Chinese Opera

中国戏曲

John Michael Gian

Contents

Introduction

Varieties

Peking Opera
 Introduction ----- Chinese Operas
 Chinese Opera has been acknowledged as one of
the greatest ancient dramas in the world,
paralleling the Comedies and Tragedies of Greece
and the Sanskrit （梵文） Drama of India.

 The Chinese opera is a traditional form of stage

entertainment, weaving together elements of
mime, dance, song, dialogue, swordplay, and
acrobatics into one fluid continuous flow.
Gestures, movements and expressions
incorporated within each performer's script come
together to bring forth an impressive performance.
 Introduction ----- Chinese Operas

•In contrast to Western stage entertainment,

which is subdivided into different categories such
as opera, drama and sketches（幽默短剧） ,
Chinese opera has remained faithful to its original
format over the centuries.

•Their origin can be traced back to primitive

society but the prototype(雏形) for Chinese opera
actually appeared in the Song dynasty about 800
years ago.
 Introduction ----- Chinese Operas

Although sharing a common ancestry, Chinese

opera boasts over 300 various distinct forms -
taking their names from their places of origin.
These forms are generally discernible（可是别的）
by their use of local dialects and distinct
'melodies'. Beijing opera is considered by most to
be the most refined. Also widespread are Pingju
Opera, Kunqu Opera, Shaoxing Opera, Henan
Opera, Sichuan Opera, Shanxi Opera, Huangmei
Opera, Huagu Opera and Yangko Opera. Some
Chinese ethnic minority groups have some local
form of operas.
 Varieties of Chinese Opera
Over 300 types all together

Beijing Opera （京剧）

Yue Opera（越剧）
Huangmei Opera （黄梅戏）
Yu Opera（豫剧）
Ping Opera（评剧）
Kun Opera（昆剧）
Hebei Clapper Opera（河北梆子）
Chuan Opera（川剧）
Yue Opera（越剧）
Lu Opera(吕剧）
 Beijing Opera （京剧）

Beijing Opera, once called 'Peking

Opera', is the most influential and
representative of all operas in China
and has a history of over 200 years.
Beijing Opera is noticeable for four
highly systemized categories of
singing, acting, reciting and
acrobatic fighting.
The Four roles in Beijing Opera
 Chinese Musical Instruments

 wind instruments (吹奏乐器)

 bowed string instruments(拉弦乐器)
 plucked string instruments (弹拨乐器)
percussion instruments.(打击乐器)
Peking Opera

History of Peking Opera

Roles & Character of Peking Opera

Peking Opera Training:

Facial masks
Brief Introduction
Beijing opera or Peking opera is a form
of traditional Chinese theatre which
combines music, vocal performance,
mime, dance and acrobatics<杂技>. The
form was extremely popular in the Qing
Dynasty court and has come to be
regarded as one of the cultural
treasures of China. It has also spread
to other countries such as the United
States and Japan.
 Development
 Beijing opera was born when the "Four Great
Anhui Troupes" brought Anhui opera, or what is
now called Huiju, to Beijing in 1790, for the
birthday of the Qianlong Emperor. Beijing opera
was originally staged for the court and came into
the public later. 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
melodies. Beijing opera is generally regarded as
having fully formed by 1845.Although it is called
Beijing opera (Beijing theatre style), its origins
are in the southern Anhui and eastern Hubei
 Beijing opera is not actually a monolithic<单块的>
form, but rather a coalescence <联合>of many
older forms.
Peking Opera Training:
 Pupils were often handpicked at a young age by a
teacher and trained for seven years on contract
from the child's parents. After 1911, training took
place in more formally organized schools.
Students at these schools rose as early as five
o'clock in the morning for exercises. Daytime was
spent learning the skills of acting and combat, and
senior students performed in outside theaters in
the evening.
Roles
and
Characters:
 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.
Sheng falls into three sub-groups:
Laosheng, Xiaosheng, Wusheng
Sheng

老生/《甘露寺》 小生/《柳荫记》
a. Xiaosheng actors are often involved
with beautiful women by virtue of the
handsome and young image they project.
b. Wusheng is a martial character for roles
involving combat. They are highly trained in
acrobatics, and have a natural voice when
singing. Is about the militant or martial males
are skilled in the art of kung fu.
c. Laosheng is a dignified older role, these
characters have a gentle and cultivated
disposition, and wear sensible costumes.
performed as an aging man or a middle-age
man with beards.
 Dan
Dan is the general term in Peking Opera
for female roles. As early as in the Song
Dynasty (960-1279), the Dan role
appeared. Southern Drama and
Northern Zaju, which developed during
the Song and Yuan Dynasties (960-
1368)
Nowadays, the Dan roles are
subdivided into Zhengdan (or
Qingyi),Huandan, Wudan and Laodan
a. Laodan- old woman
She sings in their natural voices, in a style
similar to that of Laosheng but in milder
tones.
b. Wudan- martial woman
is a female martial or acrobatic
fighter, and most of them are in
a young age.
c. Daomadan are young female warriors
 also a female heroic warrior.
 They would wear the conventional costume of a
female military officer; plus, a halberd or a long
weapon in hands and sometime riding on a
horse.
d. Qingyi are virtuous and elite women
Also a role of the kind of faithful and moral
women, especially a faithful wife, lover, or
maiden in distress.
e. Huadan are vivacious and unmarried
women .
also role of a very lively energetic young
woman, or a young female flirt. Sometimes,
a Huadan could be in a low social status,
but with a comic character.
3. Jing
Jing is a painted face male role who plays
either primary or secondary roles. This
type of role entails a forceful character,
which means that a Jing actor must have a
strong voice and be able to exaggerate
gestures. The red color denotes loyalty
and goodness, white denotes evil, and
black denotes integrity.
 Jing
 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
roles represent men of high social standing and good
behavior, often court ministers.
 4. Chou
is a male clown role. The Chou usually plays
secondary roles whose name also means
"ugly". It reflects the traditional belief that the
clown's combination of ugliness and laughter
could drive away evil spirits.
Visual Performance Elements:
Peking-opera performers utilize four main
skills.
1. Song
2. Speech
3. Dance-acting - This includes pure
dance, pantomime, and all other types of
dance.
4. Combat - includes both acrobatics and
fighting with all manner of weaponry.
Beijing Opera facial masks
京剧脸谱
The facial makeup in Chinese opera, is a
special feature of a national cosmetic. As
each historical figure or a certain type of
person has an approximate spectral type, like
sing, play music to the music, so called “types
of facial makeup in operas”. On the types of
facial makeup in operas sources, the general
view is from mask.
•Beijing opera types of facial makeup
in operas are based on certain
personality, temperament or some
special types of figures for the use of
certain colors.
Red has expressed his Warriors of strong
types of facial makeup in operas such as
Guan Yu, Jiang Wei and Chang Yuchun.
红色有脸谱表示忠勇士义烈，如关羽、姜维
、常遇春.
Black said the types of facial makeup
in operas ming criticized people,
integrity, bravery and even reckless,
such as Zhang Fei, Li Kui黑色的脸谱
表示刚烈、正直、勇猛甚至鲁莽，如包
拯、张飞、李逵等 张飞
Yellow types of facial makeup in operas
that vicious brutality, such as Yuwen
Chengdu, and Dian Wei.黄色的脸谱表示
凶狠残暴，如宇文成都、典韦.
Blue or green types of facial makeup in
operas that some of the figures
represented irritable, such as Dou
Ambassador, Ma Wu.蓝色或绿色的脸谱
表示一些粗豪暴躁的人物，如窦尔敦、马
武等.

窦尔敦
General treacherous court official said
the types of facial makeup in operas
white, bad guys, such as Cao Cao,
Zhao Gao.白色的脸谱一般表示奸臣、坏人
，如曹操、赵高等

曹操
 Gold and silver are used on faces of
deities, spirits and demons.

二郎神
京剧脸谱：如来佛
Other meaning of colors in Peking Opera Masks/Make-ups
base on the Learning Material:

• Red - devotion, courage, bravery, uprightness and loyalty.

• Black - roughness and fierceness
• Yellow - fierceness, ambition and cool-headedness
• Purple - uprightness, sophistication and cool-headedness
• Reddish purple - just and noble character
• Blue - loyalty, fierceness and sharpness
• White - dangerousness, suspiciousness and craftiness.
Commonly seen on the stage is the white face for the
powerful villain
• Green - impulsive and violent and stubbornness
Aesthetic Aims and Principles of Movement:
• The highest aim of performers in Peking Opera is to put
beauty into every motion.
• The art form, gestures, settings, music, and character types
are determined by long held conventions
• Conventions of movement
-Walking in a large circle always symbolizes traveling a
long distance
- Character straightening his or her costume and
headdress symbolizes that an important character is about to
speak
-Pantomimic opening and closing of doors and
mounting and descending of stairs
Let’s watch a short
Peking Opera
京剧经典
Let’s answer:

1. ______ is the main male role in Peking

opera.
a. Dan c. Jing
b. Chou d. Sheng
2. ______ is the main female role in Peking
opera.
a. Dan c. Jing
b. Chou d. Sheng
3. ________is a male clown role in Peking
opera.
a. Dan c. Jing
b. Chou d. Sheng
4. It is one of the greatest ancient dramas in
the world that could only be found in China?
a. Wayang Kulit c. Peking Opera
b. Lantern Festival d. Taiko
5. It is a special feature of a national cosmetic
a. Facial Make up c. Mask
b. Color d. play
 Homework
Make a face mask design on a Oslo Paper
with ½ inch border. To be submitted on
Monday, February 15, 2016.
Thank You!