Beijing Opera

Mei Lanfang Introduction of Peking (Beijing)OperaP eking opera of China is a national treasure witha 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 thearetical circle of the time. Through a period of more than half a century of combination and integration of various kinds of opera there evolved the present Peking opera, the biggest kind of opera in China, whose richness of repertoire, great number of artists of performance and of audiences, and profound influence are incomparable in China.Peking 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 Peking 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 Peking 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. The music of Peking 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, desultary pattern being their chief patterns. The performance is accompanied by a tuneplayed on wind instruments, percussion instruments and stringed instruments, the chief musical instruments being jinghu (a two-stringed bowed instrument with a high register), yueqin( afour-stringed plucked instrument with afull-moon-shaped sound box), Sanxian( athree-stringed plucked instrument), suona horn, flute drum, big-gong, cymbals, small-gong, etc. The costumes in Peking opera are graceful, magnificent, elegant and brilliant, most of which 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 Peking 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 Peking opera, visited Japan in 1919, Peking 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. Peking Opera house of Beijing has been invited to perform in U.S.A., England, France, Germany, Italy (three times), Australia, Japan( four times), Brazil, Turkey, Singapore, South korea and Hongkong (five times). The performances have made an outstanding contribution to Sino-foreign cultural exchange and to the promotion of friendly association of peoples in the world, and were highly appreciated by foreign audiences.In 1993 Peking Opera House of Beijing as a big Peking opera troupe made a performance visit to Taiwan, pushing the cultural exchange to a new height. Peking Opera house of Beijing is willing to participate in activities of international cultural exchange and of commercial performances and sincerely hopes that friends in various countries will make contacts with us about cultural exchange and performances.Address of Peking Opera House: Haihu West lane No.30, Fengtai District, Beijing, China.Post:100077Tel: (008610) 67227775Fax: (008610) 67541215E-mail:huangye@Return to Opera pageWhat Do the Facial Makeups Stand for in Beijing Opera?The art of facial makeups in Chinese operas boasts a long history. In ancient China, there was a form of dance called nuo which was performed at ritual ceremonies to frighten off the ghosts and evil souls and to relieve people of epidemics. Masks were used by performers when they danced. In some areas the nuo ritual ceremonies were later transformed into theatrical performances. Another example of using masks was that of Prince Lanling of the Northern Qi Period (550-577 A. D. ) . It is said that Prince Lanling excelled in martial arts but was too handsome to terrorize the enemy. So he al ways wore a ferocious-looking mask in battles in order to overwhelm the enemy. This story was later brought onto the stage in the Southern and Northern Dynasties as well as in the Sui and Tang dynasties (420-907 A. D. ) . The masks used by the performers at the ritual ceremonies and in the performing art undoubtedly had a bearing on the origination of the facial makeups. In the Tang Dynasty(618-907 A.D. ) , masks continued to be applied in low comedy, and at the same time artists started to dye their faces in portrayal of super-human beings. In the Ming Dynasty(1318-1644 A.D.) , division of roles among actors became more classified on the basis of the Yuan Dynasty (1271- 1368 A.D.) operas and the facial makeups were gradually standardized. In the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911 A.D. ) , with the springing up of Beijing Opera, the art of facial makeups was increasingly perfected. And toward the end of the Qing Dynasty, the facial makeups for different categories of characters became finalized.Facial makeups are a special art in Chinese operas which distinctly show the appearances of different roles as well as their dispositions and moral qualities by means of artistic exaggeration combined with truthful portrayal and symbolism. Facial makeups also serve to express praise or condemnation toward the characters.In some local operas, facial makeups are applied to all the different roles while in Beijing Opera, the mostrepresentative of Chinese operas, facial makeups are limited only to the roles of jing and chou. A chou ischaracterized by his white-painted nose which gives a comic effect and there are relatively few facial makeuppatterns for a chou role. There are a large variety of facial makeup patterns for jing in Beijing Opera, namely,"whole face", "three-tile face", "quartered face", "six-division face", "tiny-flowered face" , "lopsided face" , etc.Different colours such as red, yellow, blue, white, black, purple, green, gold and silver are used for facial makeups. The main colour in a facial makeup symbolizes the disposition of the character. Red indicates devotion, courage and uprightness. Yellow signifies fierceness, ambition and cool-headedness. Blue represents staunchness, fierceness and astuteness. White suggests sinisterness, treacherousness, suspiciousness and craftiness. Black symbolizes roughness and fierceness. Purple stands for uprightness, sophistication and cool-headedness. Gold and silver colours are usually used for gods and spirits.Facial makeups are not only a special art in Chinese operas, but also an art of ornamental design, and have become a new variety in Chinese painting.Beijing opera and Face PatternChinese traditional opera is a comprehensiveperforming art, which combines singing, music, dialogue, acrobatics, martial arts and pantomime. It represents the culmination and distillation of two thousand years of Chinese civilization. During the late Qing Dynasty, a new type of traditionaldrama-Beijing Opera-came into being. In 1790, some troupes of Anhui Opera went to the imperial Palace in Beijing to offer birthday congratulations to the emperor and other members of the royal family. They remained in Beijing and performed for the ordinary citizens.Because of the efforts to learn artistic techniques from other local operas and to the taste of the Based on Anhui Opera, Beijing Opera took shape as an independent opera form between 1840 and 1860. Having incorporated the merits of many other local dramas, Beijing Opera not only appeals to Chinese audiences but also is warmly received by people all over the world.Beijing Opera is a comprehensive performing art that combines music, singing, dialogue, pantomime, acrobatics and martial arts. Symbolism prevails in Beijing Opera. Footwork, gestures, and various kinds of body movements can portray and symbolize the actions of opening a door, climbing a hill, going upstairs, or rowing a boat. Typical Chinese musical instruments are used in a Beijing Opera orchestra. The two-stringed fiddles jing hu and er hu are two of the main instruments. Other instruments include sheng (reed pipes), Yue Qin (moon shaped mandolin), pi pa (the Chinese lute), sue na(the Chinese clarinet), drums, bells, gongs, and hardwood castanets.The character roles in Beijing Opera are divided into four main types according to the sex, age, social status, and profession of the character. Shen refers to male roles. Dan refers to female roles. Jingo refers to the roles with painted faces. Chou, or clown, is a comic character and can be recognized at first sight for his special make-up (a patch of white paint on his nose). The costumes in Beijing Opera impress the audience with their bright colors and magnificent embroidery Face PatternsWhen you are watching a Beijing Opera, the most impressive place to you maybe is the "painted face". Face patterns follow a set mode in composition, sketching and coloring.Face patterns date far back in history. Ancient Chinese entertainers sometimes wore masks known as "dummy faces". In time, following the development of the opera and the needs of the performances, the mask was replaced by the painted patterns. As soon as an actor steps onto the stage, his painted face gives a clear concept of his character--loyal or traitorous, good or evil. The audiences have long accepted such means of expression. In general, red stands for loyalty and uprightness; purple, courage and resolution; black, toughness and irascibility; yellow, brutality andschemtry; white, treachery and machination; gold and silver, mythical figures. The dominant color and the minutely executed patternshighlight the character without imparting a sense of confusion.There are mainly four different kinds of roles, namely sheng, dan, jing, and chou . There used to be another role called mo , which has merged into sheng.Sheng is the male role in Beijing Opera. Sheng, according to the age, personality and status of thecharacters, is subdivided into laosheng, xiaosheng, wensheng and wusheng. Laosheng, also known asxusheng, is a bearded middle-aged or old man who is in most cases a positive character. Xiaosheng isa handsome young man, who can either be a scholar or a military general.Those who specialize in singing and reciting are termed wensheng, whilethose who are skilled in stage-fighting, are called wusheng.Dan is a general term in Beijing Opera for all female roles. In the feudal society of old China, as men andwomen were forbidden to perform on the same stage, all the female roles were played by men. Today,however, there are very few female impersonators. According to the age, status, personality of the characterand the style in acting, dan is further divided into zhengdan , huadan , caidan , wudan and laodan . Zhengdanis also called qingyi because she always wears a qingyi (black costume) . Zhengdan is the type representing the gentle and virtuous young and middle-aged woman. In this type of roles much stress is given in singing. Huadan is the role for a maiden or a young woman, who is either vivacious or shrewdish in character. Emphasis is placed on acting and recitation in this type. Caidan, also called choudan, is the role for a woman of comical or crafty character. A caidan uses heavy make-up of rouge with a patch of white powder covering her nose while her acting is basically the same as that of a chou (clown) . Wudan is the role for a woman of the military type who excels in riding and archery as well as in martial arts. Like wusheng, a wudan does a lot of stage-fighting. Laodan is the role for an old woman. In singing laodan uses the natural voice which is similar to laosheng. In both singing and acting the performer must try to indicate the special characteristics of an old woman.Jing is also known as hualian, a role with a painted face, who is a man of special character, features andpersonality. Jing is further divided into wenjing (civilian type) and wujing (warrior type) . Wenjing must layparticular emphasis on singing and wujing on acrobatic fighting. The face of a jing role is painted with a varietyof coloured patterns which are not only an artistic exaggeration but also an indication of the personality of thecharacter.Chou (clown) is also called xiaohualian , or sanhualian . A chou may be akind-hearted, humorous and funny fellow. However, he may also be very wicked or treacherous .Chou is also divided into wenchou ( civilian type ) , and wuchou ( a clown with martial arts ) . A femalechou is normally called caidan or choudan. A chou always paints his nose powder-white and wears anupturned moustache so as to give a comic effect.。