1、Beijing Opera Contents1. An Overview 2. The History of Beijing Opera; 3. The technical term of Characters in Chinese Opera ; 4. The Symbolic Meanings of Colors of Painted Faces in Beijing Opera; 5. The Status and Development of Beijing Opera.1. An Overview Beijing opera or Peking opera (simplified C
2、hinese: 京剧 ; traditional Chinese: 京劇 ; pinyin: Jngj) is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics.Beijing Opera (or Peking Opera) is a form of traditional Chinese theatre and has existed for over 200 years. It is regarded as one of the
3、cultural treasures of China. It is known as one of the three main theatrical systems in the world. 2. The History of Beijing Opera Although it is called Beijing Opera, its origins are not in Beijing but in the Chinese provinces of Anhui and Hubei. During the reign of the Qianlong emperor in the Qing
4、 dynasty, Qianlong had a interest in the local opera. In 1790, to celebrate his eightieth birthday, he summoned opera troupes (戏班 )from different places to perform for him in Beijing. Four famous troupes from Anhui province remained in Beijing after the celebration. In 1828, A Hubei troupe came to B
5、eijing and often performed together with the Anhui troupes. The two types of singing mixed together and gradually a new type came into being known as Beijing Opera. Beijing Opera is the national standard, and has a higher reputation than any other branches of Chinese Opera. Beijing and Tianjin are r
6、espected as the key base cities in the north while Shanghai is the base in the south. 3. The technical term of Characters in Chinese Opera Hang Dang (行當 ) Four major types of Hang Dang (行當 ) Sheng (生 ) Hang Dang Tan (旦 ) Hang Dang Ching (淨 ) Hang Dang Chou (丑 ) Hang DangHang Dang (行當 ) Hang Dang is
7、a very special system and arrangement of Characters in Chinese opera. According to different personas in the opera, at first, actors and actresses have to found on those personas genders, characteristics, status and etc. then emphasize on the different kinds of make up, costume, and performances; th
8、erefore, people categorize those different types of personas with the performers into the system of Hang Dang (行 當 ). Four major types of Hang Dang Hang Dang (行當 ) can be divided into four major types, which are sheng (生 ), tan(旦 ), ching(淨 ) and chou(丑 ), moreover, we used to have another type of H
9、ang Dang called Mo (末 ), however, gradually, the Mo (末 ) becomes a part of the sheng (生 ); as a result, we only have four types of Hang Dang today. Theoretically, performers of either gender could portray any of these Hang Dang (行當 ) roles in opera.Sheng (生 ) Hang Dang (行當 ) The Sheng is basically a
10、 pure male role, especially in Peking opera, besides ching(淨 ) and chou(丑 ), the rest of the male personas would be all categorized into the Sheng Hang Dang. According to the age, characteristic, appearance and images, we can basically divide Sheng into the types of maturity, youth, and militant or martial art.
