12. China is known for their traditional theater art form, the Peking
Opera or Beijing Opera which combines music, vocal
performance, pantomime, dance, and acrobatics. It started in
the late 18th century and became fully developed and
recognized by the mid-19th century. During the Qing Dynasty
court it became extremely popular and came to be regarded as
one of the cultural treasures of China.
13. Peking Opera Training:
Pupils were often handpicked at a young age by a teacher and
trained for seven years on contract from the child's parents.
After 1911, training took place in more formally organized
schools. Students at these schools rose as early as five o'clock
in the morning for exercises. Daytime was spent learning the
skills of acting and combat, and senior students performed in
outside theaters in the evening.
14.
15. 1. Sheng- is the main male role in Peking opera
a. Xiaosheng actors are often involved with beautiful
women by virtue of the handsome and young image they
project.
16. Sheng
b. Wusheng is a martial
character for roles
involving combat. They
are highly trained in
acrobatics, and have a
natural voice when
singing.
17. Sheng
c. Laosheng is a
dignified older role, these
characters have a gentle
and cultivated disposition,
and wear sensible
costumes.
18. 2. Dan - refers to any female role in Peking opera
a. Laodan- old woman
23. 3. Jing
is a painted face male role
who plays either primary or
secondary roles. This type of
role entails a forceful
character, which means that a
Jing actor must have a strong
voice and be able to
exaggerate gestures. The red
color denotes loyalty and
goodness, white denotes evil,
and black denotes integrity.
24. 4. Chou
a male clown role. The
Chou usually plays
secondary roles whose
name also means "ugly".
It reflects the traditional
belief that the clown's
combination of ugliness
and laughter could drive
away evil spirits.
26. Peking-opera performers utilize four main skills.
1. Song
2. Speech
3. Dance-acting - This includes pure dance,
pantomime, and all other types of dance.
4. Combat - includes both acrobatics and
fighting with all manner of weaponry.
27. The Meaning of Colors in Peking Opera
Masks/Make-ups
Red - devotion, courage, bravery, uprightness and loyalty.
Black - roughness and fierceness
Yellow - fierceness, ambition and cool-headedness
Purple - uprightness, sophistication and cool-headedness
Reddish purple - just and noble character
Blue - loyalty, fierceness and sharpness
White - dangerousness, suspiciousness and craftiness. Commonly seen
on the stage is the white face for the powerful villain
Green - impulsive and violent and stubbornness
28. Xiaohualian (the petty painted face) is a small
patch of chalk on and around the nose. Clowns
of traditional drama who wears this special
make-up show a mean and secretive character.
29. Aesthetic Aims and Principles of Movement:
The highest aim of performers in Peking Opera is to put beauty into every
motion.
The art form, gestures, settings, music, and character types are
determined by long held conventions
Conventions of movement
Walking in a large circle always symbolizes traveling a long distance
Character straightening his or her costume and headdress symbolizes
that an important character is about to speak
Pantomimic opening and closing of doors and mounting and descending
of stairs
30. Staging and Costumes:
Stages:
square platforms, the action on
stage is usually visible from at
least three sides
stages were built above the line
of sight of the viewers, but some
modern stages have been
constructed with higher
audience seating
divided into two parts by an
embroidered curtain called a
shoujiu.
31. Costume: Xingtou
popularly known as Xifu in Chinese
origins of Peking Opera costumes can be traced back to the mid-14th
century
enable the audience to distinguish a character's sex and status at first
glance if noble or humble, civilian or military, officials or private citizens
give expression to sharp distinctions between good and evil or loyal
and wicked characters
oblong wings (chizi) attached to a gauze hat indicate a loyal official.
In contrast, a corrupt official is made to wear a gauze hat with
rhomboidal wing
32. Props:
utilizes very few props
will almost always have a table and at least one chair, which
can be turned through convention into such diverse objects as
a city wall, a mountain, or a bed
a whip is used to indicate a horse and an oar symbolizes a
boat
Musicians:
are visible to the audience on the front part of the stage
33. Viewers:
always seated south of the stage, therefore, north is the most
important direction
Performers:
immediately move to center north upon entering the stage. All
characters enter from the east and exit from the west
36. 1. The Peking Opera costume
is called ______________.
a. Balinese costumes
b. Kimono and obi
c. Saya and Barong Tagalog
d. Xingtou
37. 2. The performance element that
includes both acrobatics and fighting
with all manner of weaponry in Peking
Opera is _______.
a. Combat
b. Dance-Acting
c. Speech
d. Song
38. 3. __________is the main role in
Peking Opera.
a. Dan
b. Chou
c. Jing
d. Sheng
39. 4. Red color on make-ups in
Peking Opera means __________.
a. suspicious and craftiness
b. roughness and fierceness
c. courage, bravery, &
uprightness
d. fierceness, ambition &
coolheadedness
40. 5. There are always props of
these on stage in Peking Opera.
a. Bed and pillows
b. Chairs and tables
c. Drums and cymbals
d. Wood blocks and stick
41. 6. Traditional Chinese dance that is
usually seen during the Chinese New
Year Celebration. This dance is based on
a mythical creature believed by the
Chinese people.
a. Dragon dance
b. Lion dance
c. Snake dance
d. Bali dance
42. 7. The dragon dance team ______
the movements of the river spirit
in a flowing rise and fall manner.
a. Pantomime
b. Tableau
c. Mimics
d. Sings
43. 8. The Chinese people believe that
performing the Lion and Dragon
dances ___________.
a. makes the country more wealthy
b. drives the bad luck and evil
spirits away
c. tells the people to reconcile
d. makes the people more healthy
44. 9. Men and children usually wear
______ every Chinese New Year
or Spring festival.
a. Balinese Costumes
b. Kimono
c. Kung Fu Suits
d. Saya and Barong Tagalog
45. 10. Which of the following
props cannot be seen in
Spring festival?
a. Chinese Fans
b. Chinese Lanterns
c. Dragon Puppets
d. Wayan
