Beijing Opera (Peking Opera)

TOPGeneral Info

Inscribed on UNESCO's World Intangible Cultural Heritages List in 2010, Beijing Opera of China is a national treasure with a history of 200 years. In the 55th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1790) , the four big Huiban opera Troupes entered the capital and combined with Kunqu opera, Yiyang opera, Hanju opera and Luantan in Beijing's theoretical circle of the time. Over a period of more than half a century of combination and integration of various kinds of opera there evolved the present Beijing Opera . Beijing Opera is the most significant of all operas in China, and it has a richness of repertoire, great number of artists and audiences, that give it a profound influence in China and plays a large role in Chinese culture.

Beijing Opera is a synthesis of stylized action, singing, dialogue and mime, acrobatic fighting and dancing to represent a story or depict different characters and their feelings of gladness, anger, sorrow, happiness, surprise, fear and sadness. In Beijing Opera there are four main types of roles: sheng (male) dan (young female), jing (painted face, male), and chou (clown, male or female). The characters may be loyal or treacherous, beautiful or ugly, good or bad, their images being vividly manifested.

The repertoire of Beijing Opera is mainly engaged in fairy tales of preceding dynasties, important historical events, emperors, ministers and generals, geniuses and great beauties, from the ancient times to Yao, Shun, Yu, the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period and the dynasties of Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing. Some of them also were adopted from the literature and classical novels, which are well known among the public but may not be an accurate account of history. Some of the popular Stories during the history are: Orphan of Zhao Family, Fifteen Strings of Coppers, The Ruse of Empty City, Story of the White Snake,The Drunken Concubine, Unicorn-Trapping Purse.

The music of Beijing Opera is that of the "plate and cavity style".Its melody with harmonious rhythms is graceful and pleasing to the ears. The melody may be classified into two groups: "Xipi" and "erhong", guiding pattern, original pattern, slow pattern, quick pattern, desultory pattern being their chief patterns. The performance is accompanied by a tune played on wind instruments, percussion instruments and stringed instruments, the chief musical instruments being jinghu (a two-stringed bowed instrument with a high register), yueqin (a four-stringed plucked instrument with a full-moon-shaped sound box), San Xian (a three-stringed plucked instrument), Suona horn, flute drum, big-gong, cymbals, small-gong, etc.

The costumes in Beijing Opera are graceful, magnificent, elegant and brilliant, and mostly are made in handicraft embroidery. As the traditional Chinese pattern are adopted, the costumes are of a high aesthetic value.

The types of facial make-ups in Beijing Opera are rich and various, depicting different characters and remarkable images, therefore they are highly appreciated. Moreover there are numerous fixed editions of facial make-up.

Since Mei Lanfang, the grand master of Beijing Opera, visited Japan in 1919, Beijing Opera has become more and more popular with people all over the world, and it has made an excellent contribution to cultural exchange between China and the West, to friendly association and to improvement of solidarity.

TOPStage Set-up

In the past, stages in most Chinese theaters were square platforms exposed to the audience on three sides, even all sides sometimes. In the latter case, performances could be watched from the back also. An embroidered curtain known as a shoujiu was hung over the platform, which was thus divided into two parts: the back stage and the stage.

In front of the curtain, stood a table on which were laid various musical instruments to be used for the performance, and musicians were seated nearby. That table, together with musicians, occupied a part of the facade of the stage and could be seen by the audience. That is why the Peking Opera orchestra has traditionally been known as Changmian which means stage set-up.

When Peking Opera began taking shape, its singing was accompanied by two flutes only, known as Shuangshoudi (dual flutes)-the chief Dizi and the assistant Dizi. With such simple accompaniment, the opera actors felt the singing was rather strenuous and lacked flexibility, though the music for voices was then also quite simple, without much florid ornamentation. Later, a musician named Wang Xiaoshao in the Sixi Troupe proposed using the Huqin as a substitute for the Shuangshoudi. He was the first Huqin player. A period of practice allowed actors of the troupe to feel that, supported by the huqin, the singing became full of vigor and more harmonious. The new mode of accompaniment was well appreciated.

Although the dizi were replaced by the huqin, they were still of use of when melodious and elegant qupai (tunes) were needed to accompany such stage acts as dress-changing, sweeping and banquet table-setting. Anyway, their use became rare, so they had no regular players, but were looked after by huqin and yueqin players.

The huqin initiated by Wang Xiaoshao was a soft-bowed fiddle. Another huqin player named Li Si ( Li the Fourth, whose real name was Li Chunquan ) was the pioneer in the use of the hard-bowed huqin, which was easier to manipulate and gave a better effect. As a result, the soft-bowed huqin met the same fate as the shuangshoudi and was replaced by the hard-bowed one.

Drummers must be able to handle all styles of operas, whether characterized by singing, acting, or acrobatic fighting; and huqin players, able to support all roles whether sheng, dan or jing. In other words,a competent drummer or huqin player must be a versatile musician,capable of adapting to various styles and meeting different demands.

Private huqin players appeared in the first years of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (in the late 1870s).

The original Peking Opera wenchang did not include the erhu, which was introduced when Mei Lanfang first staged his new opera, Xishi, the Beauty in the 1930s. Mei felt that the combined sounds of the jinghu, yueqin and xianzi were too weak and monotonous as instrumental accompaniment for the singing in his new opera. Meilanfang's private player Xu created a new two-stringed fiddle after the model of the erhu used in a local opera in east China. That was the first Jingerhu. When played together with the jinghu, the new fiddle produced a very sweet and mellow sound, thus win- ning Mei Lanfang's immediate appreciation and approval.

The newly-created jingerhu was for a period known as the Mei- style erhu. Its role in Peking Opera has become ever more conspicuous and it is now an indispensable instrument at least for accompanying the singing of qingyi.

A famous Peking Opera wusheng actor, Yu Jusheng first introduced the danao into Peking Opera in his performance of TielongMountain.

TOPRoles in Beijing Opera

The ten Chinese characters shown on left are from a song sung in a Chinese New Year Eve television program. It probably says everything about the roles in Beijing Opera. The first five characters list the five role categories. The rest tells what roles appear in the plays, from the powerful supernatural beings to animals like tigers and dogs. There are currently four main role categories in Beijing Opera. There are Male Role(Sheng), Female Role(Dan), Painted Face Male(Jing), Comedy Actor or Clown(Chou).

Any role in these categories or sub-categories can be the leading role in a play. Except the second category, the other three categories are for male characters.

The reason the role categories take the names of Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou is that it is said that they were chosen to mean the opposite. Sheng in Chinese may mean "strange" or "rare", but the chief male is a character of most seen. Dan, which means "morning", "masculine", is in contrary with the feminine nature of the characters. Jing means "clean". In fact, the paintings on face make the characters look like unclean but colorful. And Chou in Chinese sometime represents the animal "Cow", which, in some aspects, is slow and tardy. In contrast, Chou characters are usually active and quick.

Sheng - Male Role

Sheng has some sub-categories, including Senior, Junior, Acrobatic, Junior Acrobatic, Child, Red-face, Poor, Official, etc. These are classified according to the role's characteristics. Male roles are either civil or military. The actors themselves are mainly Train ed for three main parts: Senior Male Role or Lao Sheng, a middle-aged or old man who wears a beard, Junior Male Role or Xiao Sheng (Hsiao sheng), a young man; and Acrobatic Male Role or Wu Sheng, a man of military tenor, especially skilled in acrobatics.

Lao Sheng actors are required to attain the dignity of bearing and gentle, polished manners of the middle-aged mandarin official or scholar; in military plays they may be a general or high-ranking officer of a gentler and more cultivated disposition than of the painted faces. Their apparel accordingly is of good quality but not too garish in its design or color. A Lao Sheng has a black or white beard, depending on his age, and wears a black hat with two fins on either side which vary in shape according to his rank in a civil role. When a military role is played, the costume is quieter and of a more uniform color than those of the warriors in the painted-face roles, but the Kao or amour is also worn. A Lao Sheng's voice is soft and pleasant to listen to, neither too harsh nor too high pitched, but gentle and firm. Minor officials or land owners who have attained a small degree of responsibility are also included in this role.

The red face Lao Sheng or Hong Sheng has only two roles. One of such a role is Guan Gong (Kuan Kung) who is regarded as the God of War. He is greatly revered and respected. Guan Gong is one of the heroes of the Chinese classical novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The other Hong Sheng role is Zhao Kuang-Yin, the first Song Dynasty Emperor.

The junior male or Xiao Sheng (Hsiao Sheng) requires of its actor the distinguishing feature of a shrill and high-pitched voice to indicate his youth. The part is extremely difficult to sing, and when the actor is speaking his voice must suddenly drop from its high-pitched quality to indicate the voice-breaking period of adolescence. The Xiao Sheng is usually small and slight of stature, and his clothes are often quite elaborate if a young man of society or a young warrior is being represented, but can be subdued if they are those of an impoverished scholar. The young warrior can often be distinguished by his long pheasant feathers which rise in sweeping curves from his hat. No beard is worn for this part.

Wu Sheng actors are mainly acrobats, although they sometimes have a part which requires much acting. They play any part in military or civil plays which requires a high standard of acrobats. The skill of these actors is demonstrated in the fighting scenes, which take on a stylized form in Beijing opera, and also in scenes from legendary stories when immortals and devils tumble and twist about the stage showing off feats of skill. In military plays swords and spears are wielded deftly and quickly without the attacker actually touching his opponent. These movements require great precision in timing, and the actor ducks and twists his body, often turning somersaults at same time. If he is a young military officer, the Wu Sheng will also have pheasant feathers in his hat, and four small flags or pennants strapped to his back and high-soled boots, all of which make his acrobatic feats even more spectacular. His costume is often bright in color, especially in the legendary plays. A Wu Sheng actor is not trained as highly in singing, for acting and acrobatics are his outstanding feature, but he has a pleasant voice, slightly stronger than Lao Sheng but rather quiet in pitch, and he sings with a natural voice.

Dan - Female Role

The Dan (Tan) or female role can be divided into six main parts which principally indicate character; Qing Yi(Ch'ing I), modest and virtuous; Hua dan(Hua tan) flirtatious; Gui Men Dan(Kuei Men Tan), a young, married girl; Dao Ma Dan(Tao Ma Tan), a stronger, more forceful character, usually a woman general; Wu Dan(Wu Tan), the female acrobat; and Lao Dan(Lao Tan), an old woman.

A Qing Yi actress portrays a lady of good and sympathetic character Usually of a quiet, gentle disposition and graceful in her movements, she is the Chinese ideal of a beautiful woman. As a wife she is faithful, as a young girl a model of propriety. Her good breeding is shown by the graceful, flowing movements of her 'water sleeves'. The Qing Yi's costume is elegant, simple and of good quality, but not as vivid in color as that of the Hua Dan. Her singing is of a pure, high-pitched quality.

For a Hua Dan actress the gay, flirtatious personality of a young girl is required. Usually not of such a high social standing as the Qing Yi, the Hua Dan actress with her coy, coquettish and generally quicker movements arrests the attention of the audience. This is a difficult part to play successfully. The Hua Dan's facial expression is continually changing and her mischievous eye movements are particularly attractive. Because of her lower social status more hand movements are required, as in olden times it was not considered polite for a well-bred Chinese lady to show her hands. Costume, usually vivid in design and color, consists of a jacket and trousers, and a red or coloews handkerchief is carried to flutter in the actress's hand. Her character, needless to say, is not as virtuous as that of the Qing Yi and therefore her singing voice has a gayer and slightly stronger quality. She also has to do more speaking than singing.

A Gui Men Dan is the young, unmarried girl, who in later life will develop into a Qing Yi or a Hua Dan; her immaturity is clearly shown in her reactions, for though naughty and slightly mischievous, she has not the confidence of the Hua Dan, although her schemes and plans are often just as successful.

A Dao Ma Dan plays the part of the female warrior. She is trained mainly for acting and singing and performs many skilful movements especially with the pheasant feathers in her head-dress and her military weapons. She still retains feminine charm, however, and a very versatile actress is required for this role. Her parts, such as that of Mu Gui Ying, are of the heroines in Chinese History who were famed for their military prowess. A Dao Ma Dan's clothes can be very elaborate, as she wears the four pennants strapped to her back and the Kao

A Wu Dan is the female acrobatic role and the Wu Dan actress steps into or takes any female role that requires a high degree of acrobatics. She is purely an acrobat but her role demands a talented actress for a successful performance.

A Lao Dan is simply an old woman, but great skill is required for this specilized part. The Lao Dan actress cleverly portrays in her bent back and faltering but dignified movements her character's advancing years. She is often seen carrying a staff. Unlike the other female roles, the Lao Dan wears no make-up and her costume is more subdued in color and design. Her voice tends to be slightly deeper, because the natural voice is used, not the forced high-pitched one used on other Dan roles.

Jing - Painted Face Male

To see a Jing (ching) actor for the first time is a startling experience for the spectator. This part is more noted for courage and resourcefulness than for scholarly intelligence. Often playing the part of a high-ranking army general, the Jing actor with his painted face can also be seen as a warrior or official . His robust, gruff, bass voice and grotesquely painted face together with his swaggering self-assertive manner all combine to make him the most forceful personality in most scenes in which he appears. Jing actors are usually, in fact, extroverts. The general rule for the basic color is: red for good,white for treacherous, black for brusque, and blue for wild, i.e. a bandit would have a blue face. All Jing actors wear a heavy, ornate costume and a head dress with a padded jacket underneath to enhance the effect, They can be divided into three main types: Dong-Chui(T'ung Ch'uei), better known as Hei Tou (black face), who is good at singing and usually a loyal general; Jia Zi(Chia Tze), who is good at acting , and generally a more complicated character; and Wu Jing, who is mainly proficient in fighting and acrobatics and seldom plays a very prominent role.

Chou - The Comedy Role

Lastly there is the Chou or comedy actor who generally plays the role of a dim but likeable and amusing character with blinking eyes and all the appropriate gestures. Sometimes the Chou can be a rascal, with a slightly wicked nature. Alternatively a scholar or prince--an eccentric or representing the sort of scholar or prince who would not command much respect. Chou parts can be divided into two types: Wen Chou, who is usually a civilian, such as a jailer, servant, merchant or scholar; and Wu Chou, who performs minor military roles as a soldier and must be skilled in acrobatics. His costume is either elaborate or fussy if of high social standing, but simple if of a low standing.

Mention must be made of the Monkey King who has a special place in the hearts of all who are interested in Chinese opera. Played by an exceptionally talented Wu Sheng actor, the Monkey King holds every minute of the audience's attention with the quick, agile movements of his lithe body, and his blinking eyes. He is traditionally supposed have accompanied a Buddhist monk who went on a long journey across the mountains from China to India to collect the Buddhist scriptures and bring them back to China. The Monk's legendary companions on this journey are a pig (to provide the humor), a not so learned monk, supposed to represent a shark spirit, to mediate in quarrels, and the Monkey King, who possesses special supernatural powers to combat evil spirits encountered on the way. The Monkey King's costume is bright yellow in color and consists of a voluminous jacket and baggy trousers to enable him to perform his movements with ease and grace. He mimics a monkey the whole time, with his knees always bent and his hands held dangling in front of him, occasionally even scratching himself. His eyes have a mischievous twinkle in them as they blink at the audience.

The Monkey King also has a trouble of monkeys who behave in the same manner, but all have their own characteristics--one is greedy, one naughty, one sleepy, etc.--and their skilful acrobatics and movements are a continual source of delight and object of affection for the audience.

TOPFamouse Players in the History of Beijing Opera

The theatrical or musical occupation was considered the lowest class in the society. Opera performance used to be a male dominated profession. Mixed performances were prohibited. All the roles were played by male. Most of the actors entered the Training School as apprentices in their childhood because their parents could not feed them. They had to absolutely obey the commands of the school master and teachers. Any of the failure or even success would result in some heavy slashes or other physical punishment. Far earlier than the dawn, they had to get up to practice their voice and performance skills and do their mandatory works. Director CHEN Kai-Ge's film Farewell my Concubine gives a picture of the situation. Female were rare and usually took this profession because of their family background. But this also gives an account on how hard they should practice their skill in order to be a successful player. It is said that a flash in the stage is a reflection of ten years unremitting hard work.

MEI Lan-Fang (1894 - 1961)

The best known Beijing Opera master ever. A superlative singer, actor and dancer of Beijing Opera female role Qing Yi and a towering figure in the Chinese theater.

Mei Lan-Fang was born October 22, 1894 in Tai Zhao of China's Jiangsu province. His grandfather and father were all famous opera actors. Mei began studying Beijing Opera at eight and played his debut role at 12. His performance in "Shattering Flowers" won him a special fame. He joined Xi-Lian-Cheng Theatrical Company at 14 and performed in Shanghai and elsewhere thereafter. He acquired a national reputation and was regarded as the leader of the PearGarden (A name refers the opera community circle). Western world began to know Beijing Opera through his performances. He toured Japan twice (1919 and 1924), the United States once (1930), and the Soviet Union twice in 1932 and 1935.

After the outbreak of Resistance War against Japanese in 1937 he settled in Hong Kong . He then returned to Shanghai but stopped his performance for five years. He then maintained his beard and mustache, and refused to perform for the occupying Japanese army. He resumed his stage career after the end of the war in 1946. Thereafter he did both stage and film work. There is a film Mei Lan-Fang's Stage Arts featuring his stage performances including several play sections. His last masterpiece "Recommanding the Army" was shot into a colored film. He also served as director or member of several cultural organizations.

MEI Lan-Fang rediscovered many long-neglected theatrical masterpieces and brought them back on stage with his enforcements. He was credited with having revived the traditional Chinese Arts of dancing and pantomime. He also enriched the stage performance by learning from Chinese Kungfu , like the swordplay in his Farewell My concubine. He put special attention on the ladyship of his performance. He was said that once he even pretended to assault his wife to observe her frightened reaction and then apologize to her Because he did not satisfy with one of his actions in a play.

Mei Lan-Fang died on August 7, 1961 in Beijing. His masterpiece plays include "Farewell My Concubine", "The Drunken Concubine (or Drunken Beauty)", "Recommanding the Army", "Scattering Flowers", and "Eternal Regret" etc. A bunch of female role actors and actresses follow his style, among which his son, MEI Bao-Jiu, is a superb.

TAN Xin-Pei (1847 - 1917)

A male role Lao Sheng player and the founder of TAN Style. He had a sounding reputation. It is said the all Lao Sheng players at his time were following his styles. The imitation of his arias could be heard across the street everywhere. He was a best known, superb to any other names like warlord or famous political figures. His famous plays includes " A Fisher's Rebelling", etc. His descendants follow his style, including his son, TAN Xiao-Pei, grandson, TAN Fu-Ying, great grandson, TAN Yuan-Shou, and great great grandson. The most successful was Tan Fu-Ying.

MA Lian-Liang (1901 - 1966)

A male role Lao Sheng player and the founder of the MA Style. He was a graduate of the famous Beijing Opera training school Xi Lian Cheng. He apprenticed JIA Hong-Ling, and then followed YU Shu-Yan. Later he formed his own style with characters of sweet, fluent and natural, which is best known as MA style. His preserved plays include " Orphan of Zhao Family", "Borrowing Eastern Wind", "Gan-LuTemple", "Meeting of the Heroes", etc.

ZHOU Xin-Fang (1895 - 1975)

A Lao Sheng player and the founder of the QI Style. (His stage name is Unicorn Boy Qi Ling Tong, which also commonly means seven-year-old). Staged first at seven, he was the flag of Beijing Opera in south China while MA Lian-Liang the north. He was not with the perfect conditions for a Beijing Opera player. But he was excellent in using his strongness and developed a characterized style of his own. He enriched the performance by learning skills from other operas. His preserved plays include " Four Scholars" , " Hurry to the City Wall", " Chasing Han-Xin", etc.

YAN Ju-Peng (1890 - 1942)

A Lao Sheng player and the founder of YAN Style. He had been a famous Beijing Opera amateur before he formally became an opera actor. He followed TAN Xin-Pei and developed his own singing style which enphasizes the tones and his arias are mild and sweet. His preserved plays include "Moarning Zhou Yu", "Giving XuZhou", etc. His son, YAN Shao-Peng, daughter-in-law and grandson, YAN Xing-Peng, are all his style followers. Xing-Peng got the first place for Lao Sheng in a national Beijing Opera performing competition a few years ago.

SHANG Xiao-Yun (1899 - 1976)

A female role Qing Yi player. Born in Nan-Gong of Hebei Province, He entered the "Triple Happiness Opera School" and was trained first to be a "Wu Sheng" and later "Qing Yi". He had a very good skill of acrobat and dance. His performing style was highly regarded and famed as SHANG Style. His famous plays include "Mad after Lost Her Son", "Liang Hongyu" etc. Shang was also dedicated in training new players. He founded the "Rong Chun Opera School".

CHEN Yan-Qiu (1904 - 1958)

A Qing Yi player. Born in 1904 and died in 1958. His playing style was recognized as CHEN Style. His voice became narrow and muffled when he was in his teen. So his success attributed to his talent and consistent efforts. Most of his plays were about tragedies and the roles he took were sorrowful. His famous plays include " Unicorn-trapping Purse", "Tear on Depress" etc. He toured Europe in 1932. The countries he visited include France, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland.

XUN Hui-Sheng (1899 - 1968)

A Qing Yi and Hua Dan player and his performing style was entitled XUN Style. He, along with MEI, SHANG and CHEN, is regarded as one of the Four Great Female Role Players. Born in Dong-Guang of HebeiProvince, he entered "Triple Happiness Opera School" to learn Hebei Opera. He then switched to playing Beijing Opera after his graduation. He was good playing lively and naughty girls and heroines.

ZHANG Jun-Qiu

A female role Qing Yi performer. His style is recognized as ZHANG Style. His plays include " River-Facing Paguda", "Meeting by poem" etc. He was regarded the number one of the Four Junior Great Female Role Players.

A great Jing player and the founder of QIU Style. His father was a famous Jing player who had a major influence on his opera career.He entered the famous opera school of "Fu Lian Cheng". He leared from a variety of players including Lao Sheng players and applied into his performance and introduced many reforms into Jing arias and actings. He created a situation that all Jing players follow his style. His students include FANG Rong-Xiang. His famous plays include " Execution of CHEN Shi-Mei", "Town of Chi-Sang", "Stealing the Royal Horse" etc.