Archive for category Folk Music&Dance
Roles in Peking Opera
Posted by sharon in Folk Music&Dance on August 12, 2010
Peking Opera is a comprehensive art form which combines music, singing, speaking, pantomime, acrobatics and martial arts. Regarded as the quintessence of China, it has been one of the cultural treasures in China since ancient times. According to the sex, age, social status, and profession, the roles in the opera are classified into four main types: Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou.
Sheng is the main male role in Peking Opera and is composed of Lao Sheng, Xiao Sheng and Wu Sheng. Among them, Lao Sheng, refers to the bearded middle-aged man with a mature character. Xiao Sheng represents a young man without a beard, usually a young scholar or lover role. Wu Sheng is a martial character that appears in battle scenes.
Dan is the female role in Peking Opera and consists of Zheng Dan, Hua Dan, Lao Dan, and Wu Dan. Zheng Dan, also called ‘Qingyi’, refers to the young lady of good quality and character, usually noblewoman. Hua Dan refers to the little girls. Lao Dan refers to the senior woman and Wu Dan is the female with martial skills, equivalent to the Wu Sheng.
Jing, also called “painted face”, is a male role. His voice is loud and clear, and the movements are exaggerated. The different colors on the faces represent different characteristics.
Red face – Loyalty and justice
Black face – Honest and brave
White face – Crafty
Yellow face – Brutal
Blue face – Bold and powerful
Chou, also called “small painted face”, is a male clown role. The role’s eyes and nose are covered with a white patch. And the Chou usually plays secondary role in Peking Opera.
The history of the four main role type can date back to the period of Tang Dynasty (618~907). They four formed their own characteristics during the period of Song and Yuan dynasties (960-1368). Later, these four roles reached their maturity in Qing Dynasty (1636~1911).
Peking Opera
Posted by sharon in Folk Music&Dance on July 4, 2010
Peking Opera is also known as the national opera of China. Regarded as the most influential and representative of all operas in China, it has a history of more than 200 years.
However, it did not origin in Beijing but in the provinces of Anhui and Hubei. It appeared after the 4 most famous opera troupes paid their visit to Beijing. It adopted the best from each style and finally formed its own styles. During the Qing Dynasty, it became very prosperous and was regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China.
It is a comprehensive art form and it combines music, singing, speaking, pantomime, acrobatics and martial arts. It is said that a student have to take more than 10 years of training before he becomes a qualified performer. Nowadays, the major performance troupes are based in Beijing and Tianjin in the north, and Shanghai in the south.
Lion Dance
Posted by sharon in Folk Music&Dance on October 1, 2009
As one of the most widely spread folk dance in China, lion dance is the dance in which performers mimic a lion’s movements in a lion costume. It combines Chinese art, history and kung fu moves.
It has a history of more than a thousand years. The earliest record of the dance dates back to the Han Dynasty (205 B.C. to 220 A.D). It reached its peak during the Tang Dynasty (716-907 A.D.).
In Chinese culture, the dance represents joy and happiness, so it is particularly performed during festivals and celebrations, such as Chinese New Year, the openings of restaurants and weddings, etc.
The dance is performed by two dancers. One handles the head and the other plays the role of the body. According to the styles, the performance is divided into civil lion and martial lion. Civil lion depicts the docile and funny images of a lion, while martial lion portrays the power of a lion.
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