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pilgrimage for Buddhist scriptures.
3. ‘Farewell My Concubine’Based on real events from more
than
2,000 years ago, the opera recounts a famous tragic love story
set in the transitional period between the Qin Dynasty (221-206
B.C.) and the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220).
Xiang Yu, the king of Western Chu, is battling with rebel leader
Liu Bang, founder of the Han Dynasty, for con-trol of the empire.
The night before their fi nal battle, Xiang’s troops are
outnumbered and surrounded by Liu’s army. King Xiang hears Liu’s
troops singing Western Chu songs, suggest-ing his homeland has
already been subjugated.
Seeing the king is in deep despair, his concubine Yu performs a
sword dance to show her devotion to him.
Fearful of being a burden to the king during the ultimate
battle, Yu commits suicide with the king’s sword right after the
dance.
4. ‘A River All Red’“A River All Red” tells the story of Yue
Fei, a hero who fought against invad-ing troops during the
Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Yue is one of the most famous
generals in China’s history and a legend of resolute loyalty to his
country and allegiance to his people.
The opera opens with Yue’s heroic battle against enemies from
the north, which leads to his imprisonment, caused by the aspersion
of Qin Hui, a treacherous court offi cial. Many details of the
opera are derived from offi cial historical records of the Southern
Song Dynasty. In the
end, Yue is killed by Qin, but other patriotic generals carry
out his will and save the country.
5. ‘Unicorn Trapping Purse’“Unicorn Trapping Purse,” written
by Wen Ouhong in 1937, is the repre-sentative work of Peking
Opera master Chen Yanqiu.
According to ancient Chinese tradi-tion, families need to
prepare a lot of jewelry to ensure a bride is well pro-vided for
and will have promising sons. In this story, the big treasure purse
is called a “unicorn trapping purse.”
Xue Xianglin, the heroine, uses her treasure to do many good
deeds. In the end, she and her family are also lifted out of crisis
by an anonymous supporter.
(China Daily)
(Scan the bar codes to watch the operas.)
CHINESE President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan
entertained visiting U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife
Melania Trump with a Peking Opera performance at the Forbidden City
on Wednesday afternoon. They watched three classic plays, namely
“Spring Seed-lings in the Pear Garden,” “Monkey King” and “The
Drunken Concubine.”
Peking Opera, with a history of more than 200 years, is one of
China’s major traditional art forms. Combining instrumental music,
vocal performances, miming, dance and acrobatics, it has been
inscribed into the UNESCO Intangible World Heritage list since
2010.
It features four main types of perform-ers, called sheng (male
role), dan (female role), jing (painted-face male role) and chou
(clown).
For costumes and headdresses, Peking Opera performers use bright
and con-trasting colors, which are strictly based on the rank,
occupation and lifestyle of different characters. Their faces are
painted with elaborate make-up, also indicating a character’s
social status and personality.
The list of Peking Opera classics is too long to enumerate.
Here, we introduce you fi ve selected masterpieces that can give a
glimpse into the charm of Peking Opera.
1. ‘The Drunken Concubine’“The Drunken Concubine” is almost
a
one-person show. Set in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it portrays
one of China’s leg-endary beauties, Yang Yuhuan.
Yang, as the emperor’s favorite concu-bine, arranges a banquet
one night and waits for the emperor to come. But after knowing
she’s been stood up because the emperor chose another concubine
over her, Yang decides to drink alone.
Master Mei Lanfang once gave an out-standing performance of
Yang’s various stages of intoxication, her jealousy and bitterness,
and her intention to forget all the unhappi-ness.
Scan the bar code for a performance of “The Drunken Concubine”
by Li Shengsu, one of the most outstanding disciples of the Mei
School.
2. ‘Monkey King’The play derived from the Chinese
classical novel “Journey to the West,” centering on a
mythological fi gure named Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey
King.
Sun Wukong is a monkey born from a stone who then obtains
supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling
against the gods and being jailed under a mountain by the Buddha,
he is later sent to protect Xuan-zang the monk on a
5 masterpieces in traditional Peking Opera repertoire
Peking Opera singer Li Shengsu in “The Drunken Concubine.”Peking
Opera singer Li Shengsu in “The Drunken Concubine.” File photos
File photos
(From L) Scenes from “Monkey King,” “Farewell My Concubine,” “A
River All Red” and “Unicorn Trapping Purse.”
