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Jingju (Beijing Opera)and Kabuki
Dr. Siyuan Liu
Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
University of Georgia
Part I
Jingju(Beijing Opera)
History
• Name: – Jingju, jingxi, Drama of the Chinese capital
• Origin: pihuang– Xipi and Erhuang– Local tune of Anhui and Hubei provinces
• 1790 Anhui troupes in Beijing for the Qianlong Emperor's birthday celebrations
• Dominated Beijing stage by early 19th century • Eventually usurped national popularity of Kunqu
Aesthetic Aim
• Four Skills (gong)– Song (chang)– Speech (nian)– Dance‐acting (zuo)
• includes pure dance, pantomime, and all the visible, physical results of "acting" in the Western sense
– Combat (da)• encompasses not only actual fighting with fists, knives, swords, and spears, but also acrobatics
– Displayed in the context of drama
Aesthetic Aim
• Xieyi vs. Xieshi– Xieyi: write (i.e., draw/paint) the meaning
– Xieshi: write realistically
• Chinese Painting– Not realistic
– Conveys essence and spirit of the concept
Aesthetic Aim: Qi Baishi
Aesthetic Aim: Qi Baishi
Aesthetic Aim
• Xieyi in Jingju– Transcends a resemblance to life
– Externalizes the thoughts and feelings through the display of skills
– Elaborates upon their actions and interactions
– Conveys the very essence of life
Aesthetic Aim
• Pursuit of Beauty– Most basic aesthetic value
– Stage presence
– Emotional display
– Every performance skill• Should at all times appear effortless
• Signs of strain destroys effect of the essence of life
Aesthetic Principles: Synthesis
• All elements– Story, music, song, speech, dance‐acting, stage combat and acrobatics
• Not simply presented in sequence
• Presence of multiple elements at a given moment
• Engage eyes and the ears of the audience at all times
Aesthetic Principles: Stylization
• Raising and refining behaviors of daily life, with the aim of making them beautiful
• Roundness: most basic principle– Posture and movement
• various parts of the body in isolation
• the entire body in or through space
– No straight lines and angles
– Three‐dimensional network of circles, arcs, and curved lines
Aesthetic Principles: Stylization
• Roundness– In stasis
• an outstretched arm will be held in an extended curve unbroken at either the shoulder or elbow by angles
– In movement• Eye movement
• Pointing gesture
• S‐shape movement through space
Aesthetic Principles: Conventions
• Specific practices to which precise meanings have been ascribed by tradition
• Meanings immediately recognizable – Dance‐acting/pantomimic conventions
• Opening and closing doors and windows
• Mounting and descending stairs
• Tending fowl, sewing
• Movement over rough terrain
• Darkness, heat, cold, rain, and wind
Aesthetic Principles: Conventions
• Require preknowledge for comprehension– More formal conventions that require familiarity from audience members
• Walking in a large circle to connote traveling a considerable distance
• straightening of costume and headdress parts upon entrance to signal the presence of an important character who is about to speak
Aesthetic Principles: Conventions
• Stage– Bare with a decorative rather than realistic backdrop, and a carpet covering the floor for the protection of acrobatic performers
– The only scenery used is one or more tables and one or more chairs.
– More elaborate scenery and certain technological innovations in recent years
Aesthetic Principles: Conventions
• Stage– High degree of plasticity through the use of the table(s) and chair(s)
• a city wall
• a mountain
• a bed
• a throne
• or simply as a table and one or two chairs.
Aesthetic Principles: Conventions
• Stage– Stage properties
• frequently signals the presence and use of large objects not visually present on the stage
• a whip signals the presence of a horse
• an oar that of a boat
• large blue banners swung in wide arcs close to the stage floor that of rushing water.
Aesthetic Principles: Conventions
• Aural conventions – Require that audience members learn beforehand their ascribed meanings
Role Types
• Sheng (standard male characters)
• Dan (female characters)
• Jing (painted‐face male characters)
• Chou (lit. "ugly" characters, who are usually male)
Role Types
• Sheng (standard male characters)– Older sheng (laosheng)
• Scholars• Statesmen• faithful retainers
– Deserving of respect– Simple makeup– All wear beard– although the vagaries of fortune as dictated by the plot may place them in
Role Types
• Sheng (standard male characters)– Martial sheng (wusheng)
• Warriors
• Bandits
• Make up like laosheng
• No beard
• Subcategory– Lang armor
– Short combat
Role Types
• Sheng (standard male characters)– Young sheng (xiaosheng)
• Under thirty
• Unmarried
• Paler colors
• Unbearded
• Civil and military
• Falsetto voice
Role Types
• Dan (female characters)– Older dan (laodan)
• Dignified
• No makeup
• Long staff
• Song and speech
Role Types
• Dan (female characters)– “Blue cloth" dan (qingyi)
• Demure young women
• Middle‐aged women
• Singing
Role Types
• Dan (female characters)– “Flower" dan (huadan)
• Vivacious young women
• Low social class
• Dance‐acting
• speech
• Sometimes singing
Role Types
• Dan (female characters)– Martial dan (wudan)
• Women of high or low status
• Combat
• Dance‐acting
Role Types
• Jing (painted‐face male characters)– Aka "painted face" ("flower face")
– Men of great strength‐men with suprahumanphysical or mental powers
– Types• great‐painted‐face (dahualian)
• supporting jing (fujing)
• martial jing (wujing)
Role Types
• Chou ("ugly" characters, usually male)– Frequently portray humorous characters– May also play villains, young lovers, and other characters who are not necessarily humorous
• May improvise, ad lib, and talk directly to the audience • Serve as a direct link to the audience• Important supporting characters• Subcategories of
– Civil chou (wenchou)– Martial chou (wuchou)– Choudan (older, ugly female)
Part II
Kabuki
History
• Okuni– Priestess of the Grand Shrine in Izumo– Around 1600 in Kyoto– Kitano Shrine and banks of Kamo River
• “Beggars of the riverbed”
– Rock entertainment of the 17th century– First Japanese plays of contemporary urban life– Imitated by prostitutes
• Shugonate banned women in 1629
History
• Wakashū– Young boys doubling as catamites
– Early kabuki performers
– Original onnagata performers
Kata
• Form, pattern, model
• Voice, movement, costume, makeup, set
• Ukiyoe woodblock prints
Kata
• Two levels:– Broad, overall style of performance
– Specific performance techniques
Kata as Performance Style
• Danmari– Oldest historical style
– Five to ten minutes pantomime group entrance
– Outdoors and at night
– As part of a play
– Or as an independent piece
– Attracts audience
Kata as Performance Style
• Aragoto– “Rough style”
– Projects power and masculine vigor
– Exaggerated elocution, movement, costumeing, makeup
– Edo (Tokyo acting style)
– Created by Ichikawa Danjūrō I (1660‐1704)
– Kumadori makeup: following the shadow• Bold lines of red, blue, black or gray
Kata as Performance Style
• Wagoto– “Soft style”– Created by Kyoto‐Osaka actors– Sakata Tōjūrō (1647‐1709)– Delicate to the point of effeminacy– Relatively realistic– Suited for dialogue drama– Comic style– Townsman lover
Kata as Performance Style
• Marubun– Puppet style
• Shosagoto– Dance style
– Most complicated performance style• Odori: from Okuni
• Mai: from nō
• Furi: pantamimic
Kata as Performance Techniques
• Mie– Originated from aragoto acting
– Group mie• Tenchijin—”heaven‐earth‐man”
• Tenchi—”Heave‐earth”
• Roppō– “Six directions”
– Swaggering exit
Kata as Performance Techniques
• Tachimawari– Stylized combat
• Entrance and Exit Kata– Executed on the hanamichi– Shichisan: seven‐three
• Strongest point on the hanamichi
• Other movement kata– Shōmen engi: full‐front acting– Benton Gōzo
Kata as Performance Techniques
• Costume and Makeup Kata– Henge: “transformation”
• Quick change of costume, makeup, or/and wig
– hikinuki: “pulling out” • Taking off out‐robe in onnagata dance by assistant
– Kōken: “see behind”• Stage assistant