Chinese Opera

Mates:Lam Chi To TomanWoo Hon KwanJoey HoLam Pang FaiAlbert WanZhong Ka Yu

A Brief History

Prologue

The rise of the Chinese opera had to be traced back to the Zhou dynasty. When Zhou first adopted the Fēngjiàn system (Feudalism)

Timeline

3 Sovereigns & 5 Emperors

Xia Dynasty

Shang Dynasty

Western Zhou

Spring and AutumnEastern Zhou

Warring statesZhou

The Rise of Chinese Opera (1)

During Zhou, an emperor, after taking advice from Mèng Zǐ (Mencius) decided that some “popular music” would be more suitable for the country

Mencius

• 372-289 BC• A Chinese philosopher• Established

Confucianism

The rise of Chinese Opera (2)

Then, during the Qin Dynasty, The Imperial Bureau is established. During Han, the bureau was greatly expanded by emperor Han Wu Di. From then on, the bureau was charged with supervising powers

The Rise of Chinese Opera (3)

• At that time and afterwards, the Chinese music is greatly influenced by foreign countries especially the Central Asia

• The music then become the “today’s Chinese Opera”

The Branches

Northern Branches

Southern Branches

Others

Henan Opera

Beijing (Peking) Opera

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Four Great Characteristic Melodies

• Bangziqiang (梆子腔 )• Huangpiqiang ( 黄皮腔 )• Kunqiang (崑腔 )• Gaoqiang (高腔 )

Cantonese Opera

The 4 Elements

http://www.novelhall.org.tw/arthur/chineseopera/flash/index.swf

Does Peking Opera equals to Chinese Opera?

Roles of Play

There’re 4 roles in Chinese Opera:• Sheng (male)• Tan (female)• Ching• Chou

The Make Up

Sheng

Lao Sheng

Hsiao Sheng

Wu Sheng

Tan

Tan

Hua Tan

Ching

Chou

Wen Chou

Wu Chou

The Costumes

Costumes play an important role on telling the audience the

status of a specific character

Hats

This is the most common accessories amongst the costume series

Different characters wear different

hats:

Fake beards

Sheng, Chou and Ching wear “beards” to associate with facial expressions and body gestures

Shoes

Again, they tell the audience the status of the characters

The musical instruments

Bowed String InstrumentsWind Instruments

Plucked String Instruments

Bowed String Instruments

Major components:• bamboo bow• horse tail hair

Characteristics:• Elegant sound• Clear local image

Wind Instruments

Types:• Without reeds

(aloe)• With double-reeds

(aloe)• With single-reed

(aloe)

Plucked String Instruments

Types:• Seven stringed

zithers • Pipa

Video Clip Introduction

Acknowledgement