Development of Beijing Opera During the Cultural Revolution in China

THE DEVELOPMENT OF BEIJING OPERA DURING THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION

Excerpts from the thesis by Wendy A. Levine

THE TRADITION OF BEIJING OPERA

EARLY PERFORMANCES

"I think we ought to imitate what they do in poorer families," said Grandmother Jia. "Everyone subscribes something towards a common pool; then, when it's all been collected, you spend it all on some treat or other, depending on how much you have."

During the Ming dynasty, special occasions called for voluntary contributions from families and neighborhood to pay for a Beijing opera performance. As described above from the famous Chinese novel The Story of The Stone, an opera performance was considered a community-oriented activity.

MORALS TEACHING

Chinese drama does not strive to be real in its physical presentation, since it is more to instruct than to amuse.

Chinese theater differs fundamentally from most Western political theater practices, for it is process-oriented and does not focus on the performance as the sole purpose of theater. Beijing opera therefore has a higher mission than merely to entertain and amuse. It appeals not only to the senses, but seeks also through the avenue of thought and reflection to expound the meaning of life. The moral is one of the most important elements, as well as one of the most prominent features, of Chinese drama.

TYPES OF PLAYS

Life as reflected in works of literature and art can and ought to be on a higher plane, more intense, more concentrated, more typical, nearer the ideal, and therefore more universal than everyday life.

While all operas performed during the Cultural Revolution were considered to be of a single group-art to serve the proletariat-the traditional jing ju repertoire can be divided into two groups, distinguished by subject matter and style of performance. Military plays (wu) are based on old stories and legends, and are akin to historical plays. They emphasize heroic action and intrigue, and the acrobatics and martial arts of their battle scenes are particularly spectacular [See Figure 4]. Civil plays (wen) are love stories, or concern daily social problems. Plays of this genre often explore social norms prevalent at the time of the play's writing, or those of the time the play takes place.

SET AND PROPS

...it is the ideal, not the real, that is intended to be emphasized. The aim is to present the show as artistically as possible without heeding whether or not the details are true to life.

Due to the emphasis on the idealized artistic aspect of Chinese opera, the stage setting is not a major concern. The traditional method of staging Chinese opera still observed today is on a platform stage backed by a stylized silk backdrop. The stage is bare of scenery and properties, except for a table, a beautifully embroidered curtain hung at the back of the stage, and two or more chairs. Covered with cloth, the table and chairs are placed to symbolize a throne, wall, well, mountain, or other locale. As discussed by retired Beijing opera actress Chen Chao Hong in a lecture attended by the author in Shanghai, a bridge for people to walk across is represented by a table with a chair on each side [See Figure 6]; a tower or throne is represented by a chair atop a table, covered with an embroidered cloth [See Figure 7]. CONTINUE-->