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Chinese opera

Traditional Chinese opera (traditional Chinese: 戲曲; simplified Chinese: 戏曲; pinyin: xìqǔ; Jyutping: hei3 kuk1), or Xiqu, is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more than a thousand years, reaching its mature form in the 13th century, during the Song dynasty (960–1279). Early forms of Chinese theater are simple, but over time various art forms such as music, song and dance, martial arts, acrobatics, costume and make-up art, as well as literary art forms were incorporated to form traditional Chinese opera. Performers had to practice for many years to gain an understanding of the roles. Exaggerated features and colors made it easier for the audience to identify the roles portrayed.[1][2][3][4]

A Shao opera performance in Shanghai, China, 2014. This photo shows an acrobatic performer's somersault.

There are over a hundred regional branches of traditional Chinese opera today. In the 20th century the Peking opera emerged in popularity and has come to known as the "national theatre" of China,[5] but other genres like Yue opera, Cantonese opera, Yu opera, kunqu, qinqiang, Huangmei opera, pingju, and Sichuan opera are also performed regularly before dedicated fans. Their differences are mainly found in the music and topolect; the stories are often shared and borrowed.[6] With few exceptions (such as revolutionary operas and to some extent Shanghai operas) the vast majority of Chinese operas (including Taiwanese operas) are set in China before the 17th century, whether they are traditional or newly written.

For centuries Chinese opera was the main form of entertainment for both urban and rural residents in China as well as the Chinese diaspora. Its popularity declined sharply in the second half of the 20th century as a result of both political and market factors. Language policies discouraging topolects in Taiwan and Singapore, official hostility against rural religious festivals in China, and de-Sinicization in Taiwan have all been blamed for the decline of various forms in different times, but overall the two major culprits were Cultural Revolution — which saw traditional culture systematically erased, innumerable theatre professionals viciously persecuted, and younger generation raised with far lesser exposure to Chinese opera – and modernization, with its immense social impact and imported values that Chinese opera has largely failed to counter.[7] The total number of regional genres was determined to be more than 350 in 1957,[8] but in the 21st century the Chinese government could only identify 162 forms for its intangible cultural heritage list, with many of them in immediate danger of disappearing.[9] For young people, Chinese opera is no longer part of the everyday popular music culture, but it remains an attraction for many older people who find in it, among other things, a national or regional identity.

History

Six dynasties to Tang

An early form of Chinese drama is the Canjun Opera (參軍戲, or Adjutant Play) which originated from the Later Zhao Dynasty (319–351).[10][11][12] In its early form, it was a simple comic drama involving only two performers, where a corrupt officer, Canjun or the adjutant, was ridiculed by a jester named Grey Hawk (蒼鶻).[10] The characters in Canjun Opera are thought to be the forerunners of the fixed role categories of later Chinese opera, particularly of its comic chou (丑) characters.[13]

Various song and dance dramas developed during the Six Dynasties period. During the Northern Qi Dynasty, a masked dance called the Big Face (大面, which can mean "mask", alternatively daimian 代面, and it was also called The King of Lanling, 蘭陵王), was created in honour of Gao Changgong who went into battle wearing a mask.[14][15] Another was called Botou (撥頭, also 缽頭), a masked dance drama from the Western Regions that tells the story of a grieving son who sought a tiger that killed his father.[16] In The Dancing Singing Woman (踏謡娘), which relates the story of a wife battered by her drunken husband, the song and dance drama was initially performed by a man dressed as a woman.[15][17] The stories told of in these song-and-dance dramas are simple, but they are thought to be the earliest pieces of musical theatre in China, and the precursors to the more sophisticated later forms of Chinese opera.[15][18]

These forms of early drama were popular in the Tang dynasty where they further developed. For example, by the end of the Tang Dynasty the Canjun Opera had evolved into a performance with more complex plot and dramatic twists, and it involved at least four performers.[19] The early form of Chinese theatre became more organized in the Tang dynasty with Emperor Xuanzong (712–755), who founded the "Pear Garden" (梨园/梨園; líyuán), the first academy of music to train musicians, dancers and actors.[20] The performers formed what may be considered the first known opera troupe in China, and they performed mostly for the emperors' personal pleasure. To this day operatic professionals are still referred to as "Disciples of the Pear Garden" (梨园弟子 / 梨園弟子, líyuán dìzi).[21]

 
12th century painting by Su Hanchen; a girl waves a peacock feather banner like the one used in Song dynasty dramatical theater to signal an acting leader of troops

Song to Qing

By the Song Dynasty, Canjun Opera had become a performance that involved singing and dancing, and led to the development of Zaju (雜劇). Forms such as the Zaju and Nanxi (南戏) further matured in the Song dynasty (960–1279) and Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). Acts based on rhyming schemes and innovations such as specialized roles like Dan (旦, dàn, female), Sheng (生, shēng, male), Hua (花, huā, painted-face) and Chou (丑, chŏu, clown) were introduced into the opera. Although actors in theatrical performances of the Song Dynasty strictly adhered to speaking in Classical Chinese onstage, during the Yuan Dynasty actors speaking or performing lyrics in the vernacular tongue became popular on stage.[22]

In the Yuan poetic drama, only one person sang for all of the four acts, but in the poetic dramas that developed from Nanxi during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), all the characters were able to sing and perform. A playwright Gao Ming late in the Yuan dynasty wrote an opera called Tale of the Pipa which became highly popular, and became a model for Ming dynasty drama as it was the favorite opera of the first Ming emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.[23][24] The presentation at this point resembled the Chinese opera of today, except that the librettos were then very long.[4] The operatic artists were required to be skilled in many fields; according to Recollections of Tao An (陶庵夢憶) by Zhang Dai, performers had to learn how to play various musical instruments, singing and dancing before they were taught acting.[25]

The dominant form of the Ming and early Qing dynasties was Kunqu, which originated in the Wu cultural area. A famous work in Kunqu is The Peony Pavilion by Tang Xianzu. Kunqu later evolved into a longer form of play called chuanqi, which became one of the five melodies that made up Sichuan opera.[26] Currently Chinese operas continue to exist in 368 different forms, the best known being Beijing opera, which assumed its present form in the mid-19th century and was extremely popular in the latter part of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911).

 
Theatre play, Prosperous Suzhou by Xu Yang, 1759

In Beijing opera, traditional Chinese string and percussion instruments provide a strong rhythmic accompaniment to the acting. The acting is based on allusion: gestures, footwork, and other body movements express such actions as riding a horse, rowing a boat, or opening a door. Spoken dialogue is divided into recitative and Beijing colloquial speech, the former employed by serious characters and the latter by young females and clowns. Character roles are strictly defined, and each character have their own elaborate make-up design. The traditional repertoire of Beijing opera includes more than 1,000 works, mostly taken from historical novels about political and military struggles.

1912–1949

At the turn of the 20th century, Chinese students returning from abroad began to experiment with Western plays. Following the May Fourth Movement of 1919, a number of Western plays were staged in China, and Chinese playwrights began to imitate this form. The most notable of the new-style playwrights was Cao Yu (b. 1910). His major works—Thunderstorm, Sunrise, Wilderness, and Peking Man—written between 1934 and 1940, have been widely read in China.

The Republican Era saw the rise of Yue opera and all female Yue Opera troupes in Shanghai and Zhejiang. A woman-centric form, with all female casts and majority female audience members, plots were often love stories. Its rise was related to the changing place of women in society.   

In the 1930s, theatrical productions performed by traveling Red Army cultural troupes in Communist-controlled areas were consciously used to promote party goals and political philosophy. By the 1940s, theater was well established in the Communist-controlled areas.

1949–1985

 
Sichuan opera in Chengdu

In the early years of the People's Republic of China, development of Peking opera was encouraged; many new operas on historical and modern themes were written, and earlier operas continued to be performed. As a popular art form, opera has usually been the first of the arts to reflect changes in Chinese policy. In the mid-1950s, for example, it was the first to benefit under the Hundred Flowers Campaign, such as the birth of Jilin opera.

In 1954 there were approximately 2000 government-sponsored opera troupes working throughout China each consisting of 50-100 professional performers.[27] Despite its popularity, Peking opera made up a small percentage of these troupes. After the Chinese Communist Revolution a new genre emerged known as Schinggo opera which encompassed the revolutionary energy of the current sociopolitical climate. This operatic style built its foundation from the folk traditions of the rural community while also becoming influenced by European music.[27]

Opera may be used as commentaries on political affairs, and in November 1965, the attack on Beijing deputy mayor Wu Han and his historical play Hai Rui Dismissed from Office as anti-Mao, signaled the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. During the Cultural Revolution, most opera troupes were disbanded, performers and scriptwriters were persecuted, and all operas were banned except the eight "model operas" that had been sanctioned by Jiang Qing and her associates. Western-style plays were condemned as "dead drama" and "poisonous weeds", and were not performed. After the fall of the Gang of Four in 1976, Beijing Opera enjoyed a revival and continued to be a very popular form of entertainment, both on stage and television.

Present

In the 21st century, Chinese opera is seldom publicly staged except in formal Chinese opera houses. It may also be presented during the lunar seventh month Chinese Ghost Festival in Asia as a form of entertainment to the spirits and audience. More than thirty famous pieces of Kunqu opera continue to be performed today, including The Peony Pavilion, The Peach Blossom Fan, and adaptions of Journey to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

In 2001, Kunqu was recognized as Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO)

Costumes and make-ups

 
Costume and makeup in the opera Farewell My Concubine
 
Costume and makeup of a sheng character

Face paint plays a significant role in portraying the internal complexities of the performer's character with hundreds of combinations of colours and patterns.[27] Below are some general meanings which may be further focused on extremely specific details depending on the facial location of the colour.[28]

  • Red - bravery, fidelity, loyalty, chaste
  • Black - impatient, straightforward, vulgar, rude
  • White - cunning, treachery, villainous, traitorous
  • Blue - ferocity, courage, uncontrollable, cruel, violent
  • Yellow - clever, secretive, mysterious, evil
  • Purple - loyalty, filial piety, age
  • Green - evil spirits, brave, purposeful
  • Gold and silver - gods, supernatural (monsters, spirits, demons) [27][28]

Musical Characteristics

The musical components of Chinese opera are created as an inseparable entity from voice and dance/movement. Both the musicians and the actors contribute to composing musical accompaniment. This collaborative process is reflected within the production by the immaculate synchronicity between the actors' movements and the sounds of the orchestra. The musicians are required to flawlessly support the actors with sound, often waiting for vocal cues or physical signals such as the stomp of a foot. Traditionally, musicians often performed from memory - a feat made even more impressive considering pieces or sections of compositions were subject to infinite variations and often repeated.[27]

The orchestra utilized a pentatonic scale until a 7-note scale was introduced by Mongolia during the Yuan Dynasty. The two extra notes functioned similarly to accidentals within western notation.[27]

Instruments

The instruments in the orchestra were divided into two categories:

  • wen - string and wind instruments: characterized as clear, soft, or gentle and typically used during vocal pieces.[27]
  • wu - percussive instruments: led dancing and movement, kettle drum "conducts" the whole orchestra, gongs signal audience to sit, appearance of female lead, anger, and fighting.[27]

String Instruments

Traditional Chinese string instruments used in Chinese Opera include:

Percussion Instruments

Traditional Chinese percussion instruments used in Chinese Opera include:

Woodwind Instruments

Traditional Chinese woodwind instruments used in Chinese Opera include:

Regional genres

English name Chinese name(s) Major geographical areas
Peking opera Jingju (京劇) Cities nationwide on mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan
Kunqu Kunqu (崑曲) or Kunju (崑劇) Cities nationwide on mainland, Taiwan
Nuo opera Nuoxi (傩戲) Certain rural areas in Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Anhui, Shanxi, Hebei
Northeast China
Longjiang opera Longjiangju (龍江劇) Heilongjiang
Jilin opera Jiju (吉劇) Jilin
Laba opera Labaxi (喇叭戲) Haicheng (central Liaoning)
North China
Ping opera Pingju (評劇) Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning
Hebei bangzi Hebei bangzi (河北梆子) Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, northwestern Shandong
Laodiao Laodiao (老調) Central Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin
Hahaqiang Hahaqiang (哈哈腔) Central Hebei, northwestern Shandong
Sixian Sixian (絲弦) Hebei, Shanxi
Sai opera Saixi (賽戲) Southern Hebei, northern Shanxi
Siguxian Siguxian (四股弦) Southern Hebei
Xidiao Xidiao (西調) Handan (southern Hebei)
Pingdiao Pingdiao (平調) Wu'an (southern Hebei)
Xilu Bangzi Xilu Bangzi (西路梆子) Haixing County (southeastern Hebei)
Shanxi opera Jinju (晉劇) Shanxi, western Hebei, central Inner Mongolia, northern Shaanxi
Yangge opera Yanggexi (秧歌戲) Shanxi, Hebei, Shaanxi
Daoqing opera Daoqingxi (道情戲)
Errentai Errentai (二人臺) Northern Shaanxi, northwestern Shanxi, northwestern Hebei, central Inner Mongolia
Xianqiang Xianqiang (線腔) Southernmost Shanxi, westernmost Henan, eastern Shaanxi
Pu opera Puju (蒲劇) or Puzhou Bangzi (蒲州梆子) Shanxi
Northwest China
Qinqiang Qinqiang (秦腔) Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Xinjiang
Tiao opera Tiaoxi (跳戲) Heyang County (central Shaanxi)
Guangguang opera Guangguangxi (桄桄戲) Hanzhong (southwestern Shaanxi)
Xiaoqu opera Xiaoquxi (小曲戲) Gansu
Quzi opera Quzixi (曲子戲) Northern Gansu, Xinjiang
Gaoshan opera Gaoshanxi (高山戲) Longnan (southern Gansu)
Henan and Shandong
Henan opera Yuju (豫劇) Henan, southern Hebei, Taiwan
Qu opera Quju (曲劇) Henan
Yuediao Yuediao (越調) Henan, northern Hubei
Wuyin opera Wuyinxi (五音戲) Central Shandong
Lü opera Lüju (呂劇) Southwestern Shandong
Maoqiang Maoqiang (茂腔) Jiaozhou Bay (eastern Shandong)
Anhui and Jiangsu
Huangmei opera Huangmeixi (黃梅戲) Anhui, eastern Hubei, Taiwan
Sizhou opera Sizhouxi (泗州戲) Northeastern Anhui, northwestern Jiangsu
Lu opera Luju (廬劇) Central Anhui
Hui opera Huiju (徽劇) Southern Anhui, northeastern Jiangxi
Huaihai opera Huaihaixi (淮海戲) Northern Jiangsu
Yangzhou opera Yangju (揚劇) Yangzhou (central Jiangsu)
Huai opera Huaiju (淮劇) Central Jiangsu
Wuxi opera Xiju (錫劇) Wuxi and Changzhou (southern Jiangsu)
Suzhou opera Suju (蘇劇) Suzhou (southern Jiangsu)
Tongzi opera Tongzixi (童子戲) Nantong (southeastern Jiangsu)
Zhejiang and Shanghai
Yue opera Yueju (越劇) Zhejiang, Shanghai, southern Jiangsu, northern Fujian
Shanghai opera Huju (滬劇) Shanghai
Huzhou opera Huju (湖劇) Huzhou (northern Zhejiang)
Shao opera Shaoju (紹劇) Shaoxing (northern Zhejiang)
Yao opera Yaoju (姚劇) Yuyao (northern Zhejiang)
Ningbo opera Yongju (甬劇) Ningbo (northern Zhejiang)
Wu opera Wuju (婺劇) Western Zhejiang
Xinggan opera Xingganxi (醒感戲) Yongkang (central Zhejiang)
Ou opera Ouju (甌劇) Wenzhou (southern Zhejiang)
Fujian and Taiwan
Min opera Minju (閩劇) Fujian, Taiwan (particularly Matsu Islands), Southeast Asia
Beilu opera Beiluxi (北路戲) Shouning County (northeastern Fujian)
Pingjiang opera Pingjiangxi (平講戲) Ningde (northeastern Fujian)
Sanjiao opera Sanjiaoxi (三角戲) Northern Fujian, western Zhejiang, northeastern Jiangxi
Meilin opera Meilinxi (梅林戲) Northwestern Fujian
Puxian opera Puxianxi (莆仙戲) Putian (coastal central Fujian)
Liyuan opera Liyuanxi (梨園戲) Quanzhou (southern Fujian), Taiwan, Southeast Asia
Gaojia opera Gaojiaxi (高甲戲) Quanzhou (southern Fujian), Taiwan, Southeast Asia
Dacheng opera Dachengxi (打城戲) Quanzhou (southern Fujian)
Taiwanese opera Gezaixi (歌仔戲) Taiwan, southern Fujian, Southeast Asia
Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi
Flower-drum opera Huaguxi (花鼓戲) Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, southeastern Henan
Han opera Hanju (漢劇) Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Taiwan
Chu opera Chuju (楚劇) Eastern Hubei
Jinghe opera Jinghexi (荊河戲) Southern Hubei, northern Hunan
Baling opera Balingxi (巴陵戲) Yueyang (northeastern Hunan)
Jiangxi opera Ganju (贛劇) Jiangxi
Yaya opera Yayaxi (丫丫戲) Yongxiu County (northern Jiangxi)
Meng opera Mengxi (孟戲) Guangchang County (eastern central Jiangxi)
Donghe opera Donghexi (東河戲) Ganzhou (southern Jiangxi)
Tea-picking opera Caichaxi (採茶戲) Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi, Hubei, Guangdong, Taiwan
Southwest China
Sichuan opera Chuanju (川劇) Sichuan, Chongqing
Yang opera Yangxi (陽戲) Northwestern Hunan, eastern Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou
Deng opera Dengxi (燈戲) Northeastern Sichuan, Chongqing, southwestern Hubei
Huadeng opera Huadengxi (花燈戲) Guizhou, Yunnan
Guizhou opera Qianju (黔劇) Guizhou
Yunnan opera Dianju (滇劇) Yunnan
Guansuo opera Guansuoxi (關索戲) Chengjiang County (central Yunnan)
South China
Cantonese opera Yueju (粵劇) Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau, southern Guangxi, North America, Southeast Asia
Teochew opera Chaoju (潮劇) Eastern Guangdong, southernmost Fujian, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia
Zhengzi opera Zhengzixi (正字戲) Lufeng (eastern Guangdong)
Hakka opera Hanju (漢劇) Eastern Guangdong
Leizhou opera Leiju (雷劇) Leizhou Peninsula (southwestern Guangdong)
Hainan opera Qiongju (瓊劇) Hainan, Singapore
Zhai opera Zhaixi (齋戲) Haikou (northern Hainan)
Caidiao Caidiao (彩調) Guangxi
Guangxi opera Guiju (桂劇) Northern Guangxi
Nanning opera Yongju (邕劇) Nanning (southern Guangxi)

Gallery

In popular culture

An update in January 2022 for the game Genshin Impact includes a story quest that features a musical number from the character Yun Jin that is in the style of Chinese opera, which went viral as it was the first time many people around the world have heard Chinese opera. Even Yang Yang, the Chinese voice of Yun Jin, was surprised about it.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Fan, Xing (2018). "Visual Communication through Design". Staging Revolution: Artistry and Aesthetics in Model Beijing Opera during the Cultural Revolution. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 196–217. doi:10.5790/hongkong/9789888455812.003.0009. ISBN 978-988-8455-81-2. JSTOR j.ctt22p7jf7.14.
  2. ^ Pang, Cecilia J. (2005). "(Re)cycling Culture: Chinese Opera in the United States". Comparative Drama. 39 (3/4): 361–396. doi:10.1353/cdr.2005.0015. JSTOR 41154288.
  3. ^ Wichmann, Elizabeth (1990). "Tradition and Innovation in Contemporary Beijing Opera Performance". TDR. 34 (1): 146–178. doi:10.2307/1146013. JSTOR 1146013.
  4. ^ a b Wang Kefen (1985). The History of Chinese Dance. China Books & Periodicals. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-8351-1186-7.
  5. ^ Mackerras, Colin (Spring 1994). "Peking Opera before the Twentieth Century". Comparative Drama. 28 (1): 19–42. doi:10.1353/cdr.1994.0001. JSTOR 41153679.
  6. ^ Siu, Wang-Ngai; Lovrick, Peter (1997). Chinese Opera: Images and Stories. UBC Press. ISBN 0-7748-0592-7.
  7. ^ Ma, Haili (2012). "Yueju – The Formation of a Legitimate Culture in Contemporary Shanghai". Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research. 4: 213–227. doi:10.3384/cu.2000.1525.124213.
  8. ^ Iovene, Paola (2010). "Chinese Operas on Stage and Screen: A Short Introduction". The Opera Quarterly. 26 (2–3): 181–199. doi:10.1093/oq/kbq028. S2CID 191471378.
  9. ^ "将优秀戏曲纳入"国家典藏"". Guangming Daily (in Chinese). May 9, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Tan Ye (2008). Historical Dictionary of Chinese Theater. Scarecrow Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0810855144.
  11. ^ "唐代參軍戲". 中國文化研究院.
  12. ^ . Archived from the original on February 24, 2007.
  13. ^ . Asian Traditional Theatre and Dance. Archived from the original on August 23, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  14. ^ Laurence Picken, ed. (1985). Music from the Tang Court: Volume 5. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–12. ISBN 978-0521347761.
  15. ^ a b c Faye Chunfang Fei, ed. (2002). Chinese Theories of Theater and Performance from Confucius to the Present. University of Michigan Press. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-0472089239.
  16. ^ Tan Ye (2008). Historical Dictionary of Chinese Theater. Scarecrow Press. p. 336. ISBN 9781461659211.
  17. ^ . China Culture Information Net. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013.
  18. ^ . Asian Traditional Theatre and Dance. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  19. ^ Jin Fu (2012). Chinese Theatre (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0521186667.
  20. ^ Tan Ye (2008). Historical Dictionary of Chinese Theater. Scarecrow Press. p. 223. ISBN 978-0810855144.
  21. ^ "Chinese Opera". onlinechinatours.com. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  22. ^ Rossabi, 162.
  23. ^ Faye Chunfang Fei, ed. (2002). Chinese Theories of Theater and Performance from Confucius to the Present. University of Michigan Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0472089239.
  24. ^ Jin Fu (2012). Chinese Theatre (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 447. ISBN 978-0521186667.
  25. ^ "陶庵夢憶/卷02 《朱雲崍女戲》".
  26. ^ . 中国剧种大观 CCNT. Archived from the original on April 30, 2001.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h Hsu, Dolores Menstell (1964). "Musical Elements of Chinese Opera". The Musical Quarterly. 50 (4): 439–451. doi:10.1093/mq/L.4.439. JSTOR 740955.
  28. ^ a b Liang, David Ming-Yüeh (1980). "The Artistic Symbolism of the Painted Faces in Chinese Opera: An Introduction". The World of Music. 22 (1): 72–88. JSTOR 43560653.

References

  • Rossabi, Morris (1988). Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-05913-1.

Further reading

External links

  • "Traveling with the Jinju", a Deutsche Welle documentary depicting a 21st-century touring Jinju (晋剧) Shanxi Opera troupe

chinese, opera, this, article, about, traditional, chinese, music, theatre, contemporary, opera, form, based, western, opera, chinese, contemporary, classical, opera, traditional, traditional, chinese, 戲曲, simplified, chinese, 戏曲, pinyin, xìqǔ, jyutping, hei3,. This article is about the traditional Chinese music theatre For the contemporary opera form based on western opera see Chinese contemporary classical opera Traditional Chinese opera traditional Chinese 戲曲 simplified Chinese 戏曲 pinyin xiqǔ Jyutping hei3 kuk1 or Xiqu is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China and evolved gradually over more than a thousand years reaching its mature form in the 13th century during the Song dynasty 960 1279 Early forms of Chinese theater are simple but over time various art forms such as music song and dance martial arts acrobatics costume and make up art as well as literary art forms were incorporated to form traditional Chinese opera Performers had to practice for many years to gain an understanding of the roles Exaggerated features and colors made it easier for the audience to identify the roles portrayed 1 2 3 4 A Shao opera performance in Shanghai China 2014 This photo shows an acrobatic performer s somersault Chinese operaTraditional Chinese戲曲Simplified Chinese戏曲TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinxiqǔWade Gileshsi4 ch u3IPA ɕi tɕʰy Yue CantoneseYale RomanizationheikukJyutpinghei3 kuk1IPA he i kʰo k Southern MinTai lohi khekThere are over a hundred regional branches of traditional Chinese opera today In the 20th century the Peking opera emerged in popularity and has come to known as the national theatre of China 5 but other genres like Yue opera Cantonese opera Yu opera kunqu qinqiang Huangmei opera pingju and Sichuan opera are also performed regularly before dedicated fans Their differences are mainly found in the music and topolect the stories are often shared and borrowed 6 With few exceptions such as revolutionary operas and to some extent Shanghai operas the vast majority of Chinese operas including Taiwanese operas are set in China before the 17th century whether they are traditional or newly written For centuries Chinese opera was the main form of entertainment for both urban and rural residents in China as well as the Chinese diaspora Its popularity declined sharply in the second half of the 20th century as a result of both political and market factors Language policies discouraging topolects in Taiwan and Singapore official hostility against rural religious festivals in China and de Sinicization in Taiwan have all been blamed for the decline of various forms in different times but overall the two major culprits were Cultural Revolution which saw traditional culture systematically erased innumerable theatre professionals viciously persecuted and younger generation raised with far lesser exposure to Chinese opera and modernization with its immense social impact and imported values that Chinese opera has largely failed to counter 7 The total number of regional genres was determined to be more than 350 in 1957 8 but in the 21st century the Chinese government could only identify 162 forms for its intangible cultural heritage list with many of them in immediate danger of disappearing 9 For young people Chinese opera is no longer part of the everyday popular music culture but it remains an attraction for many older people who find in it among other things a national or regional identity Contents 1 History 1 1 Six dynasties to Tang 1 2 Song to Qing 1 3 1912 1949 1 4 1949 1985 1 5 Present 2 Costumes and make ups 3 Musical Characteristics 3 1 Instruments 3 1 1 String Instruments 3 1 2 Percussion Instruments 3 1 3 Woodwind Instruments 4 Regional genres 5 Gallery 6 In popular culture 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External linksHistory EditSix dynasties to Tang Edit An early form of Chinese drama is the Canjun Opera 參軍戲 or Adjutant Play which originated from the Later Zhao Dynasty 319 351 10 11 12 In its early form it was a simple comic drama involving only two performers where a corrupt officer Canjun or the adjutant was ridiculed by a jester named Grey Hawk 蒼鶻 10 The characters in Canjun Opera are thought to be the forerunners of the fixed role categories of later Chinese opera particularly of its comic chou 丑 characters 13 Various song and dance dramas developed during the Six Dynasties period During the Northern Qi Dynasty a masked dance called the Big Face 大面 which can mean mask alternatively daimian 代面 and it was also called The King of Lanling 蘭陵王 was created in honour of Gao Changgong who went into battle wearing a mask 14 15 Another was called Botou 撥頭 also 缽頭 a masked dance drama from the Western Regions that tells the story of a grieving son who sought a tiger that killed his father 16 In The Dancing Singing Woman 踏謡娘 which relates the story of a wife battered by her drunken husband the song and dance drama was initially performed by a man dressed as a woman 15 17 The stories told of in these song and dance dramas are simple but they are thought to be the earliest pieces of musical theatre in China and the precursors to the more sophisticated later forms of Chinese opera 15 18 These forms of early drama were popular in the Tang dynasty where they further developed For example by the end of the Tang Dynasty the Canjun Opera had evolved into a performance with more complex plot and dramatic twists and it involved at least four performers 19 The early form of Chinese theatre became more organized in the Tang dynasty with Emperor Xuanzong 712 755 who founded the Pear Garden 梨园 梨園 liyuan the first academy of music to train musicians dancers and actors 20 The performers formed what may be considered the first known opera troupe in China and they performed mostly for the emperors personal pleasure To this day operatic professionals are still referred to as Disciples of the Pear Garden 梨园弟子 梨園弟子 liyuan dizi 21 12th century painting by Su Hanchen a girl waves a peacock feather banner like the one used in Song dynasty dramatical theater to signal an acting leader of troops Song to Qing Edit By the Song Dynasty Canjun Opera had become a performance that involved singing and dancing and led to the development of Zaju 雜劇 Forms such as the Zaju and Nanxi 南戏 further matured in the Song dynasty 960 1279 and Yuan dynasty 1279 1368 Acts based on rhyming schemes and innovations such as specialized roles like Dan 旦 dan female Sheng 生 sheng male Hua 花 hua painted face and Chou 丑 chŏu clown were introduced into the opera Although actors in theatrical performances of the Song Dynasty strictly adhered to speaking in Classical Chinese onstage during the Yuan Dynasty actors speaking or performing lyrics in the vernacular tongue became popular on stage 22 In the Yuan poetic drama only one person sang for all of the four acts but in the poetic dramas that developed from Nanxi during the Ming dynasty 1368 1644 all the characters were able to sing and perform A playwright Gao Ming late in the Yuan dynasty wrote an opera called Tale of the Pipa which became highly popular and became a model for Ming dynasty drama as it was the favorite opera of the first Ming emperor Zhu Yuanzhang 23 24 The presentation at this point resembled the Chinese opera of today except that the librettos were then very long 4 The operatic artists were required to be skilled in many fields according to Recollections of Tao An 陶庵夢憶 by Zhang Dai performers had to learn how to play various musical instruments singing and dancing before they were taught acting 25 The dominant form of the Ming and early Qing dynasties was Kunqu which originated in the Wu cultural area A famous work in Kunqu is The Peony Pavilion by Tang Xianzu Kunqu later evolved into a longer form of play called chuanqi which became one of the five melodies that made up Sichuan opera 26 Currently Chinese operas continue to exist in 368 different forms the best known being Beijing opera which assumed its present form in the mid 19th century and was extremely popular in the latter part of the Qing dynasty 1644 1911 Theatre play Prosperous Suzhou by Xu Yang 1759 In Beijing opera traditional Chinese string and percussion instruments provide a strong rhythmic accompaniment to the acting The acting is based on allusion gestures footwork and other body movements express such actions as riding a horse rowing a boat or opening a door Spoken dialogue is divided into recitative and Beijing colloquial speech the former employed by serious characters and the latter by young females and clowns Character roles are strictly defined and each character have their own elaborate make up design The traditional repertoire of Beijing opera includes more than 1 000 works mostly taken from historical novels about political and military struggles 1912 1949 Edit At the turn of the 20th century Chinese students returning from abroad began to experiment with Western plays Following the May Fourth Movement of 1919 a number of Western plays were staged in China and Chinese playwrights began to imitate this form The most notable of the new style playwrights was Cao Yu b 1910 His major works Thunderstorm Sunrise Wilderness and Peking Man written between 1934 and 1940 have been widely read in China The Republican Era saw the rise of Yue opera and all female Yue Opera troupes in Shanghai and Zhejiang A woman centric form with all female casts and majority female audience members plots were often love stories Its rise was related to the changing place of women in society In the 1930s theatrical productions performed by traveling Red Army cultural troupes in Communist controlled areas were consciously used to promote party goals and political philosophy By the 1940s theater was well established in the Communist controlled areas 1949 1985 Edit Sichuan opera in Chengdu In the early years of the People s Republic of China development of Peking opera was encouraged many new operas on historical and modern themes were written and earlier operas continued to be performed As a popular art form opera has usually been the first of the arts to reflect changes in Chinese policy In the mid 1950s for example it was the first to benefit under the Hundred Flowers Campaign such as the birth of Jilin opera In 1954 there were approximately 2000 government sponsored opera troupes working throughout China each consisting of 50 100 professional performers 27 Despite its popularity Peking opera made up a small percentage of these troupes After the Chinese Communist Revolution a new genre emerged known as Schinggo opera which encompassed the revolutionary energy of the current sociopolitical climate This operatic style built its foundation from the folk traditions of the rural community while also becoming influenced by European music 27 Opera may be used as commentaries on political affairs and in November 1965 the attack on Beijing deputy mayor Wu Han and his historical play Hai Rui Dismissed from Office as anti Mao signaled the beginning of the Cultural Revolution During the Cultural Revolution most opera troupes were disbanded performers and scriptwriters were persecuted and all operas were banned except the eight model operas that had been sanctioned by Jiang Qing and her associates Western style plays were condemned as dead drama and poisonous weeds and were not performed After the fall of the Gang of Four in 1976 Beijing Opera enjoyed a revival and continued to be a very popular form of entertainment both on stage and television Present Edit In the 21st century Chinese opera is seldom publicly staged except in formal Chinese opera houses It may also be presented during the lunar seventh month Chinese Ghost Festival in Asia as a form of entertainment to the spirits and audience More than thirty famous pieces of Kunqu opera continue to be performed today including The Peony Pavilion The Peach Blossom Fan and adaptions of Journey to the West Romance of the Three Kingdoms In 2001 Kunqu was recognized as Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by United Nations Educational Cultural and Scientific Organization UNESCO Costumes and make ups Edit Costume and makeup in the opera Farewell My Concubine Costume and makeup of a sheng characterThis article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Chinese opera news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Face paint plays a significant role in portraying the internal complexities of the performer s character with hundreds of combinations of colours and patterns 27 Below are some general meanings which may be further focused on extremely specific details depending on the facial location of the colour 28 Red bravery fidelity loyalty chaste Black impatient straightforward vulgar rude White cunning treachery villainous traitorous Blue ferocity courage uncontrollable cruel violent Yellow clever secretive mysterious evil Purple loyalty filial piety age Green evil spirits brave purposeful Gold and silver gods supernatural monsters spirits demons 27 28 Musical Characteristics EditThe musical components of Chinese opera are created as an inseparable entity from voice and dance movement Both the musicians and the actors contribute to composing musical accompaniment This collaborative process is reflected within the production by the immaculate synchronicity between the actors movements and the sounds of the orchestra The musicians are required to flawlessly support the actors with sound often waiting for vocal cues or physical signals such as the stomp of a foot Traditionally musicians often performed from memory a feat made even more impressive considering pieces or sections of compositions were subject to infinite variations and often repeated 27 The orchestra utilized a pentatonic scale until a 7 note scale was introduced by Mongolia during the Yuan Dynasty The two extra notes functioned similarly to accidentals within western notation 27 Instruments Edit The instruments in the orchestra were divided into two categories wen string and wind instruments characterized as clear soft or gentle and typically used during vocal pieces 27 wu percussive instruments led dancing and movement kettle drum conducts the whole orchestra gongs signal audience to sit appearance of female lead anger and fighting 27 String Instruments Edit Traditional Chinese string instruments used in Chinese Opera include Gaohu Erhu Pipa Sanxian Yangqin Yueqin Jinghu Jing erhu Banhu ErxianPercussion Instruments Edit Traditional Chinese percussion instruments used in Chinese Opera include Paiban Bo Bangu Daluo XiaoluoWoodwind Instruments Edit Traditional Chinese woodwind instruments used in Chinese Opera include Dizi Suona Sheng GuanRegional genres EditEnglish name Chinese name s Major geographical areasPeking opera Jingju 京劇 Cities nationwide on mainland Hong Kong TaiwanKunqu Kunqu 崑曲 or Kunju 崑劇 Cities nationwide on mainland TaiwanNuo opera Nuoxi 傩戲 Certain rural areas in Hunan Hubei Guizhou Jiangxi Guangxi Anhui Shanxi HebeiNortheast ChinaLongjiang opera Longjiangju 龍江劇 HeilongjiangJilin opera Jiju 吉劇 JilinLaba opera Labaxi 喇叭戲 Haicheng central Liaoning North ChinaPing opera Pingju 評劇 Hebei Beijing Tianjin Heilongjiang Jilin LiaoningHebei bangzi Hebei bangzi 河北梆子 Hebei Beijing Tianjin northwestern ShandongLaodiao Laodiao 老調 Central Hebei Beijing TianjinHahaqiang Hahaqiang 哈哈腔 Central Hebei northwestern ShandongSixian Sixian 絲弦 Hebei ShanxiSai opera Saixi 賽戲 Southern Hebei northern ShanxiSiguxian Siguxian 四股弦 Southern HebeiXidiao Xidiao 西調 Handan southern Hebei Pingdiao Pingdiao 平調 Wu an southern Hebei Xilu Bangzi Xilu Bangzi 西路梆子 Haixing County southeastern Hebei Shanxi opera Jinju 晉劇 Shanxi western Hebei central Inner Mongolia northern ShaanxiYangge opera Yanggexi 秧歌戲 Shanxi Hebei ShaanxiDaoqing opera Daoqingxi 道情戲 Errentai Errentai 二人臺 Northern Shaanxi northwestern Shanxi northwestern Hebei central Inner MongoliaXianqiang Xianqiang 線腔 Southernmost Shanxi westernmost Henan eastern ShaanxiPu opera Puju 蒲劇 or Puzhou Bangzi 蒲州梆子 ShanxiNorthwest ChinaQinqiang Qinqiang 秦腔 Shaanxi Gansu Ningxia XinjiangTiao opera Tiaoxi 跳戲 Heyang County central Shaanxi Guangguang opera Guangguangxi 桄桄戲 Hanzhong southwestern Shaanxi Xiaoqu opera Xiaoquxi 小曲戲 GansuQuzi opera Quzixi 曲子戲 Northern Gansu XinjiangGaoshan opera Gaoshanxi 高山戲 Longnan southern Gansu Henan and ShandongHenan opera Yuju 豫劇 Henan southern Hebei TaiwanQu opera Quju 曲劇 HenanYuediao Yuediao 越調 Henan northern HubeiWuyin opera Wuyinxi 五音戲 Central ShandongLu opera Luju 呂劇 Southwestern ShandongMaoqiang Maoqiang 茂腔 Jiaozhou Bay eastern Shandong Anhui and JiangsuHuangmei opera Huangmeixi 黃梅戲 Anhui eastern Hubei TaiwanSizhou opera Sizhouxi 泗州戲 Northeastern Anhui northwestern JiangsuLu opera Luju 廬劇 Central AnhuiHui opera Huiju 徽劇 Southern Anhui northeastern JiangxiHuaihai opera Huaihaixi 淮海戲 Northern JiangsuYangzhou opera Yangju 揚劇 Yangzhou central Jiangsu Huai opera Huaiju 淮劇 Central JiangsuWuxi opera Xiju 錫劇 Wuxi and Changzhou southern Jiangsu Suzhou opera Suju 蘇劇 Suzhou southern Jiangsu Tongzi opera Tongzixi 童子戲 Nantong southeastern Jiangsu Zhejiang and ShanghaiYue opera Yueju 越劇 Zhejiang Shanghai southern Jiangsu northern FujianShanghai opera Huju 滬劇 ShanghaiHuzhou opera Huju 湖劇 Huzhou northern Zhejiang Shao opera Shaoju 紹劇 Shaoxing northern Zhejiang Yao opera Yaoju 姚劇 Yuyao northern Zhejiang Ningbo opera Yongju 甬劇 Ningbo northern Zhejiang Wu opera Wuju 婺劇 Western ZhejiangXinggan opera Xingganxi 醒感戲 Yongkang central Zhejiang Ou opera Ouju 甌劇 Wenzhou southern Zhejiang Fujian and TaiwanMin opera Minju 閩劇 Fujian Taiwan particularly Matsu Islands Southeast AsiaBeilu opera Beiluxi 北路戲 Shouning County northeastern Fujian Pingjiang opera Pingjiangxi 平講戲 Ningde northeastern Fujian Sanjiao opera Sanjiaoxi 三角戲 Northern Fujian western Zhejiang northeastern JiangxiMeilin opera Meilinxi 梅林戲 Northwestern FujianPuxian opera Puxianxi 莆仙戲 Putian coastal central Fujian Liyuan opera Liyuanxi 梨園戲 Quanzhou southern Fujian Taiwan Southeast AsiaGaojia opera Gaojiaxi 高甲戲 Quanzhou southern Fujian Taiwan Southeast AsiaDacheng opera Dachengxi 打城戲 Quanzhou southern Fujian Taiwanese opera Gezaixi 歌仔戲 Taiwan southern Fujian Southeast AsiaHubei Hunan and JiangxiFlower drum opera Huaguxi 花鼓戲 Hubei Hunan Anhui southeastern HenanHan opera Hanju 漢劇 Hubei Hunan Shaanxi TaiwanChu opera Chuju 楚劇 Eastern HubeiJinghe opera Jinghexi 荊河戲 Southern Hubei northern HunanBaling opera Balingxi 巴陵戲 Yueyang northeastern Hunan Jiangxi opera Ganju 贛劇 JiangxiYaya opera Yayaxi 丫丫戲 Yongxiu County northern Jiangxi Meng opera Mengxi 孟戲 Guangchang County eastern central Jiangxi Donghe opera Donghexi 東河戲 Ganzhou southern Jiangxi Tea picking opera Caichaxi 採茶戲 Jiangxi Hunan Guangxi Hubei Guangdong TaiwanSouthwest ChinaSichuan opera Chuanju 川劇 Sichuan ChongqingYang opera Yangxi 陽戲 Northwestern Hunan eastern Sichuan Chongqing GuizhouDeng opera Dengxi 燈戲 Northeastern Sichuan Chongqing southwestern HubeiHuadeng opera Huadengxi 花燈戲 Guizhou YunnanGuizhou opera Qianju 黔劇 GuizhouYunnan opera Dianju 滇劇 YunnanGuansuo opera Guansuoxi 關索戲 Chengjiang County central Yunnan South ChinaCantonese opera Yueju 粵劇 Guangdong Hong Kong Macau southern Guangxi North America Southeast AsiaTeochew opera Chaoju 潮劇 Eastern Guangdong southernmost Fujian Hong Kong Southeast AsiaZhengzi opera Zhengzixi 正字戲 Lufeng eastern Guangdong Hakka opera Hanju 漢劇 Eastern GuangdongLeizhou opera Leiju 雷劇 Leizhou Peninsula southwestern Guangdong Hainan opera Qiongju 瓊劇 Hainan SingaporeZhai opera Zhaixi 齋戲 Haikou northern Hainan Caidiao Caidiao 彩調 GuangxiGuangxi opera Guiju 桂劇 Northern GuangxiNanning opera Yongju 邕劇 Nanning southern Guangxi Recognize mutually 相認 source A Cantonese opera song by two female singers Yam Kim Fai and Bak sheut sin Yam Kim Fai is actually using her trademark indistinguishable male voice behind the opera disguise Only traditional Chinese instruments are used Eighteen miles away 十八相送 source source A Huangmei opera song by Ivy Ling Po partnering with Jenny Tseng Problems playing these files See media help Gallery Edit Fire spitting from Sichuan opera A female opera performer The mask of Chinese opera A man is painting Chinese opera makeup Traditional Chinese Theater Water sleeve Classic Chinese opera look Wing Luke Museum Ping Chow s Chinese opera garment Chinese opera costumes Hong Kong Museum of History A Peking Opera actor Two Beijing Opera actresses Chinese drama In last century Romance of the Western Chamber Shaoxing opera Nuo Opera Mask Battle of Changban Peking Opera Havoc in Heaven Peking Opera Kunqu Mudanting Scene KunquIn popular culture EditAn update in January 2022 for the game Genshin Impact includes a story quest that features a musical number from the character Yun Jin that is in the style of Chinese opera which went viral as it was the first time many people around the world have heard Chinese opera Even Yang Yang the Chinese voice of Yun Jin was surprised about it See also EditChinese culture Chinese art C pop Chinese drama disambiguation Music of China Pear Garden Qu poetry Yuan poetry Zaju Revolutionary opera Chinese contemporary classical operaNotes Edit Fan Xing 2018 Visual Communication through Design Staging Revolution Artistry and Aesthetics in Model Beijing Opera during the Cultural Revolution Hong Kong University Press pp 196 217 doi 10 5790 hongkong 9789888455812 003 0009 ISBN 978 988 8455 81 2 JSTOR j ctt22p7jf7 14 Pang Cecilia J 2005 Re cycling Culture Chinese Opera in the United States Comparative Drama 39 3 4 361 396 doi 10 1353 cdr 2005 0015 JSTOR 41154288 Wichmann Elizabeth 1990 Tradition and Innovation in Contemporary Beijing Opera Performance TDR 34 1 146 178 doi 10 2307 1146013 JSTOR 1146013 a b Wang Kefen 1985 The History of Chinese Dance China Books amp Periodicals p 78 ISBN 978 0 8351 1186 7 Mackerras Colin Spring 1994 Peking Opera before the Twentieth Century Comparative Drama 28 1 19 42 doi 10 1353 cdr 1994 0001 JSTOR 41153679 Siu Wang Ngai Lovrick Peter 1997 Chinese Opera Images and Stories UBC Press ISBN 0 7748 0592 7 Ma Haili 2012 Yueju The Formation of a Legitimate Culture in Contemporary Shanghai Culture Unbound Journal of Current Cultural Research 4 213 227 doi 10 3384 cu 2000 1525 124213 Iovene Paola 2010 Chinese Operas on Stage and Screen A Short Introduction The Opera Quarterly 26 2 3 181 199 doi 10 1093 oq kbq028 S2CID 191471378 将优秀戏曲纳入 国家典藏 Guangming Daily in Chinese May 9 2017 a b Tan Ye 2008 Historical Dictionary of Chinese Theater Scarecrow Press p 3 ISBN 978 0810855144 唐代參軍戲 中國文化研究院 Sichuan Opera Archived from the original on February 24 2007 The Tang Dynasty 618 907 Asian Traditional Theatre and Dance Archived from the original on August 23 2014 Retrieved March 12 2014 Laurence Picken ed 1985 Music from the Tang Court Volume 5 Cambridge University Press pp 1 12 ISBN 978 0521347761 a b c Faye Chunfang Fei ed 2002 Chinese Theories of Theater and Performance from Confucius to the Present University of Michigan Press pp 28 29 ISBN 978 0472089239 Tan Ye 2008 Historical Dictionary of Chinese Theater Scarecrow Press p 336 ISBN 9781461659211 Theatre China Culture Information Net Archived from the original on December 25 2013 The Early History of Chinese Theatre Asian Traditional Theatre and Dance Archived from the original on October 21 2017 Retrieved March 11 2014 Jin Fu 2012 Chinese Theatre 3rd ed Cambridge University Press p 10 ISBN 978 0521186667 Tan Ye 2008 Historical Dictionary of Chinese Theater Scarecrow Press p 223 ISBN 978 0810855144 Chinese Opera onlinechinatours com Retrieved July 12 2011 Rossabi 162 Faye Chunfang Fei ed 2002 Chinese Theories of Theater and Performance from Confucius to the Present University of Michigan Press p 41 ISBN 978 0472089239 Jin Fu 2012 Chinese Theatre 3rd ed Cambridge University Press p 447 ISBN 978 0521186667 陶庵夢憶 卷02 朱雲崍女戲 川 剧styles 中国剧种大观 CCNT Archived from the original on April 30 2001 a b c d e f g h Hsu Dolores Menstell 1964 Musical Elements of Chinese Opera The Musical Quarterly 50 4 439 451 doi 10 1093 mq L 4 439 JSTOR 740955 a b Liang David Ming Yueh 1980 The Artistic Symbolism of the Painted Faces in Chinese Opera An Introduction The World of Music 22 1 72 88 JSTOR 43560653 References EditRossabi Morris 1988 Khubilai Khan His Life and Times Berkeley University of California Press ISBN 0 520 05913 1 Further reading Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chinese opera Shih Chung wen 1976 The Golden Age of Chinese Drama Yuan Tsa chu Princeton NJ Princeton University Press ISBN 0 691 06270 6 Riley Jo 1997 Chinese Theatre and the Actor in Performance Cambridge UK Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 57090 5 External links Edit Traveling with the Jinju a Deutsche Welle documentary depicting a 21st century touring Jinju 晋剧 Shanxi Opera troupe Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chinese opera amp oldid 1151756474, wikipedia, wiki, 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