Chinese opera
Encyclopedia
Chinese opera is a popular form of drama
and musical theatre
in China
with roots going back as far as the third century CE. There are numerous regional branches of Chinese opera, of which the Beijing opera
(Jingju) is one of the most notable.
Chinese masks are used in the opera and each colour has a different meaning.they are used to portray a characters roll and illustrate the characters emotional states and what they are like in the opera.
white= sinister, evil,crafty,treacherous and suspicious anyone wearing a white mask is usually the villain.
green= impulsive,violent,no self restraint or self control.
red= brave,loyal.
black= rough,fierce or someone who is impartial like a judge.
yellow= ambitious,fierce,cool headed.
blue= steadfast,someone who is loyal and sticks to one side no matter what.
period was one of the first Chinese operatic forms. Chinese opera in a more organized form began in the Tang Dynasty
with Emperor Xuanzong
(712–755), who founded the "Pear Garden
" (梨园/梨園; líyuán), the first known opera troupe in China. The troupe mostly performed 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).
(1279–1368), forms like the Zaju
(雜劇, zájù, variety plays), which acts based on rhyming schemes plus the innovation of having 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
(960–1279) strictly adhered to speaking in Classical Chinese
onstage, during the Yuan Dynasty actors speaking in the vernacular tongue
gained precedent on stage.
The dominant form of the Ming
(1368–1644) and early Qing
dynasties was Kunqu
, which originated in the Wu cultural area
. It later evolved into a longer form of play called chuanqi, which became one of the 5 melodies that made up Sichuan opera
. 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).
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. Elaborate make-up designs portray which character is acting. The traditional repertoire of Beijing opera includes more than 1,000 works, mostly taken from historical novels about political and military struggles.
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.
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.
In the early years of the People's Republic of China
, the development of Beijing 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
. Similarly, the attack in November 1965 on Beijing deputy mayor Wu Han
and his historical play, Hai Rui Dismissed from Office
, 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 in theaters and on television.
Following the Cultural Revolution, both older and new works reappeared. Revised and banned plays from China and abroad were reinstated in the national repertoire. Many of the new plays strained at the limits of creative freedom were alternately commended and condemned, depending on the political atmosphere. One of the most outspoken of the new breed of playwrights was Sha Yexin
. His controversial play "The Imposter" which dealt harshly with the favoritism and perquisites accorded party members, was first produced in 1979. In early 1980 the play was roundly criticized by Secretary General Hu Yaobang
- the first public intervention in the arts since the Cultural Revolution. In the campaign against bourgeois liberalism
in 1981 and the anti-spiritual pollution campaign in 1983, Sha and his works were again criticized. Through it all Sha continued to write for the stage and to defend himself and his works in the press. In late 1985 Sha Yexin was accepted into the Chinese Communist Party and appointed head of the Shanghai People's Art Theater, where he continued to produce controversial plays. Since then, he has again fallen into disfavour.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
and musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
with roots going back as far as the third century CE. There are numerous regional branches of Chinese opera, of which the Beijing opera
Beijing opera
Peking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court...
(Jingju) is one of the most notable.
History
Chinese masksChinese masks are used in the opera and each colour has a different meaning.they are used to portray a characters roll and illustrate the characters emotional states and what they are like in the opera.
white= sinister, evil,crafty,treacherous and suspicious anyone wearing a white mask is usually the villain.
green= impulsive,violent,no self restraint or self control.
red= brave,loyal.
black= rough,fierce or someone who is impartial like a judge.
yellow= ambitious,fierce,cool headed.
blue= steadfast,someone who is loyal and sticks to one side no matter what.
Dynastic periods
Canjun opera of the Three KingdomsThree Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
period was one of the first Chinese operatic forms. Chinese opera in a more organized form began in the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
with Emperor Xuanzong
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang , also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang , personal name Li Longji , known as Wu Longji from 690 to 705, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang Dynasty...
(712–755), who founded the "Pear Garden
Pear Garden
The Pear Garden or Lìyuán was the first known royal acting and musical academy in China. It was founded during the Tang Dynasty by Emperor Xuanzong...
" (梨园/梨園; líyuán), the first known opera troupe in China. The troupe mostly performed 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).
1279–1368
In the Yuan DynastyYuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
(1279–1368), forms like the Zaju
Zaju
Zaju was a form of Chinese drama or Chinese opera which provided entertainment through a synthesis of recitations of prose and poetry, dance, singing, and mime, with a certain emphasis on comedy...
(雜劇, zájù, variety plays), which acts based on rhyming schemes plus the innovation of having specialized roles like Dan
Dan (Chinese opera)
Dan is the general name for female roles in Chinese opera, often referring to leading roles. There are a few different kinds of dan in Chinese opera. The commonly seen ones are 'Guimen Dan', 'Hua Dan', 'Daoma Dan', 'Wu Dan', 'Lao Dan' and 'Cai Dan'...
(旦, dàn, female), Sheng (生, shēng, male), Hua
Hua
Hua or HUA may refer to:Hua* Huaxia, a name of China.** Hua itself may refer to the Chinese people or Chinese civilization.* Hua , a Chinese surname* Huá, Chinese etymology of 滑....
(花, huā, painted-face) and Chou (丑, chŏu, clown) were introduced into the opera. Although actors in theatrical performances of the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
(960–1279) strictly adhered to speaking in Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese...
onstage, during the Yuan Dynasty actors speaking in the vernacular tongue
Varieties of Chinese
Chinese comprises many regional language varieties sometimes grouped together as the Chinese dialects, the primary ones being Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, and Min. These are not mutually intelligible, and even many of the regional varieties are themselves composed of a number of...
gained precedent on stage.
The dominant form of the Ming
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
(1368–1644) and early Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
dynasties was Kunqu
Kunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
, which originated in the Wu cultural area
Wu (region)
Wu is a region in the Jiangnan area , surrounding Suzhou, in Jiangsu province and Zhejiang province of China. It is also the abbreviation of several kingdoms based in Wu. The two largest cities in the Wu region today are Shanghai and Hangzhou...
. It later evolved into a longer form of play called chuanqi, which became one of the 5 melodies that made up Sichuan opera
Sichuan opera
Sichuanese opera is a type of Chinese opera originating in China's Sichuan province around 1700. Today's Sichuan opera is a relatively recent synthesis of 5 historic melodic styles...
. Currently Chinese operas continue to exist in 368 different forms, the best known being Beijing opera
Beijing opera
Peking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court...
, which assumed its present form in the mid-19th century and was extremely popular in the latter part of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
(1644–1911).
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
colloquial speech, the former employed by serious characters and the latter by young females and clowns. Character roles are strictly defined. Elaborate make-up designs portray which character is acting. The traditional repertoire of Beijing opera includes more than 1,000 works, mostly taken from historical novels about political and military struggles.
1912 - 1949
In traditional Chinese theater, prior to Yuan Dynasty, no plays were performed in vernacular Chinese or without singing. Opera masks of all sorts of colors were used in many Chinese operas. At the turn of the 20th century, Chinese students returning from abroad began to experiment with Western plays. Following the May Fourth MovementMay Fourth Movement
The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, especially the Shandong Problem...
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
Cao Yu
Cao Yu , born as Wan Jiabao , was a renowned Chinese playwright, often regarded as China's most important of the 20th century. His most well-known works are Thunderstorm , Sunrise and Peking Man...
(b. 1910). His major works — Thunderstorm, Sunrise, Wilderness, and Peking Man — written between 1934 and 1940, have been widely read in China.
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
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, the development of Beijing opera
Beijing opera
Peking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court...
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
Hundred Flowers Campaign
The Hundred Flowers Campaign, also termed the Hundred Flowers Movement, refers mainly to a brief six weeks in the People's Republic of China in the early summer of 1957 during which the Communist Party of China encouraged a variety of views and solutions to national policy issues, launched...
, such as the birth of Jilin opera
Jilin opera
Jilin opera is a form of Chinese opera, especially popular in Jilin province, China. Compared to Kun opera or Beijing opera, it is played in modern Mandarin....
. Similarly, the attack in November 1965 on Beijing deputy mayor Wu Han
Wu Han (PRC)
Wu Han was one of the most important historians in the development of modern historical scholarship in China with his work in the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1940s he was a leading member of the Democratic League, a non-aligned Third Force. After 1949, he was Deputy-Mayor of Peking...
and his historical play, Hai Rui Dismissed from Office
Hai Rui Dismissed from Office
Hai Rui Dismissed from Office is a theatre play notable for its involvement in Chinese politics during the Cultural Revolution.Wu Han, who wrote the play, was a historian who focused on the Ming Dynasty. Wu Han wrote an article portraying Hai Rui, a Ming minister who was imprisoned for criticizing...
, signaled the beginning of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
. 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
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing was the pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong's last wife and major Communist Party of China power figure. She went by the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by various other names during her life...
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
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...
in 1976, Beijing Opera enjoyed a revival and continued to be a very popular form of entertainment both in theaters and on television.
Following the Cultural Revolution, both older and new works reappeared. Revised and banned plays from China and abroad were reinstated in the national repertoire. Many of the new plays strained at the limits of creative freedom were alternately commended and condemned, depending on the political atmosphere. One of the most outspoken of the new breed of playwrights was Sha Yexin
Sha Yexin
Sha Yexin, born 1939 in Nanjing, is a Chinese writer and political activist.-Political activism:Yexin became head of the Shanghai People's Art Theatre in 1985. He met with German chancellor Angela Merkel in 2007, regarding freedom of the press issues in China.-Literary career:He finished his first...
. His controversial play "The Imposter" which dealt harshly with the favoritism and perquisites accorded party members, was first produced in 1979. In early 1980 the play was roundly criticized by Secretary General Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang was a leader of the People's Republic of China who served as both Chairman and Party General Secretary. Hu joined the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s, and rose to prominence as a comrade of Deng Xiaoping...
- the first public intervention in the arts since the Cultural Revolution. In the campaign against bourgeois liberalism
Bourgeois liberalism
Bourgeois liberalism refers to either parliamentary democracy or Western popular culture. The foundations for bourgeois liberalism is that of Adam Smith's writing The Wealth of Nations, seen in 19th-century classical economic liberalism. The French term bourgeois' origins are that of 'middle...
in 1981 and the anti-spiritual pollution campaign in 1983, Sha and his works were again criticized. Through it all Sha continued to write for the stage and to defend himself and his works in the press. In late 1985 Sha Yexin was accepted into the Chinese Communist Party and appointed head of the Shanghai People's Art Theater, where he continued to produce controversial plays. Since then, he has again fallen into disfavour.
Present
Chinese opera is seldom publicly staged in the 21st century, except in formal Chinese opera houses, and during the lunar seventh month Chinese Ghost Festival in Asia as a form of entertainment to the spirits and audience.Varieties
Northern
- Beijing operaBeijing operaPeking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court...
京剧 - YuJu operaYuju OperaYuju Opera , former name Henan bangziMeans Henan wooden clappers with bars of unequal length , is one of China's famous national opera forms, right alongside Peking Opera and Pingju Opera. Henan Province is home to Yuju Opera.Henan's one-character abbreviation is "豫" ,so it was officially named...
豫剧 - QuJu opera 曲剧
- YueDiao opera 越调
- Errenzhuan/Bangzixi/Benbeng opera 二人转 (Northeast ChinaNortheast ChinaNortheast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
) - Hebei bangziHebei bangziHebei bangzi is a genre of Chinese opera from the northern province of Hebei. It may also be found in the nearby cities of Beijing and Tianjin, as well as in Shandong, Henan, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia, as well as some areas south of the Yangtze River such as Shanghai and...
河北梆子 (HebeiHebei' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
) - Jiju 吉剧 (JilinJilinJilin , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
) - LüjuLüjuLüju is a variety of Chinese opera from the eastern province of Shandong, China. It originated in the southwestern part of the province.There are several theories about how this form of opera got its name.-External links:*...
吕剧 (ShandongShandong' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
) - PingjuPingjuPingju is a form of local Chinese opera from northern China. It originated in Tangshan, Hebei, near the city of Tianjin.The term Píngjù was also formerly used to refer to Beijing opera.-External links:*...
评剧 (HebeiHebei' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
) - PujuPujuPuju is a variety of Chinese opera from southern Shanxi, China.It is a very old art form, and makes use of very wide linear intervals....
蒲剧 (ShanxiShanxi' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
) - Qinqiang/Qin dynasty operaQinqiangQinqiang or Luantan is the representative folk Chinese opera of the northwest Province of Shaanxi, China, where it was called Qin thousands of years ago. Its melodies were originated from the rural areas of ancient Shaanxi and Gansu...
秦腔 (ShaanxiShaanxi' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
) - Shandong bangzi (ShandongShandong' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
) - Shanxi bangzi (ShanxiShanxi' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
)
Southern
|
Ouju Ouju is a form of Chinese opera from Wenzhou, in southeastern Zhejiang, China. It is named for the Ou River.... (Wenzhou Wenzhou Wenzhou is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. The area under its jurisdiction, which includes two satellite cities and six counties, had a population of 9,122,100 as of 2010.... ) Putian Putian is a prefecture-level city in eastern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders Fuzhou City to the north, Quanzhou City to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east.-Administration:... ) Zhejiang Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital... ) Suzhou Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part... ) Taizhou, Zhejiang Taizhou is a prefecture-level city in middle eastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China... ) Taiwanese opera Taiwanese opera is the only form of Han traditional drama known to have originated in Taiwan. The language used is a stylized combination of both literary and colloquial registers of Taiwanese. Its earliest form adopted elements of folk songs from Zhangzhou, Fujian, China... Wuju Wuju is a form of Chinese opera from Jinhua, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, China. It is also performed in Lishui, Linhai, Jiande, Chun'an, Zhejiang, as well as in northeastern Jiangxi province, in cities such as Yushan, Shangrao, Guixi, Boyang, and Jingdezhen... (Jinhua) Ningbo Ningbo is a seaport city of northeastern Zhejiang province, Eastern China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,089,180 in the built up area made of 6 urban districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay,... ) Zhuji Zhuji is a city south of Hangzhou —the capital of Zhejiang Province— in the People's Republic of China. It has 2,311 square kilometers with a population of over one million inhabitants.... ) |
See also
- Culture of ChinaCulture of ChinaChinese culture is one of the world's oldest and most complex. The area in which the culture is dominant covers a large geographical region in eastern Asia with customs and traditions varying greatly between towns, cities and provinces...
- Music of ChinaMusic of ChinaChinese Music has been made since the dawn of Chinese civilization with documents and artifacts providing evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty...
- OperaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
- Pear GardenPear GardenThe Pear Garden or Lìyuán was the first known royal acting and musical academy in China. It was founded during the Tang Dynasty by Emperor Xuanzong...
- Qu (poetry)Qu (poetry)In Chinese literature, qu , or yuanqu consists of sanqu and zaju . Together with the various shi and fu forms of poetry, the ci, qu, and the other fixed-rhythm type of verse comprise the three main forms of Classical Chinese poetry.Yuanqu is a form of Chinese opera, which became popular in Yuan...
- Yuan poetryYuan poetryYuan poetry refers to those types or styles of poetry particularly associated with the era of the Yuan Dynasty , in China. Although the poetic forms of past literature were continued, the Yuan period is particularly known for the development of the poetic aspects included in the complex mix of...
Further reading
- Shih, Chung-wen (1976). The Golden Age of Chinese Drama: Yüan 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 PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
. ISBN 0-521-57090-5