Help finding information on Peking Opera

Beijing Opera has been in existence for about 150 years.

In the 55th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1790), the famous Anhui troupe from Jiangnan, the Sanqing Troupe, traveled to Beijing to celebrate the 80th birthday of Emperor Qianlong. Huiban refers to the theater troupe that performed Huizhou opera, which was very popular in the south of China in the early Qing Dynasty. Since then, many Huiban have followed, the most famous of which are Sanqing, Sisi, Chuntai, and Hechun, commonly known as the "Four Huiban". Each of them had its own characteristics in performance. Sanqing was good at performing the whole opera; Sixi was good at Kunqu Opera; Chuntai had more youth-oriented child actors; and Chun was outstanding in martial arts.

After 1828, a group of Han opera performers entered Beijing one after another. Han Opera, also known as Chu Tune, now known as Han Opera, is a local opera popularized in Hubei Province, with two main vocal styles: Xipi and Erhuang, with special emphasis on Xipi. Because Hui and Han operas are related to each other in terms of voice and performance, most of the actors of Han Opera participated in the Hui class after entering Beijing, and some of them became the main actors of the Hui class, such as Yu Sansheng.

Hui tunes are mostly Erhuang tunes, high pizzicato, blowing cavity, Siping tunes, etc., and occasionally there are also Xipi tunes, Kun cavity and Eagle cavity; while the Han actors are Xipi tunes and Erhuang tunes. The two classes of Hui and Han cooperated, and the two tunes merged, and after a period of mutual integration and absorption, coupled with the Beijingization of the sound, and from the Kunqu opera, Eagle, and Qinqiang constantly drawing on the nutrients, and finally formed a new type of opera - Peking Opera. The first generation of Peking Opera performers matured and were recognized around 1840.

Peking Opera has had many names since its inception. The counts include: chaotong, rengtong, jingxun, jing erxun, pi xun (skin and yellow), erxun (two yellow), dazhou, pingxun, old opera, guoju, jingxun, jingju, and jingju, among others.

Respondent: FinnyIvy - Magician Level 5 5-28 14:08

Introduction to Peking Opera

Peking Opera was formed in Beijing during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty (it is said to have been formed during the Daoguang period). Its predecessor was the Hui Opera, commonly known as the Leather Reed Opera, which was most popular during the Tongzhi and Guangxu dynasties.

The Hui Opera came to Beijing in 1790 (the 55th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty), and the earliest Hui Opera troupe that came to Beijing was the famous "Sanqing Troupe" from Anhui Province. Subsequently came to the capital and the "four happy", "and spring", "spring stage" class, collectively known as the "four big Huiban".

During the Daoguang period, the Han tune came to Beijing and was absorbed by the two reed tunes, forming a merger of Hui and Han. Strictly speaking, there should be a difference between the two names: the two reeds only represent the early Hui tunes, while the reeds are the new Hui tunes, including Xipi. By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Civil War, it was commonly known as the Leather Reed Opera. During the Guangxu and Xuantong years, Beijing leather reed class went to Shanghai one after another to perform, because the Beijing class sang leather reed and the same source, from Anhui, the sound of the leather reed is different, but also more pleasant to the ear, so it is called "Beijing tune", to show the difference. After the Republic of China, Shanghai Pearland all for the Beijing class mastered, so officially called Beijing reeds for the "Beijing opera". "

Beijing Opera" was created in Shanghai and then spread to Beijing.

The formal formation of Beijing opera is about the Daoguang twenty years (1840) after the event, when a variety of singing version of Beijing opera has been initially available, the language characteristics of Beijing opera has been formed, in the role of the line of work has appeared new changes, has a number of repertoire with the characteristics of the Beijing opera, Beijing opera, the first generation of actors have appeared: Yu Sheng three, Zhang Erkui, Cheng Changgeng known as the old man! The first generation of Peking Opera actors had also appeared: Yu Shengsan, Zhang Erkui and Cheng Changgeng were known as the "Three Tripods", and there was also Lu Shengkui, a Peking Opera actor and writer. Cheng Changgeng is the representative figure of this period, he in the fusion of Han tune, Hui tune and absorbed the Kunqu to transform and improve than the same period of other Peking Opera actors made more efforts, the formation of the Peking Opera performance art contributed a lot to the development of Peking Opera played a great role in the development of influence on the later generations of Peking Opera.

The music of Peking Opera belongs to the board cavity system, and the main singing cavity has two systems: Erhuang and Xipi, which is why Peking Opera is also called "Pihuang". Peking Opera is also known as "Pihuang". Other commonly used singing styles include "Nan Bang", "Siping Tune", "Gao Bak Zi" and "Blowing Cavity". The traditional repertoire of Peking Opera is more than 1,000, and there are more than 300 to 400 repertoires in regular performances, of which a considerable number are written by Peking Opera artists and folk writers one after another, in addition to those from the Hui Opera, the Han Opera, the Kunqu Opera and the Qin Opera. Peking Opera specializes in political and military struggles with historical themes, and most of the stories are taken from historical dramas and novels. There are both big plays with whole books and a large number of folded plays, in addition to a number of serialized plays.

Peking Opera roles are strictly divided into seven lines of roles: Sheng, Dan, Jing, Wu Xing, Chou, Chou, Wu Xing, and Pop (dragon set), which were later categorized into four major lines of roles: Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou.

Since the formation of Peking Opera, a large number of outstanding actors and actresses have emerged, who have contributed to the innovation and development of Peking Opera's singing and performance, as well as the repertoire and character modeling, forming a number of highly influential genres. For example, the veteran Cheng Changgeng, Yu Sansheng, Zhang Erkui, Tan Xinpei, Wang Guihua Fen, Sun Juxian, Wang Xiaonong, Liu Hongsheng, Wang Hongshou, Yu Shuyan, Gao Qingkui, Yan Jupeng, Zhou Xinfang, Ma Lianliang, Yang Baoshen, Tan Fuying, Tang Yunsheng, Li Shaochun and so on; the youngest Xiao Sheng Xu Xiaoxiang, Cheng Jixian, Jiang Miaoxiang, Ye Shengran and so on; and the kaoqin wushu students, such as Yu Jusheng, Huang Yueshan, Li Chunlai, Yang Xiaolou, Gai Jiatian, Shang Heyu and Li Huilang; Dan roles Mei Qiaoling, Yu Ziyun, Tian Guifeng, Chen Delin, Wang Yaoqing, Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Xun Huisheng, Shang Xiaoyun, Ouyang Yuqian, Feng Zihe, Xiao Cuihua, Zhang Junqiu, etc.; old dan Gong Yunfu, Li Duoqui, etc.; Pure roles Mu Fengshan, Huang Runfu, He Guishan, Qiu Guixian, Jin Shaoxuan, Qiu Shengrong, etc.; Uclown roles Liu Cusan, Yang Mingyu (originally a kunshou, who joined the Peking troupe for the performance), Wang Changlin, Xiao Changhua, etc.. In addition, there are famous zither players such as Sun Yuchen, Mei Tian, Xu Lanyuan, Wang Shaoqing, Yang Baozhong, etc., and famous drummers such as Hang Zihe, Bai Dengyun, Wang Xieyuan, etc. The Peking Opera is also known as the Peking Opera of the Year.

Peking Opera has inherited a rich repertoire of reeds, including not only the reeds belonging to the two-reed system, but also the repertoire of Kun, Gao, Qin, Luoluo, and Liuzhi voices. According to rough statistics, there are no less than 200 kinds of traditional plays, which are rich and colorful. Their themes and forms are also diverse, including literary plays, martial arts plays, singing plays, doing plays, pairs of children's plays, folding plays, group plays, this play and so on. For example, "Cosmic Front", "Yutang Chun", "The Meeting of Heroes", "Pick the cart", "Pick up the Jade Bangle", "The Four Scholars", "Eight Hammers", "The Empty City Plan", "Farewell My Concubine" and so on, which have been performed endlessly for hundreds of years. While organizing the traditional repertoire, a large number of new, adapted and transplanted plays, such as Orphan of Zhao, Mu Guiying Hanging on to Commander-in-Chief, Yang Men Women Generals, etc., have been produced. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, a number of modern dramas were created, such as The Tale of the Red Lantern, The Spark of the Ludang, The Wise Man Who Takes the Tiger Mountain, Azalea Mountain, and Dainuo, which were well received by the audience.

Answer: Tanworld - lifter four 5-29 14:46

"Origin of Peking Opera" is enough for the owner to use it hehe

Chinese Peking Opera is China's "national essence", has a history of 200 years. Peking Opera's name was first seen in the Qing dynasty Guangxu two years (1876) of the "Declaration", the history of the Pihuang, Erhuang, yellow cavity, Peking tune, Peking Opera, Ping Opera, State Opera and so on, the Qing dynasty Qianlong fifty-five years (1790), the four Huiban Beijing and the Beijing Opera Kunqu, Han Opera, Yiyang, Chaobao and other types of theater after 50 or 60 years of fusion, the derivation of the Peking Opera, China's largest opera plays. Its repertoire, the number of performing artists, the number of troupes, the number of audiences, and the depth of its influence are all the highest in the country. Peking Opera is a comprehensive performing art. It combines singing, reciting, acting, fighting and dancing, and through the programmed performances, it narrates the story, portrays the characters, and expresses the thoughts and feelings of joy, anger, sadness, sorrow, joy, shock, fear and grief. The roles can be divided into four major lines: Sheng (men), Dan (women), Jing (men) and Chou (both men and women). The characters are divided into loyalty and treachery, beauty and ugliness, good and evil. Each character is distinct and vivid.

Formation and Spread: The predecessor of Peking Opera was the Hui Ban, which was popular in Jiangnan in the early Qing Dynasty and mainly sang the blowing accent, high pizzicato, and Erhuang. Huiban was highly mobile, had frequent contact with other types of theater, and exchanged and penetrated each other's voices, so in the process of development, it also performed a lot of kun opera, and absorbed luo luo cavity and other miscellaneous songs. In 1790, the first Hui class (Sanqing class), headed by Gao Langting (named Yueguan), entered Beijing to participate in a performance to celebrate the 80th birthday of Emperor Qianlong. Yangzhou painting boat record: "Gao Langting into the capital, to Anqing flower department, combined with the Beijing-Qin two cavity, named its class said three Qing." Published in the twenty-second year of the Daoguang (1842) of Yang Maojian "Meng Hua Zuo Lu" also said: "and three Qing and in the first of the four joys, Qianlong 55 years gengxu, Emperor Gaozong eighty years of longevity into the wish box, said 'three Qing Hui', is the ancestor of the Hui class." Wu Zishu in the "With the Garden Poetry" annotated more specifically pointed out that "the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang Wu Nala order Zhejiang salt merchants with Anqing Hui people all Zhu Li". Subsequently, there are a number of Huiban successive Beijing. Famous for the three Qing, four happy, Chuntai, and spring four classes, although and spring was established in the Jiaqing eight years (1803), later than the three Qing thirteen years, but the later generation and still called the "four big Huiban into Beijing".

During the Qianlong and Jiaqing years, Beijing was a city of cultural relics, political stability and economic prosperity, where artists of all kinds of theater gathered. The Beijing stage was dominated by the Kun, Peking, and Qin operas, which were in confrontation with each other. When Hui Ban came to Beijing, he first devoted himself to "combining the Beijing and Qin cavities". At that time, Qinqiang and Peking opera were basically performed on the same stage, and "Peking and Qin were not divided" (Yangzhou Boat Records). Huiban carried forward its tradition of drawing on the strengths of all, absorbing the repertoire and performance methods of Qinqiang (including some of the Peking opera) and inheriting many Kunqiang repertoires (it also rehearsed the Kunqiang opera The Peach Blossom Fan) as well as its stage art system, and thus improved rapidly in its art.

The artistic characteristics of Huiban are the main reason why it is able to win in the competition. In terms of voice, in addition to the singing of the Erhuang tune with a new sound to capture the people, it "liaison with the sound of the five parties, the same" ("Sun down to see the flowers"); in terms of the repertoire, the subject matter of a wide range of diverse forms; in terms of the performance, pure and simple and sincere, the line of work complete both military and civilian, and therefore suitable for the majority of the audience's appreciation of the requirements.

In the performance arrangement, according to the "Meng Hua Zuo Book", the four Hui class "each excel in the field". The three Qing to "axis" to win (taking over new plays for days), four happy to "tune" to win (good at singing kunqu), and spring to "handle" to win (good at martial arts), Chuntai to "children" to win (to child actor as a call). In the art and operation of the focus, can play a specialty, and made rapid progress. By the end of the Daoguang period, Huiban was already dominant in Beijing. Menghua Zuozhu" said: "Now the music department of Anhui is the most people, Wu is second to it, Shu is absolutely no one well-known." Also said: "the theater must be Huiban theater. Theater garden of the big ones, such as Guangde building, wide and building, three Qing garden, Qing Leyuan, also must be Hui class mainly." Huiban growth and development process, that is, it is to the Beijing opera trespassing process. The completion of this transmutation, the main symbol for the merger of Hui and Han and the fusion of leather and yellow, the formation of the western leather, two yellow cadences based on the board cavity singing music system, so that the singing, reading, doing and playing the performance system is gradually perfected. The earliest Han tune actor who went to Beijing with the Hui class was Mi Yingxian (also known as Mi Xizi), a native of Chongyang, Hubei (said to be a native of Anhui), born in the 45th year of the Qianlong reign (1780), who joined the Chuntai Hui class to sing in Beijing in the Jiaqing reign, and acted as a Zhengsheng, excelled in the Hongsheng play, and had a very high reputation (see Menghua Zuobian and Li Dengqi's "Frequently Talked About Recordings"). He was regarded as the forerunner of the famous Han Opera actor Yu Sansheng (at that time, there was a line in the opera lyrics that reads, "Yasai's year was Mi Yingxian"). During the Daoguang period (1821-1849), there was a gradual increase in the number of Chinese opera singers who went to Beijing to join the Hui class, and the famous ones were Wang Honggui and Li Li. Su Hai'an's "Yantai Hongzhu ji" (written before the 12th year of the Daoguang period) says: "The capital is still in the Chu style. Musicians such as Wang Honggui, Li Liu good for the new claim at the time." Chu tune that is, Han tune, that is, Xipi tune. It can be seen at that time in Beijing has been popular in the western tune, Wang Honggui, Li six "good for the new sound", and promote the development of the innovation of the western tune. In Hui and Han actors *** with the efforts, and gradually realized the West and Erhuang two cadences of the melting. At the beginning of different plays, according to different sources, respectively, sing Xi Pi or Erhuang; later, some plays will sing both Xi Pi and Erhuang, and even in the same section of the first singing Erhuang, after the transfer of Xi Pi, and can be coordinated with each other, all in one. Luo Cheng called Guan" (from Hui tune "Silt River") is an example. In terms of sound and rhyme, it has formed the rhythm of "Zhongzhou rhyme, Huguang sound", and the characters are mixed with Beijing and Hubei sounds, and two kinds of four-tone values are used in Beijing and Hubei, and the characters are pointedly pronounced according to the rhyme of "thirteen ruts". The accompaniment of Erhuang was repeated several times, and finally during the reigns of Xianfeng and Tongzhi (1851-1874), the flute was abolished, and the huqin was used in unison with the xipi (with a different set of strings), but it was still accompanied by the flute according to the tradition of the Huiban when it was sung and blown.

Toward the end of the Daoguang period, a large number of Xipi operas appeared, and it was common for the Huiban to play both Pi and Huang. According to Yang Jingting's Du Men Jilu, which was published in the 25th year of the Daoguang period, the repertoire often performed by Cheng Changgeng of the Sanqing class, Zhang Erkui of the Sixi class, Yu Sansheng of the Chuntai class and Li Liu of the Chuntai class, and Wang Honggui of the Chuntai class, such as Wenzhaoguan, Catching and Releasing Cao, Tingjunshan, Beating Drums and Scolding Cao, and Sweeping Snow and Playing Bowls, etc, was roughly the same as that of the traditional repertoire commonly performed in Peking Opera stages, and the Huiban's trespassing on the Peking Opera stage had been largely accomplished by that time (although it was not called Peking Opera at that time). The Huiban's transformation into Peking Opera was basically completed (although it was not called Peking Opera at that time). According to another theory, Peking Opera was formed only after Tan Xinpei became famous (at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century). The reason is that by that time the Pihuang opera from music, performance, to sing and read the word sound, sound rhyme, only with a strict standard; and before that, that is, the Cheng Changgeng era, still belongs to the category of Huizhou tune.

The Peking Opera came to Shanghai in 1867. The newly built Man Ting Fang Theater Garden from Tianjin about the Peking class, welcomed by the audience. In the same year, Dan Gui Tea Garden, through Beijing's San Qing Ban, also invited a large number of famous Peking opera actors, including Xia Kui Zhang (father of Xia Yuerun), Xiong Jin Gui (father of Xiong Wentong), and Feng San Xi (father of Feng Zihe), the flower girl. They all settled in Shanghai and became the Southern Peking Opera family centered in Shanghai. After that, more Peking Opera actors came south one after another, well-known ones include Zhou Chunkui, Sun Juxian, Yang Yuelou, Sun Chunheng, Huang Yueshan, Li Chunlai, Liu Yongchun, as well as the clapper flower girl Tian Jiyun (think Jiuxiao), thus making Shanghai another center of Peking Opera alongside Beijing.

Before this, around the early Xianfeng years, there were Kunban and Huiban performances in Shanghai. After the Peking Opera came into Shanghai, there was also the situation of Jing Hui on the same stage, Jing Kun on the same stage as well as Jing Bang (clappers) on the same stage. This played an important role in the formation of the characteristics of southern Peking Opera. After arriving in Shanghai, Wang Hongshou (Sanmazi), an outstanding actor of Huiban, often took part in the performances of Peking Opera and brought some Huizhou plays such as "Xu Ce Runs to the City", "Sweeping Pine Down to the Book", and "Snow Embracing the Blue Pass" into Peking Opera, incorporated one of the main cadences of Huizhou, the "Gao Piao Zi", into Peking Opera music, and absorbed into Peking Opera some of the Huiban's Hongsheng plays and their performance methods. This played a role in expanding the repertoire of Peking Opera and enriching the stage art. In addition, the artistic activities of the clapper artist Tian Jiyun in Shanghai also had an impact on the development of the Southern School of Peking Opera. His "lantern-colored play", "Bullfighting Palace", etc., was in fact the abusive tendon of the later "organ set and stage play". From the fifth year of Guangxu (1879), Tan Xinpei went to Shanghai six times, and later Mei Lanfang and other famous actors also frequently performed in Shanghai, which promoted the exchange of northern and southern Peking Opera and accelerated the development of the art of Peking Opera.

Before Peking Opera entered Shanghai, after the 10th year of Xianfeng (1860), it quickly spread to all parts of the country along with the travelers and the mobile performances of the opera troupes. For example, Tianjin and its surrounding Hebei region was one of the earliest areas for the spread of Peking Opera. At the end of the Daoguang period, Yu Sansheng was active in Tianjin (both he and his father were buried there after his death); Liu Chaisan, a clown actor, was first active in the box office in Tianjin, and later went to Beijing to "go into the sea". The clown actor Liu Chusan was first active in Tianjin's box office before going to Beijing. The veteran actor Sun Juxian was also once a fan of Yaojin. Shandong is the Hui class in and out of Beijing must pass through, Shandong merchants and is an important force in Beijing's economic activities, so Shandong early Peking Opera performances. Qufu Confucius Palace as early as the Qianlong Dynasty, there are Anhui artists to perform in the house. Peking Opera's earlier distribution areas are also Anhui, Hubei and the Northeast provinces. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were Peking Opera activities in Fujian and Guangdong in the south, Zhejiang in the east, Heilongjiang in the north and Yunnan in the west. During the Anti-Japanese War, Peking Opera also developed in Sichuan, Shaanxi, Guizhou and Guangxi.

In 1919, Mei Lanfang led a troupe to perform in Japan, and the art of Peking Opera was spread overseas for the first time; in 1924, he again led a troupe to perform in Japan, and in 1930, Mei led a troupe of twenty people to visit and perform in the U.S.A., which was a great success. in 1934, he was invited to Europe to visit, and he performed in the USSR, which was highly valued by the European theater community. Since then, Peking Opera has been viewed around the world as the Chinese school of acting.