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Chinese theater is a comprehensive performing art,
with singing, speech, dancing, acrobatics and martial arts
as basic performance techniques. It synthesizes songs,
music, visual arts and performance, combining all within a
unified rhythm. China boasts more than 300 forms of
traditional opera, most of which are local operas. National
operas include Peking opera, Pingju (found mainly in north
China), Yueju (Shaoxing opera in Zhejiang), Yuju (Henan
spera) Yueju (Guangdong opera) and Chuanju (Sichuan opera).
Peking opera is the best-known of these. It assumed its
present form about two hundred years ago in Beijing, then
the capital of the Qing Dynasty, hence its name. It is a
unique art combining drama, singing, music, dancing and
martial arts into one. The roles in Peking opera are
strictly differentiated into fixed character types: sheng
(male characters), dan (female characters), jing (painted
faces), and chou male clowns). Different singing and acting
techniques gave birth to various schools. Each type of
character has its own set of performance conventions, drawn
from life. Exaggeration and symbolism based on illusion are
adopted to express actions such as opening a door, going
upstairs, rowing a boat and climbing a hill, all created in
the audience's imagination without the use of stage
properties. The performers’' body movements are
aesthetically pleasing. The main instruments of
accompaniment are huqin (two-stringed bow instrument), gongs
and drums, giving the musical performance an Oriental
flavour. Resonant singing, occasionally humorous dialogue
and energetic acrobtics produce a lively and engaging show.
Well-known modern actors include Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu,
Xun Huisheng, Shang Xiaoyun, Zhou Xinfang, Ma Lianliang, Tan
Fuying, Gai Jiaotian, Xiao Changhua, Zhang Junqiu, Qiu
Shengrong, Yuan Shihai, Li Shaochun, Li Duogui and Jiang
Miaoxiang. At the Crossroads, The Autumn River, Uproar in
Heaven, etc. are the Peking opera selections ,best loved by
foreign audience.
Modern spoken drama is a
relatively new theatrical form in China. The earliest drama
troupe was founded in the early l900s. Between the l930s and
l940s such dramas as Thunderstorm, Sunrise, Qu Yuan and Twin
Flowers had a great impact on the society. Beginning in the
l950s, drama developed very quickly. Many excellent plays
were produced including Dragon Beard Ditch, Cai Wenji, and
Guan Hanging, Lao She's Teahouse has been well received both
in China and abroad. Spoken drama is also flourishing in the
new era. The first big hit was Loyal Hearts describing the
people's yearning for he late Premier Zhou Enlai and their
struggle against the Gang of Four. Dramas with similar
themes include When All Sounds Are Hushed, There is A Yard
Like This One and Neighbors. At the same time, many
excellent foreign works were performed on the stage, for
example, The Death of a Salesman and Galileo. In the middle
and late l980s spoken drama further developed in new studies
and reform of content and form; Absolute Sign, The Nirvana
of Uncle Gou 'er, Red Skirts Are Popular in the Street and A
Living Man Interviews the Dead succeeded in these aspects.
In addition, descriptions of important historical events in
The Xi'an Incident, the strong local color in The Number One
Restaurant Under Heaven and Birdmen, and Gala Hutong and
Baising Tomorrow’s Sun performed in recent years all
showed the profound understanding of art of China's
dramatists and the bright prospects for China's drama.
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