Chinese Action Theater arts
3 min readTraditional Chinese opera first appeared during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), and was quite developed by the time of the Yuan Dynasty(1271-1368 AD). Unlike Western theater, which relies primarily on a single form of expression, Chinese opera combines numerous types of performance, including dance, vocal and instrumental music, dialogue, acrobatics, and martial arts, to create an integrated form of theater art.
The rules and forms of traditional Chinese opera libretto are much more relaxed than those of classical poetry. For this reason, people were able to express emotion more freely using the operatic form. With the passage of time, traditional Chinese opera became an important form of entertainment. The famous emperor Xuanzong(r.712-756 AD) of the Tang Dynasty(618-907 AD), was a devotee of Chinese opera. He had a special school for teaching opera built in the palace, known as Liyuan(Pear Orchard). The term Liyuan(Pear Orchard) later came to refer to Chinese opera.
Differences in location and dialect gave rise to many regional forms of opera. Kunqu opera originated in the Changjiang(Yangtze) River delta region. With its beautiful arias, elegant lyrics, and subtle acting, Kunqu opera has great historical, cultural, and artistic value. In 2001, Kungu opera was designated by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Beijing opera emerged during the middle of the Qing Dynasty(1636-1911 AD). With the widest geographical range and largest audience of any form of traditional Chinese opera, Beijing opera has been said to embody the essence of Chinese culture. Beijing opera emphasizes symbolism and stylized representations of space-time. For instance, different colors of facial makeup are used to signify moral character-red represents loyalty, white represents treachery, and black represents honor and incorruptibility. When an actor holds a whip and leaps across the stage, this indicates that the character has completed a long trip on horseback.
Several soldiers and officers can represent a huge army, and a few actors fighting symbolize furious combat on the battlefield. This type of stagecraft offers viewers great latitude forexe cising their imaginations. Mei Lanfang(1894-1961 AD) was the most famous star of Beijing opera. He was the first Chinese artist to perform traditional Chinese opera abroad and to introduce it to an international audience. The traditional Chinese opera of Mei Lanfang, along with the method acting of Russia’s Konstantin Stanislavsky and the epic theater of Germany’s Bertolt Brecht, have been called the world’s three great theatrical traditions.
With the introduction of Western theater to China, Chinese actors studied and adapted Western dramatic techniques, portraying Chinese life and society in the form of modern plays.
In the early 1980s, Chinese artists started to develop experimental theater forms. The use of the intimate “little theater”form, with its emphasis on close exchange between actors and audience, allows the audience to become one with the plot of the play. China currently has numerous specialized academies of drama and opera. The Chinese government has established the juried Plum Blossom Award, China’s highest acting honor, as well as “Wen Hua”Award, the highest distinction in the performing arts, to recognize outstanding achievements in the theater arts.
