Peking Opera

• Development

As the story goes, Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty fell interested in the local drama during his inspection of the Southern China in disguise. To celebrate his 80th birthday in 1790, he summoned opera troupes from different areas around China to perform for him in Beijing. After the celebration, four famous troupes from Anhui Provinces were asked to stay, for audiences were particularly pleased with their beautiful melodies, colorful costumes and interesting facial patterns.

 

Gradually it replaced Kunqu Opera which had been popular in the palace and among the upper ranks in Beijing. Later, some troupes from Hubei Province came to Beijing and often performed together with the Anhui troupes. The two types of singing blended on the same stage and gradually gave birth to a new genre that was known as Beijing Opera.

 

Beijing Opera absorbed various elements of its forerunners, such as singing, dancing, mimicry and acrobatics, and adapted itself in language and style of singing to Beijing audiences. As time went by, its popularity spread all over the country, becoming the most popular and influencing dramatic form on Chinese stage.

• Main types of performers

Peking Opera features four main types of performers namely the Sheng, the Dan, the Jing and the Chou. Performing troupes often have several of each type of these principals, as well as numerous secondary and tertiary performers. With their elaborate and colourful costumes, performers are the only focal points on Beijing opera’s characteristically sparse stage.

 

The Sheng is the main male role in Beijing opera. All the male roles that do not belong to the Jing and the Chou can be called “Sheng”.

 

The Dan refers to all the female roles in Peking Opera. Although the role can be performed by both genders now, Beijing opera was initially an exclusively male pursuit, with all Dan roles being played by men. The Qianlong Emperor banned female performers in Beijing in 1772. The ban was lifted in 1912, although male Dan continued to be popular after this period and Mei Lanfang is a Dan, famous for his professional and unique style.

The painted face, in Chinese called “jing”, is a name for the male role that has some special characteristic or appearance. The role must have a strong voice and be able to exaggerate gestures, and the Jing’s face should be made up in strong colours such as red, white and black to express their characters.

 

The Chou is easily understood from the role’s name as a clown with an ugly appearance. His function in a performance is to provide light relief and comedy.

• Musical instruments

The most important musical instruments used in Beijing Opera is Jinghu, a kind of two-stringed fiddle followed by Erhu, also a two-stringed fiddle but in a softer tune. Other instruments are Yueqin, Pipa 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 temper, they serve as the time-beater, and the whole band is virtually directed by them. With the aid of Gongs and drums, they beat the tempo for the actor, regulate his motions, and give him cues and so on.