Big Blog 2: One last Music-Culture

 12/6/22

Intro:

For this blog I choose to go in depth on the history of Chinese Opera. My knowledge Chinese Opera was extremely minimal, as I have never really listened to Chinese Opera, so this was very entertaining to research! 

Where did it all begin?

Chinese Opera can be traced back to the period of three kingdoms which was around 220-265 A.D. Chinese Opera was officially "formalized" during the period of the Tang Dynasty which took place between 618-907 A.D. There are many forms of Chinese Opera, several of which are regional. These regional forms of Chinese Opera differ in the way they display their own traditions. 

One format of Chinese Opera consists of large theatres and "southern dramas" from the Southern Song Dynasty. In the north, around the 13th century A.D. a form of opera called Yuan Zaju emerged. This structure was typically split up into 4 different acts that may contain theater styles and more. In the 16th century an opera called, Kunqu emerged, this form of opera can be characterized by soft singing and minimal musical assistance. In the later 18th century Beijing Opera was birthed, this was originally produced for the pleasure of the imperial family but soon it became listened to by the public. During Chinese cultural revolution in 1966-1976 the opera suffered greatly along with several other Chinese preforming arts. Chinese traditional opera was not sung during this time until 1978 so many people who grew up during this time listened to other forms of opera one famous example is the Eight Model Play, which like many other performances from its time depicted struggles and hardships. 

(I was unable to find a good explanation of the history of Chinese Opera, however, here is a cool picture of their costumes I came across while looking!)

Instruments:

Gaohu

                                              The Gaohu has a High Pitch, and it is bowed

           Pipa 

        The Pipa consists of 4 strings with 32 frets, and it is one of the oldest Chinese instruments.

         Erhu 

The Erhu is like a two-string fiddle with a long neck. It looks similar to the Gaohu above, but it is not to be mistaken. 

    Dizi 

The Dizi is a flute with 6 finger holes. it consists of made of bamboo and itis described to have a very bright and cheery sound.

Suona 

The Suona has a double-sided reed, and it can be compared to an Oboe.

There are many other Chinese instruments that appear in Oprea, but these are a few that show up often. Some other instruments that you may see include, the yangqin, the Bo, and some drums. 

What role does Chinese Opera play in Chinese Music?

There are many roles and characteristics of Chinese Opera and many of them are specific to the region of China in which you are inhabiting. These makes it impossible to pick just one theme that Chinese opera is used for however there are 4 roles in which most Chinese Opera can be classified to. These consist of:

1. Sheng- This is a term that can be used to describe male specified roles in the Opera. This can be subdivided into three different groups as well, The Xiao Sheng (young man), Lao Sheng (Older Male), Wu Sheng (Warrior).

2. Jing- This includes the roles that include heavy face paint and makeup; however, this role is still often subjected to be a male. It is important to know that not all character that have their face painted and covered in makeup can be sorted into this category. 

3. Dan- Similar to Sheng, this role can be used to describe female specified roles in the opera. it consists of 5 subsections: Hua Dan (Young women role), Lao Dan (Older women role), Wu Dan (Warrior), Qing Yi (Young maiden that possess good grace), Guimen Dan (Women of high birth status)

4. Chou- this can be described as a role that can be divided into 2 different roles, the male (Nan Chou), and the female (Nu Chou), This role is often recognized as the "clown" because they often have to improvise and reference current and local events.

The True differentiation between the role it can be classified as depends on each specific subsection of each category. 

Chinese Opera Today

The Perking Opera is the most popular form of Opera amongst the Chinese populations today. In 1976 traditional Oprea was able to be performed again, but some of these traditional Opreas did have to go through censorship and criticism before they were allowed to be performed. Now there are around 30 different types of opera throughout China. 

Works Cited

“Chinese Opera: A Brief History.” - Cantonese Opera Records - Historical Background, https://www.historymuseum.ca/cantoneseopera/hist-e.shtml. 

“Classical Roles and Characters.” - Cantonese Opera Records - The Characters, https://www.historymuseum.ca/cantoneseopera/roles-e.shtml. 

“Musical Instruments.” - Cantonese Opera Records - The Instruments, https://www.historymuseum.ca/cantoneseopera/instruments-e.shtml. 

Szczepanski, Kallie. “A Brief History of Chinese Opera.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 6 Feb. 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-chinese-opera-195127#toc-modern-chinese-opera.