WhenitcomestothePekingopera,afewkeywordscometomindformostChinese:nationalquintessence,traditionalculture,dazzlingcostumesandmakeup.Somemayevenbeabletohumafewlinesortalkabouttheirfavoriteartists,butformostpeople,itremainsaclassicartformthatstaysdistantfromeverydaylife.
However,onlyacenturyago,thePekingoperawasnolesspopularthantoday’spopmusic,whiletheartistswerewelcomedandlovedbyalargeamountoffanswhowerewillingtospendafortuneforatickettotheirperformances.
MeiLanfang,oneofthegreatestPekingoperaartists,tookthetraditionalChineseartabroadforthefirsttimeintheearly20thcentury,amazingmanyforeignerswithhisbeautifulvoice,exquisiteperformancesandelegantgestures.
Despiteitsgreatcharm,theoperagraduallydeclinedandretreatedfromthedailylivesofmostChineseformanyyears.However,theartistsneverstoppedtryingtoreturnittoitsformerglory.
In2010,theartformwasaddedtotheUNESCOintangibleculturalheritagelist,injectingnewimpetusintotheancientart.Today,manyChineseartistsarestillworkinghardintheirownwaytohonorit.
Fromorigintoheyday:theriseofanewgenre
TheoriginofthePekingoperacouldbetracedbacktotheQingDynasty(1644-1911),whenthefourgreatAnhuitroupesbroughttheirlocalAnhuiopera,alsoknownasHuiju,toBeijingforcelebrationsofEmperorQianlong’sbirthday.
Itlaterabsorbedtheessencesofotheroperas,includingQinqiangofShaanxiprovince,KunquofSouthernChinaandthelocaloperaofBeijing,andfinallybredanewartform—thePekingopera.
BeingfavoredbytheroyalsoftheQingDynastyundoubtedlyboostedthedevelopmentofthenewartform.ManyaristocratsatthattimenotonlylovedthePekingopera,butalsopromotedthedevelopmentofitsaestheticism.
Forinstance,EmpressDowagerCixi,whoruledtheQingDynastyfor47years,wasobsessedwiththePekingopera,andevenusedtorefinethescriptsherself.Shewasalsoastrictspectator,whowouldnevermisseventheslightestmistakeinthepronunciationsorthemovements.
SuchattentiontodetailsledthePekingoperatoitsheydayaftertheQingDynastycollapsed.Inthe1920sand1930s,anumberofPekingoperaartistsemerged,includingmostofthebignames,suchasMeiLanfang,ChengYanqiu,XunHuishengandShangXiaoyun,themaleactorswhowererenownedfortheirfemaleroles.
Pekingopera:artforthegrassroots
ThePekingoperahasasystemofartisticformsandstandardsofitsown,whichnotonlydefinethescripts,musicandperformances,butalsohowtheemotions,suchasanger,sorrow,joyandexcitement,shouldbeexpressedthroughmovementsorgestures;andhoweachwordshouldbereadorsang.
Thesestandardsareknownasthe“formula”or“pattern.”However,suchdetailedrequirementsdonotreducethebeautyoftheopera,butratheraddtoitscharm.DifferentPekingoperaschoolshavedevelopedtheirowndistinguishedstylesandcharacteristics,andthereforeattractdifferentaudiences.
ComparedtotheKunquOpera,whichwaspopularamongmainlyancientChinesescholarsandliterati,thePekingoperawasmorewidelyacceptedatthegrassrootslevel,andthereforehadawiderfanbase.
Pekingoperainmodernsociety:inheritanceorpopularization
ThePekingopera,unliketheKunquOpera,nevercompletelyfadedfromthedailylivesofChinese.However,theartformhasfallenoutoffavorwiththeyoungergenerationastelevisionandtheinternethaveemergedtoreplaceitwithotherformsofentertainment.
In2017,WangPeiyu,aPekingoperaartistknownforherroleof“LaoSheng,”ortheseniormaleroleintraditionaloperas,madeaspeechonahitvarietyshowranbyiQiyi.
Wangadoptedthetrendywords,catchphrasesandcontextoftheyoungergenerationtointroducethePekingoperatoanewaudience.
“Thereareonlytwotypesofpeopleintheworld.ThefirsttypelovesthePekingopera,andtheresthavenotrealizedthattheylovethePekingopera,”Wangsaid.Shealsotaughttheaudiencehowtosayasimpleword,“good,”inaPekingoperasoliloquy.
Thevideoclipwentviralaftertheshowwasreleasedonline,andpromptedmanytoask,“WhoisWangPeiyu”
ItwasasuccessfulformofpublicityforthePekingopera,butonlypartofWang’seffortstopromotetheartforminrecentyears.Shefusestheancientoperawiththetrendingculture,andexplainsittotheyoungergenerationusingmethodsthattheycanunderstand.
Meanwhile,sheneverhesitatestoembracenewmediaandmodernformsofcommunication,suchasonlinestreaming,lecturesandvarietyshows,andsheintroducesthePekingoperawhenevershe’sgiventhechance.
However,manyquestionwhethertheartformisbeingoverexposedasitplaysoutonmultipleentertainmentplatforms.ButWanghasalargenumberofsupportersfrominsidetheoperacommunity.
“I’vebeensayingthatthePekingoperaisnowinanerawhereinheritanceisasimportantaspopularization,buttosomeextent,Ithinkthelatterismoreimportantnow,”Wangsaidduringalecture.“IhopethepublicrealizesonedaythatthePekingoperaisveryattractive.”
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