national opera. Full of Chinese cultural facts, the opera presents the audience with an encyclopedia of Chinese culture, as well as unfolding stories, beautiful paintings, exquisite costumes, graceful gestures and martial In about 1790,a local opera troupe from Anhui came to Beijing and brought its”tui Tune”to the capital. It soon became a regular event. Over time it partly drew and adopted repertoire, tune and manner of performance from the Kun Opera as well as folk tunes, and gradually developed into what is now called Beijing Opera.
like many other traditional Chinese operas, Beijing Opera mainly relies on singing and dancing to tell stories. It is a comprehensiveart form, which has synthesized literature, music, dancing and fine arts. Its actors and actresses use four basic performing methods on stage: chang (singing), nian (recitation), zuo (facial and body posturing and acting) and da (martial arts). Beijing Opera used to be performed mostly on stage in the open air, in teahouses or temple courtyards. Since the orchestra played loudly, the performers developed a piercing style of song that could be heard by everyone. The costumes were a garish collection of sharply contrasting colors to stand out on the dim stage illuminated only by oil lamps. Beijing Opera absorbed the various elements of its forerunners-singing, dancing, mimicry and acrobatics, and adapted itself in language and style of singing to the Beijing audience. As time went by, its popularity spread all over the country, becoming the most popular and influential dramatic form on the Chinese stage.
The repertoire of Beijing Opera is mainly about the fairy tales of preceding dynasties, important historic events, emperors, ministers and generals, geniuses and great beauties in the past. Some of them were also adopted from classic novels which are well known anong the public but may not be an accurate account of history. Some of the popular stories are: An Orphan of the Zhao Family, Fifteen Strings of Coppers, The Ruse of an Empty City, and The Story of a White Snake, The Drunken Concubine.
The Roles in Beijing Opera
The characters of Bei jing Opera are distinguished according to sex, age and disposition. There are four main roles in Beijing Opera: sheng, dan, jing and chou.
Male roles in Beijing Opera are either sheng or chou.The former are usually scholars，officials，etc.，while the latter are clowns who can be easily recognized by their facial design-a patch of white around his eyes and nose，sometimes outlined in black.Sheng roles can be subdivided into laosheng who wear beards and represent old men，xiaosheng who represent young men singing falsetto voice and wusheng who are acrobats playing military men and fighters.These roles usually wear no facial paintings.Famous actors playing this type of role include Ma Lianliang，Zhou Xinfang，Ye Shenglan，Gai Jiaotian and Li Shaochun.Chou roles are usually foolish，awkward or stingy people.Renowned actors playing chou include Xiao Changhua and Ma Fulu.
Female roles are called dan，which is further divided into laodan-the elderly，dignified ladies，such as mothers and aunts；qingyi-aristocratic ladies in elegant costumes；huadan-ladies’maids，usually in colorful short costumes；daoma dan-horsewomen and warriors；choudan，the wife of the chou role，and sometimes shrewd and dangerous women.Due to the long-distance traveling of the opera troupes，the dan role used to be performed by male actors.For instance，Mei Lanfang，one of the famous Beijing Opera actors，was known for his performance of the dan role.He successfully created various images of ancient Chinese women and expressed their tenderness，elegance and subtlety.lMoreover，Mei Lanfang was also the first person to introduce Beijing Opera to foreign countries and he won international honors Tr OLSdT.
In 1927，an open selection of the top dan actors，sponsored by the Shuntian Times newspaper，was launched.As a result，Mei Lanfang，Shang Xiaoyun，Cheng Yanqiu and Xun Huisheng were the most outstanding in the selection，and they were the celebrated Four Major Dan Roles in the 1920s，each having his own unique characteristics in regard to action，expression and music.In addition，each had his own special repertoire，and their works have been handed down from generation to generation.Eventually，they formed the four main schools of，most1ynale，are the fa Jing，mostly male，are the face-painted roles knon popularly as hualian.The different colors and designs on the taces represent maies with ditterent characterlstics.oome are bold and vlgorous and some are sinister，ruthless，crude and rash.ihe voice 1s loud and clear，and the movements are exaggerated.Famous actors playing this role include Qiu Shengrong and Yuan Shihai.
The Music and Musical Instruments of Beijing Opera The Beijing Opera band mainly consists of an orchestra and a percussion band.The former frequently accopanies peaceful scenes while the latter provides the right atmosphere for battle scenes.The singing in Beiiing opera is bigbly stvlized but its variations of hethm and pitch enable the actors and actresses to espress the thoughts and emotions of different characters in different situations.
moyement or pose.such as stroking a beardsetting a bat straight.swinging a sleeve or lifting a foot，bas its on formila or pattern.The most iportant musical instrument used for the accommaniment to Beiiing Opera is iingbu.a kind of two-stringed fiddle followed by erhu，also a two-stringed fiddle but in a soft tune.other instruments include yuegin，pia and suona，etc.The percussion instruments are gongs and drums of different sizes，and castanets made of wood and bamboo.The castanets play an important role in making the tempo；they are the”time-beater”，and the whole orchestra is virtually directed by them.With the aid of gongs and drums，they beat time for the actor，regulate his motions，give him his cues.etc.
The art of illusion is one of Beijing Opera’s most iportant characteristics，expressed through techniques of exaggeration and concentration.Backdrops and stage props are kept to a minimum:often a table and two chairs in front of a big curtain.The performers use gestures and body language to represent actions such as opening and closing a door，going up or down a building or a mountain，and embarking，disembarking or traveling by boat.A decorated whip represents a horse，a paddle a boat and two pennants embroidered with wheels a carriage.When an actor walks in a circle，it means that he has been on a long journey.Four generals and four soldiers represent an army.Two actors can portray groping and fighting in the dark through dance and acrobatics on the stage.By such techniques，Beijing Opera has made it possible to transform a small stage into the whole universe.
