Theatre History Overview - Part 64 - Beijing (Peking) Opera

While Chinese theatre has a rich and varied history, one of the its treasure is the Beijing (or Peking) Opera. While the official beginnings are considered to be in 1790 to celebrate the 80th birthday of emperor Qian Long, the beginnings are considered to have been in the 15th century. This is because the performance that took place in 1790 was a combination of the best performers from all around China. The styles of art performed had orginiated at least back in the 15th century.

The original name of the Beijing Opera was Jingxi. However, when Westerners encountered it, they started calling it Beijing Opera. Beijing Opera is considered more of a theatrical than a literary art. This is because more emphasis is placed on acting rather than on text. The actors have strict movements they must follow. There are certain gestures to accompany every word. These gestures are combined to give certain meanings to movements on stage. Actors enter a special school between the ages of 7 and 12. Classes may start at 5 in the morning and go until evening. The school takes care of everything (including singing, dancing, acting, and martial arts) for the actors in order to live. The teachers are repaid once the actors make it in the Beijing Opera.

The stage of the Beijing Opera is meant to represent an alternative reality. An actor walking in circles on the stage represents walking for miles. An actor using a whip to hit an imaginary horse represent riding a galloping horse across the land. Then there are four main types of characters in the Beijing Opera. These are the Sheng, the Dan, the Jing, and the Chou.

Sheng are male roles. They are divided into old men (lao sheng), young men (xiao sheng), and warrior types (wu sheng). Dan are female roles. They are divided into quiet and humble (qing yi), the vivacious or dissolute (hua dan), warrior maidens (wu dan), and old women (lao dan). Jing means "clean." However, the character is not typically "clean." Jing characters are forceful and often treacherous. Thus, the name is used in an ironic way. Chou means "ugly" and is the comic actor or clown. He has a white dot on his nose to symbolize that the character is ugly. He also speaks in every day dialect, tells many jokes, and is free to improvise.

The colors of the clothing and facepaints are used to symbolize many different characteristics. Even the shape of how the face paint is applied can give different meanings. Musicians stay on stage the entire time and are dressed the same way as stage assistants.

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