Chinese Opera is not a true approximation of Western
Opera. It is in fact, a loose term to describe a special type of theatre
which combines singing, acting, dancing, acrobatics, poetic and musical
recital to create a narrative based on a folktale or historic event.
There are many types of Chinese opera ranging from the classical Peking
Opera to the more earthy Cantonese form. There are also many other forms
reflecting the cultures of the various minorities that exist in China.
Like most other people the world over, the Chinese have always expressed
themselves in elaborate song and dance performances which eventually
turned into dramatic recitals. Opera in its present form seems to have
had the patronage of the imperial courts since the Chou dynasty. The
"Hundred Plays" or "Pai Xi" were mainly acrobatic forms of the art that
became popular when the great merchant and craftsmen guilds began to
spread over the country and brought with them, stages for production
of such plays. In an early account of the workers' life in Chingtehchen,
the great ceramic centre in Kiangsi, there are records stating that
kiln managers were to be fined if they did not keep their agreement
to pay for workers' entertainment in the form of operas on stipulated
days. Also, in many rural areas especially in Northern China along the
"Old Silk Road", one can still see stages for opera in the grounds of
old temples. The Yuan dynasty during the 13th and 14th centuries A.D,
is regared as the "Golden Age" of Chinese Opera and under Mongol rule
became the basis for most of "modern" Peking Opera. The first Chinese
opera came to the West in the 18th century. It was a drama entitled
"The Chao Family Orphan" written by a 14th century Yuan playwright named
Chi Chun-Xiang. It is rarely performed now because it is not easy to
sing. It is about a military leader who murders all the members with
the exception of a male child who is rescued and reared by a loyal servant.
At least five adaptions of it were made including an English version
by the playwright Hatchett. Goethe is also said to have based his play
"Elpenor" on it. Chinese opera training requires its participants to
start at an early age, well before adolescence. Training is arduous
and strenuous. In the old days, trainee-apprentice actors/singers were
expected to stand out in the open and face a wall in the early morning.
There, they practised voice production, somersaults, various manners
of walking, specific complicated leg and arm movements and a variety
of roles. They had to succeed at all these or else they would end up
as an underpaid supernumerary who either carried a banner or acted as
a member of a retinue for one of the "great lords" if he was lucky enough
to hold his employment at all. As in Elizabethan England and the present
day Kabuki and Noh theatre acting was considered a male profession with
men playing female parts. In fact, the most famous and influential actor
of the 20th century was Mei Lan-Feng, a man who specialised in female
heroine roles. Nevertheless, all female amateur troupes did exist during
the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Also, women have now
been allowed to train for female parts in main stream theatre.