Peking opera developed gradually during the Qing through exchanges involving Anhui troupes, Han opera, and other performance traditions, within Beijing's theatrical setting. Its vocal styles, roles, and performance conventions emerged through performers' long practice. An entire genre cannot simply be attributed to one person or a single day.
Historical background
Peking opera, or Beijing opera, is the dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines instrumental music, vocal performance, mime, martial arts, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. The art form is also preserved in Taiwan, where it is also known as Guójù. It has also spread to other regions such as the United States and Japan.
Peking opera features four main role types: shēng ('gentlemen'), dàn ('women'), jìng ('rough men'), and chǒu ('clowns'). Performing troupes often have several of each variety, as well as numerous secondary and tertiary performers. With their elaborate and colorful costumes, performers are the only focal points on Peking opera's characteristically sparse stage.
Origins
Peking opera was born when the Four Great Anhui Troupes brought Hui opera, or what is now called Huiju, in 1790 to Beijing, for the eightieth birthday of the Qianlong Emperor on 25 September. It was originally staged for the court and only made available to the public later. In 1828, several famous Hubei troupes arrived in Beijing and performed jointly with Anhui troupes. The combination gradually formed Peking opera's melodies. Peking opera is generally regarded as having fully formed by 1845. Although it is called Peking opera (Beijing theatre style), its origins are in the greater areas of the capital of Anhui province (the City of Anqing), including southern Anhui and eastern Hubei, which share the similar dialect of Xiajiang Mandarin (Lower Yangtze Mandarin).
Peking opera's two main melodies, Xipi and Erhuang. Xipi literally means "skin puppet show", referring to the puppet show that originated in Shaanxi province. Chinese puppet shows always involve singing. Much dialogue is also carried out in an archaic form of Mandarin Chinese, in which the Zhongyuan Mandarin dialects of Henan and Shaanxi are closest. This form of Mandarin is recorded in the book Zhongyuan Yinyun. It also absorbed music from other operas and local Zhili musical art forms. Some scholars believe that the Xipi musical form was derived from the historic Qinqiang, while many conventions of staging, performance elements, and aesthetic principles were retained from Kunqu, the form that preceded it as court art.
Thus, Peking opera is not a monolithic form, but rather a coalescence of many older forms. However, the new form also creates its own innovations. The vocal requirements for all of the major roles were greatly reduced for Peking opera. The Chou, in particular, rarely has a singing part in Peking opera, unlike the equivalent role in Kunqu style. The melodies that accompany each play were also simplified, and are played with different traditional instruments than in earlier forms. Perhaps most noticeably, true acrobatic elements were introduced with Peking opera. The form grew in popularity throughout the 19th century.
The Anhui troupes reached their peak of excellence in the middle of the century and were invited to perform in the court of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom that had been established during the Taiping Rebellion. Beginning in 1884, the Empress Dowager Cixi became a regular patron of Peking opera, cementing its status over earlier forms like Kunqu. The popularity of Peking opera has been attributed to the simplicity of the form, with only a few voices and singing patterns.
Music
The accompaniment for a Peking opera performance usually consists of a small ensemble of traditional melodic and percussion instruments. The lead melodic instrument is the jinghu, a small, high-pitched, two-string spike fiddle. The jinghu is the primary accompaniment for performers during songs. Accompaniment is heterophonic – the jinghu player follows the basic contours of the song's melody, but diverges in pitch and other elements. The jinghu often plays more notes per measure than the performer sings, and does so an octave lower. During rehearsal, the jinghu player adopts their own signature version of the song's melody, but also must adapt to spontaneous improvisations on the part of the performer due to changed performance conditions.