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In modern times, sound equipment has become an essential part of our lives, especially in theater and music performances, and high-quality sound systems can allow every audience to enjoy clear sound.
However, in ancient times, without the support of electronic amplification technology, how could actors and designers make the sound of the stage spread throughout the audience?
01
Ancient dramatists and architects knew that in order for sound to be heard far and clearly, the structure of the theater needed to be properly designed.
For example, amphitheaters in ancient Greece and Rome were often built on hillsides, with semicircular auditoriums surrounding the lower stage.
This design not only relies on natural slope formation, but also takes advantage of the reflectivity of hard stone, allowing sound to travel efficiently upwards and outwards.
In addition, the semi-circular design of the theater allows sound to be concentrated and prevented from scattering in open spaces.
When we look back at the places where ancient theatrical performances were held, we usually think of teahouses or the private halls of nobles.
These venues were nowhere near as large as modern theaters and generally could only accommodate a small audience.
A typical theatre may be built between one or two floors of a teahouse, which is very limited compared to a modern theatre.
However, it was in these compact spaces that the ancients skillfully applied the principles of architecture and acoustics to create a stunning sound diffusion effect.
The Colosseum is an oval-shaped architectural marvel.
This massive structure, with a long axis of 187 meters and a minor axis of 155 meters, is not only a building, but also a symbol of the pinnacle of Roman engineering and architectural design.
In the absence of modern sound equipment, the Colosseum was able to accommodate and allow 50,000 spectators to hear every sound in the stadium clearly.
Experts have found that the Colosseum is designed with sound waves in mind.
The distribution of the auditorium and the choice of building materials are all designed to maximize the efficiency of sound transmission, and the open structure of the Colosseum allows sound waves to travel freely through the space, thus achieving the effect of allowing distant audiences to hear sound without the need for electronic amplification.
In the Far East, the ancient people also showed their wisdom in the transmission of sound.
Whether it is in the fence tile house, or in the lively teahouse restaurant, or in the palace hall and the village festival and temple fair, you can see the elaborate stage.
These stages are not only a showcase of visual art, but also a superb example of acoustic design.
Chinese stage designers have skillfully used architectural structures and materials to create stage structures that can diffuse sound.
Their understanding of the principles of acoustics, as well as their study of how materials affect sound propagation, allows every word of the play to reach the ears of every audience member with clarity.
For example, the backstage of ancient Chinese theater stages was often closed to help project sound forward, while wooden floors and side buildings were designed to help resonate and diffuse sound.
02
In ancient China, drama was not only an art, but also a collective social activity, which ran through people's lives and religious beliefs.
As the core carrier of this activity, the stage is not only an architectural masterpiece, but also the embodiment of acoustic wisdom.
From the simple structure of the terrace to the intricate "pinzi table", it is a fascinating history of how the ancient Chinese skillfully used direct sound in architecture to ensure that the sound of the performance was clearly conveyed to every audience.
As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, with the vigorous development of commercial trade, Baiju became the most popular form of entertainment among the people.
In order to meet the needs of the growing audience, temporary terraces were first built in the city for performances during festivals.
In rural areas, permanent balconies are often built in temples for villagers to gather to watch performances in the name of worshipping and entertaining the gods.
The Jinrentai of Shanxi Jin Temple and the Northern Song Dynasty terrace of Zhongyue Temple in Dengfeng, Henan are representatives of ancient terraces.
The terrace is generally square, with a base about 1 meter high, surrounded by bricks and stones, filled with mud in the middle, and the top paved with square bricks.
Its design originated from the square mound and square altar of the Western Zhou Dynasty, as well as the Xiong Zhen case set up by Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasty for music.
The key to the popularity of the terrace lies in the acoustic characteristics of its pedestal, which can effectively transmit direct sound and solve the problem of occlusion of the audience's sight and hearing.
In the Ming Dynasty, people made greater strides in the application of acoustics.
The temple gate was combined with the stage to create the mountain gate stage. The Shanmen Stage is not only a huge architectural structure, but its base is about 2 meters high, which is about 0.5 meters higher than the stage of the Jin and Yuan dynasties, which makes the sound travel farther and more suitable for large venues and many audiences.
In addition, the people of the Ming Dynasty also invented the viewing tower to make use of the direct sound, the viewing tower usually has two floors, the upper floor is a special place for women, children or people with status, this design fully takes into account the direct sound, so that the audience can avoid the obstruction in the temple courtyard and enjoy a better viewing experience.
This design allows the audience in the back row to be higher than the front row, so that the view and sound are not obstructed, and the Qixingpo between the Chenghuang Temple in Xinjiang County and the Ming Dynasty Music Tower is a relic of this design.
03
In the era when there were no microphones and amplification equipment, the voice training of actors was extremely important.
Ancient actors were often trained in the voice, learning Xi how to use their abdomen, how to control their breathing, how to produce clear and penetrating sounds, and how to adjust Xi volume, timbre, and rhythm to the content and emotion of the play.
Bel canto singing in Western opera is a kind of singing method that pursues the beauty and skill of the voice, and the singers of bel canto have learned how to use the body as a resonance cavity through years of training to strengthen the resonance of the voice and make the voice more penetrating.
Their goal was to be accompanied by a strong orchestra while still getting every word to the audience.
This requires the singer to precisely control the breathing, and use the resonance of multiple parts such as the abdomen, chest cavity, and head cavity to amplify the voice to form a rich and powerful timbre.
In the East, especially in traditional operas such as Peking Opera, the actors sing in a way that sounds very different from Western bel canto, but they face the same challenges.
Peking opera performers must also master how to amplify their voices through physical resonance.
In Peking Opera, the actors use special vocal techniques, such as the use of falsetto, guttural voices, etc., as well as adjusting the vocal parts, to make the voice both powerful and penetrating.
Their voices need to go beyond the accompaniment of musical instruments and float through every corner of the theater.
Although these two forms of opera are thousands of miles apart, there is an unspoken connection in the principle of resonance.
Whether it's bel canto singers or Peking opera performers, they rely on resonance to enhance the penetration of their voices.
The location of the resonance may be different, and the timbre of the sound may vary depending on the cultural context, but they all take advantage of the resonance properties of the body's own structure to achieve the amplification and transmission of sound.
04
Although ancient times did not have the convenience of modern sound technology, through the ingenuity of architecture, the professional training of actors, the mastery of the performing arts, the intentional use of instruments and props, and the full use of natural acoustics, ancient theater actors and theater designers successfully overcame this challenge to convey the sound of the play to every audience.
This ancient wisdom and skill not only embodies the deep understanding of the principles of sound propagation, but also demonstrates the outstanding creativity of the ancients in artistic expression and the application of technology.
Today, when we enjoy the convenience of modern sound reinforcement technology in modern stadiums or theaters, it is worth looking back to the wisdom of those ancient architects.
Their creativity not only impressed future generations in the majesty of the building, but also hid in the details of the profound impact on the development of human society for thousands of years to come.
Whether it is the Colosseum in Rome or the Chinese theater stage, it is a testimony to the in-depth observation of the environment and the precise control of sound by the ancients.
With the development of science and technology, we can learn from the wisdom of the ancients and combine these ancient technologies with modern technology to create more acoustic miracles.
This is not only a tribute to ancient craftsmanship, but also an inspiration and challenge for future innovations.