Peking Opera is one of the four national treasures of China (Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese Painting, Martial Arts, Peking Opera). As the most representative form of traditional Chinese performance, Peking Opera is more like a business card in China, the most straightforward and conspicuous Chinese element, and its content can also most intuitively show the spiritual connotation of traditional China, which is called "beijing opera" by foreigners. This article is intended to promote the reader's understanding of peking opera, a unique and charming oriental art.
Beijing opera
Mr. Cao Yu, a drama master in China, came to Anqing, and the first sentence after getting off the bus was: "I came to make a pilgrimage." Anqing is the hometown of China's drama, a must-visit for famous drama masters in the Republic of China, and the place where the national essence of Peking Opera originated. In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, with the development of social economy and the increase of private trade, the merchants who had been in a disadvantaged position were not only far superior to ordinary farmers in the economic level, but also greatly improved their social status. Gradually, spontaneous groups of merchants appeared, called "merchant gangs". Most of these merchant gangs are divided by place of origin, and the most widely distributed, largest, most accomplished and most well-known is the "Hui Gang" represented by merchants in Huizhou (present-day Anhui and Zhejiang). The improvement of material living standards has stimulated the demand for cultural consumption in Huizhou. Huizhou's local opera singing voice "Kunshan Cavity" arose. At the same time, along with the pace of the Qianlong Emperor's six visits to Jiangnan, the officials and people in jiangsu and Zhejiang areas competed to maintain family drama classes, collected famous singers and dancers, and carefully choreographed them in order to please the Qianlong Emperor. This objectively also promoted the progress of opera art.
Pictures of Peking Opera
Jiang Chun, a salt merchant in Anqing She County, is a connoisseur of opera with high taste, he loves opera, and his family often has "three or four operas, and on the same day, the pavilions and pavilions feast on hundreds of guests." He brought together various famous characters, so that different artists and different singing methods directly compensated for each other and cooperated with each other, which greatly improved the Hui class. Li Dou, a Qing dynasty man, wrote in the "Records of Yangzhou Paintings": "Anqing has the best color art, and it is covered by local random bombs, so there are recruits hired in the local random bombs."
At that time, Yangzhou was the water conservancy hub of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and an important commodity distribution center. The economy is developed and the people are rich. Huizhou artists brought "harmonic Wuyin" from their hometowns to Yangzhou to set up a stage to sing, which was widely recognized and supported by Huishang merchants doing business in Yangzhou. A drama class that has been "exclusively sponsored" by a certain Huizhou businessman for a long time is habitually called "Hui class". The "Kunshan Cavity" sung by Huiban is what we call Kunqu opera today, and it is also the source and foundation of Peking Opera.
1. Huiban enters Beijing
Portrait of the Qianlong Emperor
With the joint efforts of all walks of life in Huizhou, the artistic achievements of Huiban finally entered the eyes of the Qianlong Emperor. Finally, at the time of the Qianlong Emperor's eighty-year-old birthday celebration, the leader of the Hui class, the "Sanqing Opera Class", had the opportunity to enter Beijing to perform and wish the emperor a happy birthday. This is also the beginning of the "Huiban entering Beijing" in the history of the development of Peking Opera. As it turned out, the performance of the Sanqing class was a success. After the successful performance of the Sanqing class, excellent opera classes such as "Sixi Class", "Spring Class" and "Spring Stage Class" have successively poured into The capital, and "Kunqu Opera" has become more and more loved by the upper class.
2. Absorb the strengths of all
Kunqu picture
As the audience of "Kunqu Opera" becomes wider and wider, its status becomes higher and higher, and it is bound to break through the limitations of a local opera. Kunqu opera, which originated in Huizhou, gradually gradually integrated the Qin cavity of Shaanxi, the Han opera of Wuhan, Hubei, as well as the characteristics of the local Beijing cavity in Beijing and some plays, forming a mature Peking opera with rich plate style, diverse repertoire, and changeable tone.
3. Reach the pinnacle
Peking Opera stage image
If the maturity period of Peking Opera was in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, then the "golden age" of Peking Opera is undoubtedly the early period of the Republic of China and the Kuomintang rule. During this period, a large number of Peking Opera masters and highly influential and inherited Peking Opera genres emerged that can be recorded in history. Among them, everyone is most familiar with Mr. Mei Lanfang, who once toured Europe and enjoyed international reputation, and the Meipai art he left behind. A play of "Noble Concubine Drunk" can be described as a stunning time.
In fact, in addition to Mei Pai, the Republic of China also has a Cheng Pai Qingyi that is comparable to Mei Pai Qingyi, Mr. Cheng Yanqiu. In addition, Mr. Tan Xinpei's Tan Pai Laosheng and Yang Xiaolou's Yang Pai Wusheng were widely praised at that time. Because it is too popular, Mr. Mei Lanfang's personal wealth is also very impressive, the flowing water on Mei Lanfang's house is endless day by day, and even important foreign guests (such as members of the European royal family) who will be authorized by the Kuomintang government to visit are received by Mei Fu, which also gives birth to a series of unique dishes. These recipes and the historical memories behind them have survived, making them one of the most famous Chinese restaurants in Beijing, the "Meifu Family Banquet". It can be seen that the degree of popularity of these Peking Opera masters at that time was really more than that of today's traffic superstars. It can also be seen that the public loves Peking Opera.
Peking Opera face image
Even people who do not know much about Peking Opera will often be familiar with the business of Peking Opera: "Sheng Dan Jing Jie Ugly". Later, the end and the ugly merged into one. "Birth, Dan, Purity, and Ugliness" have become the most basic role composition of Peking Opera. Among them, "Sheng" and "Dan" are the two most important trades of Peking Opera.
1. Grow and grow young
Zhuge Liang stage image
"Sheng" is a male character, and can be divided into four categories: old student, small student, martial student and red-faced student.
Lao Sheng, also known as Xu Sheng, is a middle-aged and elderly male character with a large beard (see Zhuge Liang). Xiaosheng refers to a young male character who does not have the ability to fight, usually a reader (see Liang Shanbo).
Different from Xiaosheng, there is also a kind of martial arts student, a young male with the ability to fight. They would perform some martial arts- and acrobatic-like basic opera skills, often heroically saving the United States (see Yang Jiye). "Red face student" is a very special kind of student, because it is necessary to highlight the characteristics of the character itself and hook a red face, but it is different from the flower face, the most typical is Guan Yu.
2. Dan heavy grooming
Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai
"Dan" are all women, which can be divided into: Qingyi, Huadan, Huayi, Daomadan, Laodan and so on.
Tsing Yi is mainly singing, and the role of a virtuous wife and mother is generally the heroine (see Xue Xiangling). Hua Dan generally refers to a lively and cute, young and beautiful woman, Dan can sometimes be a tragic role with a red face and a short life, and the "Boudoir Dan" is very close to Qingyi, dignified and elegant, usually everyone's boudoir (see "Long Pavilion Farewell" Cui Yingying).
The flower shirt is between Qingyi and Hua Dan, singing and doing are equally important, in the costume, combing the head of the lady, wearing flower pot bottom shoes (see "Sitting Palace" Hundred Flowers Princess). Lao Dan is equivalent to the male Lao Sheng, referring to the elderly female character (see Empress Li). Dao Ma Dan is Wu Dan, see Mu Guiying. Compared with "sheng", Dan Jiao pays more attention to showing the image of the character from the actor's hand.
3. Pure discernment of loyalty and adultery
Bao Zheng stage image
"Net" is commonly known as a big flower face.
There is a Chinese saying: "One sings red face, one sings white face", which means one to be a good person and one to be a bad person. In fact, it is said that in Peking Opera, people judge the personality and attributes of characters according to the role of the actor hooking the big flower face. In the common Peking Opera face, the white face represents treachery and suspiciousness, such as Cao Cao and Yan Song, and the blue face represents the rigidity and recklessness, such as Dou Erdun and Ma Wu. Blackface represents seriousness and authority, such as Bao Zheng.
Of course, Zhang Fei and Li Kui had black faces because they were already black. In addition, there are some less common colors such as yellow and purple, which are designed for specific characters.
And these several trades have their own representative main plays. "Noble Concubine Drunk" and "Lock Age Bag" are typical Dan ben plays, the main Qingyi. "Female Pony", "Panfusov" main Hua Dan, "Eight Treasures Soup", "Da Deng Dian" main Lao Dan. "Bead Curtain Village", "Xu Ce Running City" and other main old students. The main flower face of "Fighting Dragon Robe" and the main Wusheng of "Jiang Gan's Book of Thieves".
Although now, in the fast-paced life, most young people do not have much interest in Peking Opera. Peking Opera has long since withdrawn from the center of the stage of mass cultural entertainment, but even if it is not in the c position, it is still regarded as the protection and inheritance of the national essence.
Why don't young people like Peking Opera so much? First, because there is no patience, the second is to be fair, the story content of Peking Opera is mostly based on folk tales. And the character image created by this kind of story is very thin and one-sided. Far less plump, profound, and wonderful than the excellent literary works that we have come into contact with in modern times, it can only meet the needs of the time. Even the values conveyed in the plot are no longer recognized by most modern people and are outdated ideas.
But somehow, China now has so many TV series and movies released every year, but most of the film and television dramas cannot withstand remakes, and there are very few classics that can withstand repeated scrutiny and repeated viewing. However, Peking Opera, just a few old stories, the same lines, similar makeup, but still can make the fans of the drama intoxicated.
There are so many people playing the same role every day, maybe they are not masters, but it does not prevent them from getting a full house. Perhaps they are not looking at the plot at all, but the different sense of art and soul that each actor gives to the character himself. This should be the thing we should be most proud of and the most important to think about. I think that no matter how the times change, it is the responsibility of our new generation to pass on this charm and essence of Chinese opera.
"History of Chinese Drama", "Yangzhou Painting Record", "Eighty Longevity Festival"
Figure: Source network, invasion and deletion
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