Introduction

Beijing opera or Peking opera (Simplified Chinese: 京剧; Traditional Chinese:

京劇; Pinyin: Jīngjù) is a kind of Chinese opera which arose in the mid-19th
century and was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court. It is widely
regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Beijing and Tianjin are
respected as the base cities of Beijing opera in the north while Shanghai is the
base in the south.

With its fascinating and artistic accompanying music, singing and costumes,
the Beijing Opera is 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 arts. Since Beijing Opera enjoys a higher reputation than other
local operas, almost every province in China has more than one Beijing Opera
troupe. Opera is so popular among Chinese people, especially seniors, that
even "Beijing Opera Month" has been declared.

The Peking Opera band mainly consists of an orchestra and percussion band.
The former frequently accompanies peaceful scenes while the latter provides
the right atmosphere for battle scenes. The commonly used percussion
instruments include castanets, drums, bells and cymbals. One person usually
plays the castanets and drum simultaneously, which conduct the entire band.
The orchestral instruments include the Erhu, Huqin, Yueqin, Sheng (reed
pipe), Pipa (lute) and other instruments. The band usually sits on the left side
of the stage.

Visual

Beijing Opera picture from the Huguang Guild Hall, 2001. Photographs by Ian
Sewell
Beijing Opera production. See details below.

Lead performers - the general Retinue looks on knowing the

desires the princess as a bride warrior princess loves another

History

Beijing Opera has a 200-year-long history. Its main melodies

originated from Xipi and Erhuang in Anhui and Hubei
respectively and, over time, absorbed music and arias from
other operas and musical arts such as the historic Qinqiang as
well as being very strongly influenced by Kunqu, the form that Lead
preceded it as court art. Techniques from many other local performer
operas were incorporated into Beijing Opera. from the
Huguang
Guild Hall,
2001.
Photograph
by Ian
Sewell
Dialogue is carried out in an archaic dialect originating partially from those
regions.

It is believed that Beijing Opera gradually came into being after 1790 when the
famous four Anhui opera troupes came to Beijing. Beijing Opera underwent
fast development during the reign of Emperor Qianlong and the notorious
Empress Dowager Cixi under the imperial patron, eventually becoming more
accessible to the common people.

In ancient times, Beijing Opera was performed mostly on stage in the open
air, 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 is a
harmonious combination of the Grand Opera, ballet and acrobatics, consisting
of dance, dialogue, monologues, martial arts and mime.

In 1828, some famous Hubei troupes came to Beijing. They often jointly
performed in the stage with Anhui troupes. The combination gradually formed
Beijing opera's main melodies.

Roles

There are four roles in Beijing Opera.

The roles in Beijing Opera fall into four categories- Sheng, Dan, Jing and
Chou. These roles have the natural features of age and sex, as well as social
status, and are artificially exaggerated by makeup, costume and gestures. All
but the second portray a male or masculine character. Until recently, even that
of the female or feminine character was played by a male actor.

 Sheng (生, Male role)

 Dan (旦, Female role)
 Jing (净, Painted face male role)
 Chou (丑, Clown role)

Sheng (生, Male role)

Sheng, a male role, usually a leading one, dates back to Southern
Drama of the Song and Yuan Dynasties (960- 1368). This role
appears in operas in all historical periods. According to the age
and social status of the characters, Sheng falls into five sub-
groups: Laosheng, Xiaosheng, Wusheng, Hongsheng and
Wawasheng (characters of children).

Laosheng is also known as Xusheng, meaning bearded men, because the

actors wear artificial beards, and they are middle-aged or elderly men. Most
are upright and resolute characters. They sing in their natural voices, and their
actions are serious ones.

Xiaosheng is a sub-category of Sheng representing young male characters.

They don't wear artificial beards. They always sing in their real voices, while in
Kunqu and Pihuang operas the singing mixes natural and falsetto voices.

Wusheng stands for all of the male characters who appear in battle scenes.
They are further subdivided into Changkao Wuheng, Duanda Wusheng,
Goulian Wusheng and Houxi Wusheng. They always wear helmets and thick-
soled boots. The generals always carry long pikes. Wusheng roles call for
sturdy and vigorous actions, with resounding declamations. The movements
of the waist and legs are powerful, and a high level of martial arts skills is
demanded in these roles. Duanda Wusheng roles use short-handled
weapons, and their movements are light and swift.

Dan (旦, Female role)

Dan is the general term in Peking Opera for female roles. As early as in the
Song Dynasty (960- 1279), the Zhuangdan role appeared.
Southern Drama and Northern Zaju, which developed during the
Song and Yuan Dynasties (960- 1368), also had Dan roles. After
Kunqu matured, it had Zhengdan, Xiaodan, Tidan and Laodan.
Later, more Dan types were developed. Nowadays, the Dan roles
are subdivided into Zhengdan (or Qingyi), Huadan, Wudan,
Laodan and Caidan, in accordance with age, characteristics and
social positions of the roles.

Zhengdan role was the main Dan role in the Northern Zaju. Zhengdan refers
to young or middle-aged women with gentle and refined dispositions. Most of
Zhengdan 's lines are delivered in song, and even the spoken parts are
recited in rhythmic style. Always dressed in a blue gown, Zhengdan is also
called Qingyi (blue clothes).

Huadan is a role for a vivacious maiden, a young woman with a frank and
open personality, or a woman of questionable character.

Wudan refers to female characters skilled in the martial arts and can be
subdivided into Daomadan and Wudan, according to the social positions and
skills represented. Daomadan is good at using pikes and spears, and at riding
horses. Wudan always wears short robes and the role emphasizes acrobatics.
Wudan plays gods and ghosts and has excellent fighting skills.

Laodan usually represents aged women. He/She sings in their natural voices,
in a style similar to that of Laosheng but in milder tones. In some types of
opera, Laodan is called Fudan or Bodan.

Caidan, also called Choudan, represents clownish and cunning females. The
performance of this part calls for exuberance.

Jing (净, Painted face male role)

Jing refers to painted-face roles, known popularly as Hualian. The

different colors and designs on the faces represent males with
different characteristics. Some are bold and vigorous and some
are sinister, ruthless, crude and rash. The voice is loud and clear,
and the movements are exaggerated.

The Jing role originates from the Fujing role of the Song Zaju. The
Jing roles gradually increased in number, and became further divided into
several groups, according to the different social positions and characters of
the roles.

Dahualian with a fully painted face is known as Zheng Jing. The roles
represent men of high social standing and good behavior, often court
ministers. Zheng Jing sings in vigorous and sturdy tones.

Erhualian, also known as Fu Jing, has powerful bodily movements and sturdy
singing voices. Some roles in this group represent rascally ministers,
recognizable by their white faces.
Wu'er Hualian is also known as Wu Jing. This role is more physical than most
of the others, with little singing or reciting.

You Hualian, also known as Mao Jing, is a clownish role. Some of You
Hualian roles have special skills, such as spouting fire from the mouth or
baring the teeth.

Chou (丑, Clown role)

The Chou is one of the main roles in Peking Opera. The eyes and
nose are surrounded by a white patch, so Chou is also known as
Xiao Hua Lian (partly painted face).

The Chou roles originated in Southern Drama of the Song and

Yuan dynasties (960-1368) and appear in various kinds of operas.
They portray various kinds of characters, some are warm-hearted, simple and
sincere, and some are sinister and mean.

In modern operas, the performance of Chou roles has developed rapidly, and
different operas have their own styles. In general, the Chou roles do not focus
on singing, but the dialogue is clear and fluent. According to the social
positions, characters and skills demanded, the Chou roles are divided into two
categories: Wenchou (civilian) and Wuchou (martial). Both have their own
special features.

Wuchou is also known as Kai Kou Tiao. It requires not only a good command
of the martial arts or acrobatics, but also the ability to deliver the lines both
clearly and fluently. The movements should be light and powerful.

Explanation of Roles

There is an explanation about why the roles take the names above. It is said
that they were chosen to have opposite meanings. Sheng in Chinese may
mean "strange" or "rare", but the chief male role is a well known character.
Dan, which means "morning" or "masculine", is contrary to the feminine nature
of the characters. Jing means "clean", but in fact the paintings on their faces
make the characters look unclean but colorful. And Chou in Chinese
sometimes represents the animal "ox", which, in some senses, is slow and
silent- in contrast, the Chou characters are usually quick and talkative.

Costumes

Costumes are an integral part of the Beijing Opera performance. In the early
days, opera costumes were mainly made of wool or coarse cloth; later, satin,
crepe and silk were used, decorated with various meticulously embroidered
patterns. The making of opera costumes is a special and unique stagecraft.
The costume box first appeared in the Ming Dynasty, and was greatly
improved in the Qing Dynasty.

Xingtou

Peking Opera costumes are called Xingtou or, more popularly, Xifu in
Chinese. The origins of Peking Opera costumes can be traced back to the
mid-14th century, when operatic precursors first began experimenting with
large ornate articles of clothing.

Rules of Costume Tradition

(1) Anachronisms are allowable. A performer's costume primarily designates

his or her role on the stage no matter when or where the action takes place.
Characters, whether they are from ancient times or in pre-modern China,
appear on the Chinese opera stage wearing costumes suitable to their roles.

(2) Regardless of which season is being depicted in performance, the opera

costume is the same. Weather is described in every scene and must be made
clear by the actor's movements, rather than his clothing.

(3) Peking Opera costumes must enable the audience to distinguish a

character's sex and status at first glance. In terms of symbolism, Peking
Opera costumes have its social hierarchy -- noble or humble, civilian or
military, official or private citizens.

(4) By means of a subtle difference, opera costumes often give expression to

sharp distinctions between good and evil or, preferably, loyal and wicked
characters. Oblong Wings (chizi) attached to a gauze hat indicate a loyal
official. In contrast, a corrupt official is made to wear a gauze hat with
rhomboidal wings.

(5) Baldrics, though apparently of little or no account as compared with such

principal items as crowns and robes, may nevertheless function to bring about
more dramatic effects on the stage. For instance, the wings attached to a hat,
the plumes (lingzi) pinned to a helmet and the cascading sleeves (shuixiu)
sewn to a garment accentuate movement even if they have little practical use.

Lavish Costumes

(1) Headdress: Designated by the general term Toukui, opera headdress

comprises such items as crown, helmet, hat and scarf. Crowns are for the
emperor and nobles; military people wear marshals, helmets; ordinary folks
wear soft scarves or straw hats. Some headgear, such as crowns, is rigid,
while others are soft.

(2) Costume: There are 20 major kinds of costumes, including the ceremonial
robe, or Mang; the informal robe, or Pei; and the armor, or Kao, for soldiers.
Ten colors are used, half of which are the five primary colors (or shang wu
se), namely, red, green, yellow, white and black, in contrast to the other group
of pink, blue, purple, pale-brown and pale-blue, all of which are labeled
secondary colors (xia wu se).

Many details should be paid attention to, for example, Mang is

the general costume for the emperor and nobles, but there are
differences between these costumes. There is a dragon, opening
its mouth on the Mang for the emperor, while the
dragon on the Mang for the ministers and generals
having its mouth closed. The dragons on the
costume of the civil officials are gentle and quiet,
while the ones on the costume of the martial officials are bold
and mighty. There are clear distinctions between the use of
colors, for example, the red Mang stands for majestic and noble,
the green Mang indicates mighty and bold, the white one fits the handsome
young people, and the black one is for the upright and unconstrained people.
Besides, there are simplified Mang and Mang specifically made for the female
actress, the Laodan, and the palace eunuch.
(3) Opera shoes: A wide variety of shoes and boots are used in opera
performance, mainly platform boots (hou di xue), tiger-headed boots (hu tou
xue), thin-soled combat footwear made of black satin (kuai xue), fish-head
pugilist's shoes, laced boxer's shoes, etc.

Facial Design

Performers have two main methods of makeup: masks and facial painting.
The frequent on-stage change of masks, without the audience noticing, is a
special technique, known as changing faces. Opera facial painting falls into
four categories- personality makeup (facial designs, painted faces or Lian Pu),
decorative makeup (decorated faces), mood makeup (changing facial
designs), and pictographic makeup (animal-like facial designs).
Lian Pu

Personality makeup, or Lian Pu, refers to facial designs for Jing

and Chou roles. It originated from daily life experience, describing
such changes of expression as white for fear, red for shyness,
dark for suntan, and sallow for illness. Most facial designs attach
great importance to the eyes and eyebrows.

Red, yellow, white, black, purple, green and silver are the main
colors used for facial designs to represent different characters. For
instance, red stands for loyal, courageous and upright people;
white for sinister and cunning officials; and golden and silvery
colors for gods and ghosts.

The facial designs for the Jing roles are made by painting,
powdering and coloring in the basic forms of Zheng Lian (keeping
the basic face pattern), San Kuai Wa Lian (three-section face) and
Sui Lian (fragmentary face). These types are widely used to
represent generals, officials, heroes, gods and ghosts.

The Chou actors can be recognized by the patch of white in

various shapes (cube-, date pit-or bat-shaped) painted around the
eyes and nose. Sometimes these patches are outlined in black, hence the
term Xiao Hua Lian (partly painted face). The Chou roles fall into the following
two categories: Wen Chou (civil) and Wu Chou (martial).

These facial designs are considered an art form. Often, it is the performer who
must apply his or her own make- up, at times, during the performance. An
actor may cover all four roles in one performance, thus having to change
faces as many times as their character within the opera changes.

Masks are usually made of ceramic, in blank face, which the performer then
covers with the elaborate artwork which defines the character and sets the
role. Some masks are made of simple paper and even tissue, while others
have been known to use silk as a base.

The elaborate nature of the face design in Beijing Opera has borrowed greatly
from Chinese Folk Art designs as well as from folklore and mythological
characters. As in the Chinese language itself, the designs are visually based
and are seen from the top to the bottom, gradually bringing the spectator into
the role of the character.
Opera masks are truly excellent examples of the cultural background of the
Chinese people.

Famous Artists

Four Great Dans:

 Mei Lanfang
 Cheng Yanqiu
 Shang Xiaoyun
 Xun Huisheng

Repertoire

The traditional repertoire of Beijing opera includes more than 1,000 works,
mostly taken from historical novels or traditional stories about civil, political
and military struggles.

Modern live productions for tourists include English language

displays of the text, useful for those unfamiliar with the classic
stories.

Venues

In the image at left is a stage for the presentation of Beijing

opera, built in the late 19th Century at the command of the
Empress Dowager Cixi inside the Summer Palace in Beijing.

French architect Paul Andreu has designed a new opera house

next to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing.
The building features a titanium and glass-dome set in the
A stage for center of a lake and will contain a 2,500-seat opera hall, a
Chinese
opera in the
Summer
Palace,
Beijing.
concert hall with 2,000 seats, a theatre with 1,200 seats and a smaller theatre
that will seat 520. Visitors will enter through a tunnel under the lake, which will
be surrounded with grass and trees.

Located in Xuanwu District , at the center of Beijing, south and near to

Tiananmen Square , Dashilan Street and not far from Hepingmen (Gate of
Peace) and the colorful Liu Lichang market street, the Zheng
YiCi Temple Beijing Opera Theatre is very close to Beijing's city
life and home to Beijing Opera. The theatre, dating from the
Year 1668, is housed in an ancient Ming era temple and is the
oldest wooden theatre in China today. The Zheng Yici has the
distinction of being the best place in the city to enjoy Beijing
Opera and Kunqu Opera in it's most authentic shape, form, and
most importantly, atmosphere. Placed beautifully, but somewhat
inconspicuously in the Xuanwu Districts " Hutong ", the Zheng
YiCi Theatre is home to some of the best Beijing Opera actors and opens its
doors to Beijing Opera lovers, locals and tourists to share an interesting and
unique opera experience.