Hello, everybody,
Do you know what quintessence of Chinese culture is? Which one is typical Chinese art in the eye of foreigner? Which opera was most popular in the last two hundred years in China? I think you already got the answer: it’s Beijing Opera.
Beijing opera, Chinese called Jingju is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century when the “Four Great Anhui Troupes” brought Anhui opera (Huiju), to Beijing i n 1790, for the birthday of the Qianlong Emperor. It became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing and Tianjin in the north, and Shanghai in the south. Now the art form is also enjoyed in Taiwan and even spread to other countries such as the United States and Japan.
Beijing opera features four main types of performers: Sheng, Dan, Jing, Chou. The main role of them are Sheng and Dan. The Sheng is the main male role in Beijing opera. The role has numerous subtypes. The laosheng is a dignified older role. These characters have a gentle and cultivated disposition and wear sensible costumes. Young male characters are known as Xiaosheng. These characters sing in a high, shrill voice with occasional breaks to represent the voice changing period of adolescence. The Wusheng is a martial character for roles involving combat. They are trained in acrobatics, and have a natural voice when singing. The Dan refers to any female role in Peking opera. Dan roles were originally divided into five subtypes. Old women were played by Laodan, martial women were Wudan, young female warriors were Daomadao, virtuous and elite women were Qingyi, and vivacious and unmarried women were hudan. The most famous performers as Dan were Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Shang Xiaoyun and Xun Huisheng, they were all known to everybody before liberation.
In modern society, Beijing Opera is no longer as popular as the past. In recent years, Beijing opera has attempted numerous reforms in response to sagging audience numbers. These reforms, which include improving performance quality, adapting new performance elements, and performing new and original plays, have met with mixed success. Some Western works have been adopted as new plays. I hope Beijing Opera will replay its splendid history in the near future.
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