Beijing opera the quintessence of chinese culture

As it’s such an important part of Mandarin Chinese culture and history, I thought it would be interesting to take a detailed look at Peking Opera.

So in this post, I’ll first take you through how it’s different to Western opera. I’ll then tell you a bit more about its use as a tool for propaganda.

Before I start, I should point out that Peking Opera is not just in Beijing (previously known as Peking). There are major troupes throughout China, the Chinese speaking world, and even the United States.

Peking Opera vs. Western Opera There are similarities between these two traditions. For example, both have a story and performers in costumes singing. However, there are also some big differences, as detailed below.

Movement There’s a big emphasis on movement: Dancing and martial arts are both considered key elements.

Singing

In Western opera, performers are divided into groups based on how high they sing: You have basses then tenors then altos then sopranos.

(There are a few others, as well).

In Peking Opera, performers are divided into fixed character types.

There are shēng 生 (male characters), dàn 旦 (female characters), jìng 净 (males with painted faces) and chǒu 丑 (clowns).

Each role has its own singing style – but can be at various pitches. That means you can get female performers playing a male role, such as shēng.

You can see jìng characters in the image below.

Stylization Peking Opera is also much more stylized than Western Opera.

For example, you can tell the jĂŹng characters by looking at what color their face is painted. Red means loyalty, black means forthrightness, and so on.

Movements are also stylized to make them round. So when looking at an object, the character will move their eyes in a circular motion from low to high before finally looking at the thing. This stops there being harsh angles when they move their head and eyes. And, when a character is changing direction, they’ll walk in an S-shape rather than just turn.