Peking Opera

520 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Peking Opera is an art of

Peking Opera

*Works Cited Not Included

Peking opera first started to gain national recognition in the 19th century, as is probably the best-known Chinese traditional music-theater in the West. Though known to the West as Peking opera, it is referred to in China as "jing ju," translated as "capital theater." This musical genre contains such diverse characteristics including virtuosic singing in romantic scenes involving young lovers, stylized battle scenes at land our at seas featuring spectacular acrobatics, comical slapstick often with underlying themes of political satire, and dramatic scenes of betrayal, revenge, retribution, and triumph.

The origins of the plots of Peking opera come mostly from popular legend, historical events, novels, and other narrations. Peking opera is divided into five main categories and their subcategories according to age, sex, social status and character. These include the following: Sheng (male role), Dan (female role), Jing (painted face role), Mo (a minor old-male role), and Chon (male comic role).

The basic musical element...

Show More
Related

  • Greek and Elizabethan Teather: Kabuki Theatre

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the history of civilization, there have been many different types of theatre. There is Greek theatre and Elizabethan theater. Some are musicals, some are comedies and some are tragedies. Some types employ realistic techniques while others are more avant-gardes. But one type stands out among the rest, and that is Kabuki theatre. This classical Japanese style of dance and drama is not just theatre. It is a beautiful form of art, which has been carefully crafted over many centuries.

    Read More

  • Chicago's Chinatown Essay

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    Did everyone has taken a moment to imagine which neighborhood that you like to live? The Chinatown neighborhood of Chicago is one of the historic neighborhoods. According to Harry Kiang’s Chicago’s Chinatown, “In 1890, 25 percent of the city's 600 Chinese lived along Clark between Van Buren and Harrison Streets, in an area called the Loop’s Chinatown. After 1910 Chinese from the Loop moved to a new area near Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue, mainly for cheaper rent” (Encyclopedia of Chicago). The Chicago has two Chinatowns at the Southern part of the Chicago. Thus we can know that the old Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood is called the Loop’s Chinatown and located at Clark between Van Buren and Harrison Streets; the new Chicago’s Chinatown located

    Read More

  • The Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties

    469 Words  | 1 Pages

    Major changes in political structure, social and economic life define the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties. Each period laid the foundation for the next, with changes and improvements to create a new order.

    Read More

  • Gender Ideals in Heian Society

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    In addition to displaying the poetic prowess that the Japanese had attained by this time period, the Genji Monogatari also demonstrates how politics and gender ideals were adopted from the Chinese. In order to analyze how gender ideals in the Heian society were formulated and how they were expressed in the Genji Monogatari, it is necessary to have an understanding of the Chinese society from which they were derived. The Chinese works often alluded to in the Genji Monogatari are primarily from the Tang dynasty period of China(618-907AD), which formed the basis of the flourishing of Japanese culture during the Heian period.3 Therefore, an analysis of Heian gender ideals must begin from the Tang dynasty court-life culture. At the center of Japanese and Chinese politics and gender roles lies the teachings of Confucius. The five relationships () of Confucius permeated the lives of all within the Heian and Tang societies.4

    Read More

  • Culture and Music

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    As defined in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, culture is “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group.” These customary beliefs could also be described as a set of morals or values commonly practiced by a group. Social forms are understood as being the institutions in which interaction and socialization between people take place, such as at school, church, or work. The material traits within a culture would include clothing, food, and art to name a few. Music is a distinct, diverse culture in itself, a subculture. Each musical era had its own code of values, social forms, and material traits.

    Read More

  • Farewell My Concubine

    1307 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1993 movie directed by Kaige Chen, Farewell My Concubine, addresses the Chinese political issues during the war against Japan via interpersonal issues of an opera troupe of young male actors. The movie is as long as it is engaging. With two orphan boys who are raised to act in an Opera for their entire lives, dedication obtains a whole new meaning. Dieyi's training to act as a woman and to reflect femininity in his whole life increases the dissension that is observed within the film as well as its connections to the politics of China. The use of ghastly sound effects, close-up cinematographic techniques, and military involvement combine together in this movie to create a devastatingly dramatic experience.

    Read More

  • One of the Three Oldest Dramtic Art Forms in the World

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chinese Opera is one of the “three oldest dramatic art forms in the world” , along with “Greece tragic-comedy and Indian Sanskrit” (China). From Chinese Opera comes many forms of opera, over 300 types , but the most well known is the Peking Opera (China). The Peking Opera is known by many names, like “Eastern Opera” (history), and “jingqiang” (Xu), but the most common name in the Western world is the “Beijing Opera” (Wertz).

    Read More

  • The Chinese Cultural Revolution

    1696 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, beginning as a campaign targeted at removing Chairman Mao Zedong's political opponents, was a time when practically every aspect of Chinese society was in pandemonium. From 1966 through 1969, Mao encouraged revolutionary committees, including the red guards, to take power from the Chinese Communist party authorities of the state. The Red Guards, the majority being young adults, rose up against their teachers, parents, and neighbors. Following Mao and his ideas, The Red Guard's main goal was to eliminate all remnants of the old culture in China. They were the 'frontline implementers' who produced havoc, used bloody force, punished supposed 'counter revolutionists', and overthrew government officials, all in order to support their 'beloved leader'.

    Read More

  • Ballet

    2453 Words  | 5 Pages

    Football is a very physically demanding sport. According to Taylor (1969), “Professional football is basically a physical assault by one team upon another in desperate fight for land.” (pg. 23) The body is used as weapon to prevent an opposing player from crossing into another's territory. The body must be strong and well equipped to endure the stresses of physical contact. The body is very susceptible to injury when engaging in football. It is important for those who participate in football train their bodies effectively. The same can be said for ballet. It is a physically demanding activity as well but the body is used as a form of expression. According to Huwyler M.D. (2002), “ For the dancer, his body in his means of expression, the instrument is his heart. Ballet is meant to be graceful and elegant, it does not appear to be a physically demanding sport as football is. Looks are deceiving, According to Kennedy M.D and Hodgkins M.D. (2008), “The grace and art of the ballet performance belie the great physical strain of the body as a whole. (Preface) Ballet places a great deal of strain on the body; it is important that those who participate in ballet receive adequate and effective training.

    Read More

  • Chinese Music

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chinese music is described as a unique form of art. Even today, the Modern Chinese music has a Western Modern Music style. The music has it's own characteristics and is very much distinct.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Chinese Theater

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    The performances included opera-styled singing with intricate hand gestures. I used to think that the Chinese theater performances my grandparents watched on TV were too over-the-top and unnatural, but after reading about the history and meanings behind Chinese theater, I’ve developed a new perspective on the style and have come to admire the beauty of cultural differences in theatrical arts. Chinese theater’s “traditional performance” features a synthesis of poetry, singing, and dancing. In present day, “traditional performance” has undergone an improvement toward what can be termed “characterization performance,” which emphasizes the performer’s internal experience of the character played and the artistically truthful portrayal of feelings and thoughts (cite). Different cultures contribute to the varying theater styles. For example, “chinese playgoers are familiar with the stories, characters, and conventions...the objective of the Chinese performer is to meet the high expectations of the playgoers” (cite). Thus, Chinese performers are more conscious of ensuring that their gestures and body movements appear aesthetically beautiful to satisfy their audiences’ expectations. The knowledge of the diverse approaches of theater in different regions is significant for respecting a theater piece, because theater from different cultures than one’s own should be evaluated and appreciated with the viewpoint of that

    Read More

  • rock & pop

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    What has the power to make you get up and move, to both inspire you and enrage you? Rock, rap, “pop”, country, and blues are all forms of this phenomenon we call music. Music has been a part of each and everyone of our lives. How often have you heard a song and it brought you back to a place in your past, or reminded you of someone? Chances are you were listening to music that fell into one of the two most popular categories, rock or pop. Both rock and pop can be considered movements in society, however the motivation for these movements were on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Also another thing that they have in common is that once the artists are famous the may both have a tendency to fall off the deep end. This may entail spending thousands of dollars on drugs and alcohol. Eventually many of both pop and rock stars end up in rehab. Even though the lines between rock and pop can be blurred at times there are many distinct differences.

    Read More

  • The Peking Opera

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    Peking Opera is over 200 years old (Wertz).It started in approximately “1790, when four opera troupes from the province of Anhui came to Beijing to perform on the occasion of the 80th birthday of the emperor, Qianlong” (HISTORY, Xu). It was originally performed in “open air, teahouses or temple courtyards” (Wertz). Peking Opera is a blend of “singing, reading, acting, fighting, and dancing” (ebeijing).”Today as in the past century, performers are first trained in acrobatics, followed by singing and acting” (Wertz).

    Read More

  • performing arts

    1341 Words  | 3 Pages

    The term "Performance Art" started in the United States in the 60's. It was originally used to describe any live artistic event, which included poets, filmmakers, musicians, dancers, etc. Even though the descriptive word came about in the 1960's, there were earlier precedents for performance art. The live performances of the Dadaist meshed poetry and visual arts. The German Bauhaus, founded in 1919, included theater workshops that explored the relationship between space, sound and light. Direct influence also came about later in the 50's on through the 60's with the Beatniks and the happenings that took place in the Lower East Village in NYC. Earlier movements such as the Italian Futurists were also very involved in paving the way for what was to come in the 70’s.

    Read More

  • Culture and Music

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    George Gershwin once said, “True music must repeat the thought and inspirations of the people and the time. My people are Americans and my time is today.” Over the years, no form of art has attached itself to humanity more than music. Music has been creating and destroying cultures in the Twentieth Century at a very rapid rate. Fads come and go, but true music and the heart behind it never dies.

    Read More

More about Peking Opera

Open Document