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introduction Traditional Opera of China Theatrical performances telling a story through acting, singing and dancing have a long history in China, whose diverse regional languages and cultures produced a large number of traditional forms and styles.According to a survey conducted in 1957, China has over 350 different styles of such theater based upon their places of origin or their centers of activity, each identified with a particular province, district, or regional language or dialect. 1 A few of these are popular over a wide area, but most are performed in only a small region. Traditional theater is an amalgamation of literary, visual, and performing arts. At their best, its operatic texts have been studied as fine poetry and its movements as exquisite dance; its singing is regarded as the apex of vocal art, and its musical instruments constitute a repository of the most important samples of material culture. Its costumes, facial make-up, martial arts, and slapstick are all media of creative energy that have been greatly appreciated for centuries. Known as xi or ju, the operas date to at least the twelfth century, when a form of entertainment called zaju, translated in the literature as “variety play” or “miscellany play,” was first documented, through the preservation of fragmentary scripts.This type of performance was soon documented in many parts of the country, using local languages and diverse musical styles that were influenced by regional culture, local folk music, and the phonetics of the local language.These performance types are identified as “traditional” because they developed during the last several hundred years as an integral part of the Chinese cultural fabric and shared much with one another in content, structure and performance practice. Nevertheless, each developed its distinctiveness owing mainly to language and music. Because these theatrical forms are all sung, they are often referred to in the West as “operas,” and the many different 1 See Su Yi, “Quanguo juzhong chubu tongji” [A preliminary listing of operatic genres in China], Xiju luncong 1 (1957): 215–223. the flower princess.indb 1 2010/2/9 9:17:05 AM 2 the flower princess kinds are referred to as “regional operas” (difangxi). 2 For centuries, the opera served three major social functions. First, it was an important entertainment for all social classes and in both urban and rural areas. Secondly, it served as a medium of communication and education. Until the twentieth century, the vast majority of Chinese people were illiterate or semiliterate ; opera offered them a view of the wider world, and played a major role in giving them a shared history, a common body of myths and legends, and a set of social and ethical mores with which to forge a cultural identity.Thirdly, it constituted the core or supplement to many ritual activities, serving to honor a god’s birthday, to offer thanksgiving, to expel evil spirits, to celebrate secular calendrical festivals, or to mark life-cycle events. Beginning in the early twentieth century, as China underwent momentous political, social, cultural and economic changes, the importance of opera in people’s lives diminished. The flourishing of a great variety of entertainment, particularly with the advent of technology and mass media, rendered the opera relatively insignificant as a leisure activity. A rapid rise in literacy opened up new channels for intellectual pursuits beyond the stage; in particular, the younger generation looked toward the West for new ideas, and considered the traditional Chinese opera to be behind the times in both form and content. The declining practice of formal religious rituals further reduced the opera’s social significance. Nevertheless, a segment of the population continues to enjoy the story, visual splendor, and music, and treasures the opera as representing the best of China’s literary, visual and performing arts. Most of the regional operas are small-scale in terms of number of performers and size of repertory and have relatively crude artistic means at their disposal. For example, the simplest performance may involve only two actors, one or two percussion instruments, and a single tune that is sung over and over again. These performances are likely to be highly localized, often known only in small towns and rural areas within a county or a small part of a province, and they are referred to in the literature as Minor Operas (xiaoxi).At the opposite end of the spectrum are a few so-called Grand Operas (daxi), which have dozens of singers and instrumentalists, elaborate make-up and costumes, a...

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