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5. Peking Opera and the Court
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press
- Chapter
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It is well known that in the nineteenth century, the imperial court would summon opera troupes into the palace for special performances, and that the court exercised a form of censorship in the form of injunctions prohibiting women and officials from attending the theatre. From the material in the Neiwufu records, however, it is clear that the court was also very active in the creation of a “cultural product” in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Libretti for new operas to be performed in the palace were carefully examined and amended, both for their contents and in regard to the musical accompaniment. The court clearly aimed to exercise moral leadership and inculcate elite values (including loyalty to the throne, filial piety, and so on), and this influenced the content and development of Peking Opera. Active participation on the part of the court was one of the essential steps in the establishment of Peking Opera. The Formation of the Peking Opera Both Kangxi and Qianlong had very elitist tastes, and were particular about the type of drama they appreciated. Kangxi, in particular, believed that vulgar and indecent novels and dramas could indeed corrupt public morals and threaten the political order, and he issued a series of orders banning indecent books and songs. These regulations were reissued by succeeding emperors.1 Kangxi regarded popular drama outside the palace as vulgar and undisciplined, and he insisted that the “purity” of the traditional drama should be preserved in the palace. Because the Nanfu was relatively isolated from the outside world, it was able to retain such “purity.” There was a great difference between drama performances inside the palace and those among the populace at large. However, such a situation could no longer be maintained when the late Qing court had to summon commercial actors into the palace, and when the emperors Chapter Five Peking Opera and the Court 220 Ascendant Peace in the Four Seas themselves were no longer interested in the more elitist art forms. Given this combination of factors, several low-class regional dramatic styles were transformed into a national art form, the Peking Opera, appreciated by all classes well beyond the capital. Elite standards in the early Qing court Kangxi and Qianlong, especially the former, loved elite opera such as kunqu. One of the three surviving edicts from Kangxi relating to the Nanfu makes his views clear: An edict transmitted by Wei Zhu (the chief eunuch of Kangxi): All of you have your special duties: kunqu and yiqiang, music played on strings or on bamboo. How could you take even one day’s leisure? What is more, your emoluments are so high; you and your families lack nothing. How could you ever repay such enormous favour from the emperor? In singing the kunshanqiang (kunqu), you must stretch the voice but keep the tune; the rhymes must be harmonious, the sounds distinguished, and the rhythm clear. The tunes are from both north and south; the gong 宮 and shang 商 notes should not be confused. The music and the singing must match; the actions of the hands, feet, eyes and gestures must be coordinated. Such is the beauty of the Pear Garden. The yiyang style has been transmitted for a long time. The Rainbow Garment Dance (Nishang yuyi wu 霓裳 羽衣舞) of the Tang was lost. There were a hundred or so Yuan dramas, which were very popular everywhere. By the Ming, however, only a few dozen northern tunes from the Yuan survived. Now they have all been lost. In recent times, even the yiyangqiang has been contaminated by vulgar tunes. Of the ten or so surviving tunes, not even one or two remain in their original form. It is only because of the oral transmission of the old teachers that their true form has been preserved inside the palace. You must practice even harder, reciting day and night, paying particular regard to the level, rising, departing, and entering tones. Correct pronunciation of each word will lead to the correct tune. The correct tune will lead to its correct inner principles.2 During Qianlong’s reign, Prince Zhuang and Zhang Zhao, reputed to be the most talented scholars of their time, were made responsible for palace ceremonial music and drama. The dramas they compiled were mainly kunqu; some were yiqiang. Xin Xiuming, regarded as one of the few erudite eunuchs in the palace, was responsible for the dramas of Cixi’s private troupe. Writing in a later period, he noted, “The dramas of the Qianlong period were...