Contextual Analysis Of Peking Opera

Art Reflects Society

It is widely acknowledged that art reflects society. We can gain a general understanding of the social and political climate in a particular society where a particular type of art is practiced by taking into account the many elements of various forms of art. The evolution of a particular type of art reflects historical events and social changes as well. You can gain insights into the political and cultural landscape by taking into account many facets of a particular kind of art; as a result, you can position the article in both its historical and cultural contexts. Peking opera is an essential form of art in China that has existed for about two centuries(Xu 6). The purpose of the paper will, therefore, be to place Peking opera, a traditional form of Chinese opera, in its historical and cultural context. This will be achieved by looking at the history, significant features and developments of Peking opera and trying to find a link between these aspects and the socio-political situation in China.

Peking Opera: An Introduction

However, to begin the analysis, we must first briefly understand what Peking opera is and how important it was and still is to Chinese culture. Peking opera is among the number of different forms of Chinese opera (Xu 6; Li 1). Peking is an old name for Beijing which is the capital city of China (Li 1). For this reason, Peking opera is also referred to as Beijing opera. This form of opera also goes by the name Pingju or Jingxi (Goldstein 176). It employs a combination of song, dance, other vocal performances, miming as well as acrobatics (Li 1). Performances are done by troupes wearing colorful costumes and dramatic makeup in theaters or playhouses in front of a diverse audience. Teahouses also became popular places for the staging of Peking opera (Goldstein, 2003 qtd. in Li 13). The quality of the performance was judged mainly by how beautifully the movements by the performers were executed.

Origin of Peking Opera

Origin Peking came to being in the late eighteenth century (in 1790) when four troupes from Anhui province traveled to Beijing, the capital, to perform for the Emperor Qianlong on his 80th birthday (Xi 6; Goldstein 177). They performed what was then Anhui opera (referred to as huiju) but did not leave Beijing and continued to perform there. With time, Anhui opera was incorporated with another form of opera such as those from the Northern provinces to form Peking opera. Notably, Han opera, from which the two main melodies of Peking opera (Xipi and Erhuang) were derived, is highly considered as the main contributor to Peking opera(Xi 12). Having originated from more than one form of opera, Peking opera is considered to be representative of the general Chinese culture. The story of the origin of Peking opera tells a different tale when looked at from a different perspective. For one, traditional China was divided into different provinces. There was not much cultural exchange between the various regions as there was limited travel by ordinary people. However, economic activities greatly facilitated the flourishing of Peking opera. Trade was mainly very vibrant in China. From the sixteenth to the seventeenth century, merchants moved to Northern China. This made theater companies move to the North to cater for their entertainment needs. Moreover, during the Qing dynasty, the Emperor and the Court were highly powerful institutions. The Qing court in Beijing attracted performers from around China to entertain the court with successful troupes moving into Beijing (Li 13). Examples of these movements are the four Anhui troupes. These activities are ideally what led to Peking opera. The origin also reveals a lot about the imperial nature of Chinese politics at the time and the Confucian ideology. For example, at the early stages of Peking opera, it was only available for the Qing court while the general public was left out.

Roles And Their Relationship To The Society

Generally, all Peking opera plays had similar main roles or characters. These roles reveal a number of things about the Chinese society at that time. The tasks were divided into four categories. These categories of functions describe the cultural organization of the Chinese community at the time. This part describes each of the four roles and what they indicate about the Chinese society. The first role was that of Sheng. This was a male character and was the main character in every play (Xi 39; Goldstein 192; Wu, Huang and Mei 46). This goes a long way in alluding to the patriarchal and male dominance in the Chinese society. The role was further divided into a number of subtypes depending on the personal traits and social status. These subtypes include the Laosheng ( a mature male role), Hongsheng (middle-aged man), Wusheng (a male role performing martial arts) and Hongsheng (handsome young male, usually singing) as well as Wawasheng (young boys) (Xi 32; Goldstein 192; Wu, Huang, and Mei 46). The Laosheng roles showed the dignity bestowed on men of high status such as generals and other high ranking military officials as well as landowners. Though not directly this role reflects the order that was there in the Chinese society and the behavior that was expected from men of different status and age. The role of Sheng also tends to suggest the professional direction that could be taken by young men in the Chinese society. This is well indicated by the fact that for the Xiaosheng role, it was common practice for the character to be either a young warrior (Wu Xiaosheng) or a scholar (Wen Xiaosheng). The second type of role was that of (Dan Xi 33; Goldstein 192; Wu, Huang, and Mei 47). This is the female role in a Peking opera play. Just like the Sheng, it also has subtypes. This position can be used to reveal the part women had in the traditional Chinese society during the time of development of Peking opera. The first subtype is the Qingy or Zengdan (Xi 33; Goldstein 193; Wu, Huang, and Mei 47). The character for this role is that of a sensible or decent woman usually a mother or just a married woman. The Qingy role was used to depict how mature women were expected to behave. Characters playing the Qingy role had limited movements. Ideally, this was the ultimate behavior of a normal Chinese woman. A Role conflicting the Qingyi called the Huadan also existed. This role was of a character who was independent, unmarried, clever, coy and of a lower social status. This female character was freer than the Qingyi. This gives an alternate view on how women behaved in the Chinese society. However, as the Chinese society changed its view on women to allow them more freedom, an additional role, the Huashan, was introduced which combined these two parts. Introduction of the Huashan role is credited to the famous performer, Mei Lanfang (Wu, Huang, and Mei 48). Other subtypes include the young female warriors (at times heroines) known as Daomadan, young unmarried girls known as Guimendan, old and witty women usually mothers or aunts known as Laodan as well as female acrobatic characters referred to as Wudan(Xi 47). It is worth noting that Dan or female roles were performed by men in the early stages of Peking opera. This was after Qianlong Emperor banned female performers from performing in Beijing in the year 1772 (Goldstein 194; Wu, Huang, and Mei 54). This ban was effective for a long time, but women struggled to get back their freedom to perform. They started performing again in the 1870s, though unofficially and continued to do so until 1912 when the ban was lifted with the formation of the Republic of China (Wu, Huang, and Mei 56). However, this did not stop men from performing women roles. The Dan role is critical in the study of women freedom and gender equality in China since it shows the struggle women had to go through to enjoy equality with men even in a simple way as being allowed to act. The Jing role involved a forceful character whose voice was strong The Jing could either be mainly singing (tongchui), doing less singing than physical activity or performing acrobatic acts or martial art (wujing). (Xi 50). This role did not reveal much about the social setting of the Chinese society and was probably just for making a lot of the play or depicting unique persons within the community. The last role, the Chou, was rather comic. This role is basically for entertainment and adding fun to the plot of the lay. Again this role does not reveal much about the social or political nature of the Chinese society. However, it was believed that a clown’s

Content Of Plays And Influence Of Politics

Combination of bad looks and laughter could fend off evil spirits(Xi 52; Wu, Huang, and Mei 58). This reveals the superstitious nature of the Chinese people. Peking opera has existed over a distinct number periods of governance and political change in China beginning with the imperial period from 1790-1911. The republic period from 1911 to 1949, the early Communist party rule (149-1966) and the cultural revolution (1966-1976) as well as the contemporary or modern period from around 1976 to present day(Li 12). The content of plays in Peking opera was highly influenced by the politics of the day. This can be seen in the changes that were made to this form of art during the various periods. In the imperial period as Peking opera was just getting started, the art focused on love and marriage themes or war and military theme (Goldstein 194; Xi 62). The characters were divided to show the different social status that existed in China with special focus being on the aristocrats. The emperors required that Peking opera in its content must pass messages of loyalty to the emperor and in general inculcate the desired national values in its audience (Goldstein 194). The emperor was able to govern which plays were good and which ones were risky. It is during this period that an emperor banned female performers from taking part in Peking opera. During this early period, it was the aristocrats steered the growth of Peking opera. Most notable was the Emperor Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) who had a special love for this form of art (Xi 14). However, Peking opera started getting political overtones after the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, and plays began advocating for social reforms to be undertaken(Goldstein 196). During the Republic period, China became exposed to western culture. As much as this exposure affected the Chinese society, it also affected the traditional arts of the Chinese people (Xi 72; Goldstein 210). Western ideas began to be incorporated into Peking opera, indicating a society whose values and culture were changing. The Chinese community was now not divided by social status but into the conservatives and the reformers(LI 3). This period also the initial attempts to export Peking opera to the western world. It is during this time that Mei Lanfang went to perform in the US in a highly publicized trip. After the Communist party took over leadership of the nation, it started a radical transformation of Peking opera plays so that they communicated new communist ideals, mostly through revolutionary themes, which they believed were better for the people (Goldstein 212; Xi 78). The idea of there being a “ruling class” was particularly sour and was eliminated from Peking opera content together with, On the other hand, the republic authorities retained the same ideologies and promoted them as a way of maintaining traditional Chinese culture (Li 4). These changes by the communist government ended up in the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. During this time, the government monopolized the Peking opera scene and sponsored a set model plays referred to as the “Eight Model Plays”(Li 4; Xi 82). These plays mainly depicted a struggle of freedom from the ruling class that existed in the Imperial period(Xi 82). The different aspects of traditional plays such as the costumes, makeup, stage arrangement, and performance were also changed (Li 4) All other traditional plays were not allowed during this period. After the Cultural Revolution, it became necessary for China in its quest to achieve industrialization that it should again open up to the rest of the world. This led to western ideas affecting the cultural practices of the Chinese people as well as their art. This way, Peking opera was not spared as composers tried to add a little western touch to the plays. But after those changes, it was again the feeling that the Chinese people were getting too westernized and were losing their traditional art. The focus was then shifted back to retaining the old form of Peking opera. The Chinese government is fully supporting with the aim of preserving Peking opera. The China Central Television network even has a channel (CCTV 11) mainly dedicated to airing Peking opera plays which were started in 2001 (Goldstein 2).

Costumes, Symbols, And Lyrics

Characters in Peking opera plays were dressed in developed costumes complete with masks and skin painting where it was necessary. Li (30) argues that costumes were used to place the character in his/her social status, identify their occupation as well as indicate their age (an example of this is beards). These costumes were similar to the ones used in the Chinese social arrangement. Symbols were also added to the costumes. These symbols are mainly those of traditional Chinese animal characters. Of these, the dragon and the Phoenix were commonly used. These two were used to give information about the background of characters and their marital status. They were also used to show a change in the social status of individuals as well as desirable traits of a perfect wife or husband (Li 42). Other symbols such as the bird, tiger, wild goose, and dragon indicated the presence of a conflict(Li 39). In a near similar way, the lyrics were used to convey cultural values.

Conclusion

The Peking opera is a significant form of Chinese art. Having been in existence during the major changes in the Chinese political order, this type of art tells a story of these political changes that were enforced on it by the ruling governments during those times. From the original Confucianism that the Chinese people believed in to the sort republican period to the communist era, Peking opera has survived though with a lot of changes made. All along this change in the time, it is clear that a Confucian mindset of the Chinese people dominates ideas presented by the Peking opera. This form of art was quite dominant, and through the ideologies and values communicated through its lyrics and symbols, it was able to affect the lives of its audience. Similarly, the economic and social way of life of Chinese people directly affected the content and the mode of performance of Peking opera. By analyzing Peking opera, in its roles, origin, costumes, and symbols as well as major changes in content, we are therefore able to deduce the economic and political environment of China through history, which was indeed the aim of this paper.

Works Cited

Goldstein, Joshua. Drama Kings: Players and publics in the re-creation of Peking opera, 1870-1937. Oakland, CA: Univ of California Press, 2007:382. Print.

Li, Yiman, “Study Of Symbolic Expressions In Peking Opera’s costumes And Lyrics” (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3487. University Of Central Florida, 2008.

Wu, Z. G., Huang, Z. L., & Mei, S. W. Peking Opera and Mei Lanfang: A guide to China’s traditional theater and the art of its great master. Beijing: New World Press, 1981:136. Print.

Xu, Chengbei. Peking Opera. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 2012:138. Print.