On the Formation and Social Status of Peking Opera

During the historical period from the end of18th century to the beginning of19th century, "Kunqu Opera" occupied the stage of Beijing's traditional opera. Later, Kunqu opera was called into the palace by feudal rulers. In order to cater to the taste of the rulers, Kunqu opera has been continuously processed and modified, gradually losing its original folk characteristics and divorced from the broad masses of the people, so its position in the folk has gradually declined. At this time, "Beijing dialect" gradually enriched, evolved from "Yiyang dialect" and became popular.

Yiyang Opera, also known as "High-pitched Opera", was born in Yiyang, Jiangxi Province, and has been circulated among the people for a long time, with a deep mass base. In the mobile performance, we constantly draw nutrition from local operas and tap the essence. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, "Yiyang dialect" spread to Beijing, and with the gradual enrichment and evolution of Beijing's language, "Beijing dialect" was formed.

Gradually, "Beijing dialect" became popular in Beijing, overshadowing the limelight of "Kunqu Opera". There are more and more "Peking Opera" actors every day, and many "Kunqu Opera" actors have also changed to "Peking Opera" dramas. During this period, "Beijing dialect" really flourished for a while.

In the Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1790), September 21st was the 80th birthday of Qianlong. Famous theatrical troupes from various provinces in China were called to Beijing to celebrate their birthdays. First, Gao Langting, the famous Dan of Anqing Hui Opera Troupe, was ordered to lead a "Sanqing Class" to Beijing to celebrate his birthday, followed by Sixi, Chuntai and Hechun. This is the first time that Hui Opera has appeared on the opera stage in Beijing. At that time, it was collectively referred to as "Huizhou Four Classes".

After the performance of "Sihuiban" celebrating the 80th birthday of Qianlong, he did not return to the south and stayed in Beijing. From the middle of that year 10, they turned to stage performances of folk operas.

"Hui Opera" originated in Anqing City, Anhui Province, so it is also called "Anqing Hui". It is a local opera with a long history, and its timbre is mainly Huang Er tune, supplemented by [Kunqu], [Huizhou tune], [Blowing tune] and [Siping tune], which is very rich. Huizhou Opera has a wide range of themes, moving plots and easy-to-understand opera language, which is deeply loved by the masses in folk performances.

The reason why "Class Four of Huizhou School" can be popular in Beijing at the same time is that although they are all "Huizhou operas", they have their own characteristics. "Sanqing Class" is good at performing a whole set of plays with a beginning and an end; "Sixi Class" is good at performing plays that are good at "Kunqu Opera"; The actors in Spring Stage Class are mainly teenagers, and the audience has been watching middle-aged and elderly dramas for a long time. At first glance, it is refreshing; Most of the actors in "He Chun Ban" are good at wrestling and fighting, and are good at martial arts. At that time, there were few martial arts scenes on the Peking Opera stage, which naturally attracted attention. In the city of Beijing at that time, the streets and alleys

"Hui" and "Han" have performed together for nearly 30 years, learning from each other and constantly improving. Coupled with the influence of Beijing dialect, the vocal cavity has gradually changed a lot. At that time, people called this changed singing "Beijing dialect".

Cheng Changgeng, the main actor of Hui Opera, and Yu Sansheng, the famous actor of Han Opera, went north to Beijing to make a living and joined the Sanqing class and Chuntai class in Beijing at that time. Zhang Erkui, an amateur who is good at singing and reading in Beijing, joined Sixi Class from Hechun Class after going to sea. Their performance was warmly welcomed by the masses. With superb singing skills and profound artistic talent, they have absorbed the essence of "tune" and "performance" of various local operas on the basis of "Beijing dialect", and integrated them for our use. They kept the excitement of "Hui Opera" and the euphemism of "Han Opera", absorbed the alley of "Kunqu Opera" and always heard the praise of "Four Back Classes". The fame of "Hui Opera" is increasing day by day, and almost all the grand theaters in Beijing are occupied by "Hui Opera Troupe".

During the Jiaqing and Daoguang years of the Qing Dynasty, "Han Opera" also spread to Beijing. "Han Opera" used to be called "Chu Tune", also known as "Han Tune", with Xipi as the main tune and Huang Er as the supplement. Shaanxi Bangzi was introduced into the northwest of Hubei and evolved into "Xiangyang Opera". After the integration of local artists, it evolved into "Xipi" of "Han Opera". After continuous improvement and development, Huanger Opera in Huangpi and Huanggang in Hubei has evolved into Huanger Opera in Han Opera.

"Han Opera" has a history of more than 300 years, and it often interacted with Anhui Opera in its early days. When "Han Opera" entered Beijing, the stage in Beijing was being occupied by the huge "Hui Opera". If "Han Opera" sets up a class club alone, it is really difficult to compete with "Hui Opera". Therefore, after the "Han Opera" entered Beijing, it naturally joined the "Hui Troupe" and formed a performance mode of "Hui" and "Han". This laid a good foundation for the formation of "Peking Opera".

The silence and prosperity of "random play" make "Beijing dialect" constantly create and innovate, and gradually form a relatively complete artistic style and performance system. Finally, during the Xianfeng period, a new kind of drama-"Peking Opera" with Xipi and Huanger as the main voices was born. From Sanqing, Sixi, Chuntai and Hechun to the birth of Peking Opera. It has been brewing for about 60 years.

Peking Opera, which has a great influence in the world, is the essence of China opera art. It is not a local opera born and bred in Beijing, but a "national opera" based on "Hui Opera" and "Han Opera", which absorbs the essence of "Kunqu Opera", "Bangzi Opera" and many local tunes and melts and evolves according to the language characteristics of Beijing.