Chinese opera

Chinese opera is considered one of the most precious inheritances of traditional Chinese culture. Through this article we will make you discover this magnificent Chinese art. There are more than 300 regional opera styles in China, here our team will make you discover the 4 main ones as well as their characteristics, but all let's start by defining what the Chinese opera is.

What is traditional Chinese opera?

Chinese opera as well as Greek tragicomedia and Indian Sanskrit Opera are the three forms dramatic art the oldest in the world. During the Tang dynasty (618 - 907), the Emperor Taizong created an opera school in the poetic name of Liyuan (Jardin of pears). From that time, Chinese opera interpreters were described as "Disciples from the Jardin des Poires". Since the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), it is encouraged by court officials and emperors and has become a form traditional Chinese art. Under the Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), he became fashionable among ordinary people. The shows were looked at in tea salons, theater, restaurants and even around makeshift scenes.

It has evolved from songs, dances, speeches, and dialectical music. Little by little, she combined music, art and literature in one musical show On stage. Accompanied by instruments of traditional music Like the Erhu, the Gong, the Xiao Flute and the Luth, the actors present unique melodies as well as beautifully written dialogues and of great literary value. These dialogues have also favored the development of distinct literary styles, such as the Zaju of the Yuan dynasty. For the Chinese, especially the older ones, listening to this kind of opera is a real pleasure.

What attracts foreigners the most are the different styles of face makeup, which is one of the strengths and which requires specific painting techniques. Exaggerated patterns are painted on the face of each artist to symbolize the personality, role and destiny of a character. This technique can come from old religions and dances. Spectators who know the opera well can know history by observing the face painting as well as costumes. Generally, a red face represents loyalty and bravery, a black face, courage, yellow and white faces, duplicity, and golden and silver faces, mystery.

Besides color, the lines also work as symbols. For example, a character can be painted either all white on his face or just around the nose. The larger the painted white area, the more the role is viper.

Another technique that fascinates people is that of Wonderful acrobatics. The actors can get out of their mouths when they play the role of a spirit, or else galloping by squatting to play the role of a dwarf. This reflects one saying among the actors: a minute of spectacle on stage requires ten years of behind the scenes.

Over the past 800 years, the Chinese opera has evolved into many regional varieties Different based on local features and accents. Today there are more than 300 regional opera styles dazzling. The Kun opera, which was born in the province of Jiangsu, is a typical ancient opera style and is characterized by sweetness and clarity. This allowed him to be classified among the global oral and intangible inheritances. The Shaanxi Qinqiang Opera, known for its sound and savagery, the Cantonese Opera and the Huangmei Opera are all very pleasant. The Beijing Opera, the most famous Chinese opera style, was born from the mixture of these regional styles.

Beijing Opera

The Beijing Opera is the quintessence of China. It is the largest form of Chinese opera, it is called "Oriental Opera" or "National Opera". With a 160 -year story, he created many "first" in the Chinese dramas : the abundance of repertoires, the number of artists, opera troops and spectators.

The Beijing Opera has developed by absorbing many other dramatic forms, mainly the local "Huiban" drama which was popular in the south of the Traditional China in the 18th century. It is a scenic art that integrates music, performance, literature and face painting. Certain rules are implemented and are standardized over time and the practice of many artists on stage.

The Beijing Opera presents dramatic pieces and characters mainly by instilling four artistic methods: the singing, THE dialogue, there dance and martial art. The song is used to intensify the appeal of art by all kinds of tones. The dialogue is the complement of the song, which is full of musical sensations and rhythms. The dance refers to the movements of the body which require great skill, it is a real ballet. Martial arts are the combination and transformation of traditional Chinese combat exercises with dances, it is inspired in particular a lot of Martial art Qi-Gong. 

Characters from the Beijing Opera

At the Beijing Opera, there are generally four main roles: Sheng (male roles), Dan (female roles), Jing (painted facial roles) and Chou (clowns). An actor is generally only formed for a single type of role, he or she almost never plays other roles. The actors who are able to play several types of roles are considered to be particularly talented. 

Sheng

This is the main male role of the Beijing Opera. There are three main roles in this category: Laosheng, Xiaosheng and Wusheng.

• Laosheng Referring to the middle age man or the old man. They often wear a beard and reasonable costumes to show their dignity. The actors who play this role are generally academics or high -level officials.
• Young artists generally play the role of Xiaosheng. They do not have a beard and generally sing in an acute and piercing voice, with occasional breaks to represent the period of change of voice of adolescence.
• Wusheng depicts the most exciting elements of the Chinese opera. A well -known example of the role of Wusheng is King Singe, represented in a certain number of operas based on the famous story "a journey to the West".

Dan

Dan refers to any female role in the Beijing Opera. There are many more types of female roles than male, even if women did not have a status equal to that of men in ancient China. Due to the different characters, statutes and ages, the role of Dan is divided into Laodan, Wudan, Daomadan, Qingyi and Huadan.

• Laodan Referring to old Chinese women who do not carry makeup on the face. They sing with their natural voice which is much more serious than the other roles of Dan.
• Wudan Reference to martial women and is the equivalent of the role of Wusheng for men.
• Young warrior women are Daomadan. This character usually carries armor and large peacock feathers in his hat.
• The actress Qingyi is the noble virtuous and elite woman. These faithful, correct, timid and graceful women are considered the model or ideal of the Chinese woman.
• The social status of Huadan is lower than all other female roles. They are alive and often unmarried. This role represents a more fiery and flirting young woman.

Jing

Jing is a male role painted in the Beijing Opera. This is the most recognizable part of the Chinese opera. Jing actors always play the role of army general or high -ranking bandits, of warriors or civil servants. Their meticulously painted faces indicate the character's strength and temperament. For this reason, the Jing have a loud voice and must be able to exaggerate their gestures. In this part of the Beijing Opera, a white face means betrayal, black honesty, red courage and virtue, and blue cruelty or wild temperament. A mixture of several colors indicates a more complicated personality. The characters of Baozheng and Caocao are typical representatives of Jing.

Cabbage

Cabbage has the same meaning as clown And maybe either male or feminine. The male clowns all carry a white spot of makeup around the nose and eyes, while the female clowns generally have the red face with black eyebrows. The role of cabbage is divided into two categories: Wen Chou and Wu Chou. This means that roles are respectively traders or militant small roles. They perform with a comic game, acrobatics and a loud voice.

Kunqu Opera

L'Kunqu Opera is a former opera from Kunshan, Suzhou, in the province of Jiangsu, which has a history of more than 600 years. Although it is played in the dialect of Suzhou, the Kun opera is also popular in the Yangtze river delta, especially in Shanghai and Hangzhou, as well as in Beijing. He was considered as the father of other operas in China, because he exerts a considerable influence on most Chinese operas with regard to artistic presentations, the use of face makeup, the division of roles, and many other ways. He plays an important role in Chinese history Literature, opera, music and dance. 

The Kunqu Opera was founded in Kunshan over 600 years ago. He surpassed other operas for 300 years in antiquity, because his melody had been improved by the folk musician wei liangfu In the 1500s under the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644). Later, he began to decline in the middle of the Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911). There was no professional troop to play the opera Kun before 1949. In 1950, six Kunqu opera troops were created one after the other. Today, there are 8 Kunqu opera troops in continental China. In 2001, the Kunqu opera became World Cultural Heritage. The rebirth of the Kunqu opera continues, although it is not so easy.

Characteristics of the Kunqu Opera

The Kunqu Opera has a strict and complete system that is its own, with artistic presentations of singing, dance, speech, etc. The most obvious characteristic of Kunqu Opera is a strong lyricism, which asks the interpreters to pay attention to the details of each posture and of each voice. The Dances of the Kunqu Opera have adopted the folk dances and an ancient times, to agree harmoniously with the entire drama. In addition, the famous pieces of the Kunqu Opera are almost written in Antiquity, so that all words are pronounced or sung in classic Chinese. Thus, the Kun Opera was considered a living fossil of classic Chinese operas.

Sichuan Opera

The Sichuan Opera (Chuan Ju) was born at the end of the Ming (1368-1644) and at the start of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). With the massive arrival of immigrants in Sichuan, various dramas were introduced to blend into the dialect, customs, music and local dances. Little by little, a full sichuan opera humor, reflecting the traditional culture of Sichuan, was born.

THE face change is the highest point of the Sichuan Opera. Ancient peoples are said to be painted their face to hunt wild animals. The Sichuan opera-comic absorbs this old skill and perfect it into an art. 

Face change is a magic art. The actors change more than 10 masks In less than 20 seconds! By raising the hand, swinging a sleeve or shaking his head, an actor uses different masks to show different emotions, expressing invisible and intangible feelings through visible and tangible masks. From green to blue, passing through red, yellow, brown, black, dark and gold, these masks show fear, tension, relaxation, slyness, despair, indignation, etc. .

The master of the Sichuan opera, Peng Denghua, changed 14 masks in 25 seconds, and returned to four masks after revealing his true face. This is his latest world record Guinness, thus breaking the previous one.

Today, technology is used to improve this traditional art. The sparkling lasers and lights add a touch of mystery. And modern faces like Zorro are invited to go on stage. 

Shanghai Opera (Huju)

The Shanghai Opera (Huju) was born almost at the same time as the Beijing Opera, about 200 years ago. However, the version of the Shanghai Opera is based on Local folk songs of the Huangpu river region rather than those of Anhui and Shanxi. The Huju is interpreted in the Shanghaian dialect of Chinese Wu, which is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin. In other words, a person from Beijing would not understand the words of a play by Huju.

Due to the relatively recent nature of the stories and songs that make up the Huju, the costumes and make -up are relatively simple and modern. The comedians of the Shanghai Opera wear costumes that resemble the city clothes of ordinary people of the pre -communist time. Their makeup is not much more elaborate than that carried by Western stage actors, which contrasts strongly with fatty painting, heavy and important, used in other forms of Chinese opera.

The Huju knew its peak in the 1920s and 1930s. Many stories and songs from the Shanghai region show a clear Western influence. This is not surprising, since the major European powers have maintained commercial concessions and consular offices in the prosperous port city, before the Second World War.

Like many other styles regional opera, the Huju is in danger of disappearing forever. Few young actors embark on this form of art, because celebrity and fortune are much larger in the cinema, on television or even at the Beijing Opera. Unlike the Beijing Opera, which is now considered a form national art, the Shanghai Opera is played in a local dialect and therefore does not translate well in the other provinces.

However, the city of Shanghai has millions of inhabitants, with tens of millions of others in the immediate vicinity. If a concerted effort is made to initiate a younger audience to this interesting form of art, the Huju could survive and delight spectators for centuries.

You now know everything you know about Chinese operas, we hope you liked this article and if you want to continue to learn more about Chinese traditions and Chinese arts, you can consult our article on theChinese embroidery art.