Major Themes

The stories in traditional Chinese operas usually go like this: The protagonists experience all kinds of difficulties, and ultimately, “The good people would have good rewards, while the bad on Id have their bad retributions.”

That is one of the main characteristics of the traditional (Chinese operas. It is also a reflection of what the Chinese people think is fair and good. Qiu Jun, a playwright in the Ming Dynasty, said: “There may be also joys and sorrows, yet at the end, there will be a good ending.” The Injustice Done to Dou’e is a good example. In the story, the girl Dou’e was wronged and sentenced to death. Later, her father became a magistrate, and when he returned to his hometown and revisited the case, he brought the culprit to justice. In Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (The Butterfly Lovers), the lovers eventually died, yet they both turned into butterflies and remained together forever. In Romance of the Western Chambers, Zhang Sheng and Cui Yingying, love affair was initially opposed by the parents, but eventually they married. It is because of these trends that some scholars hold the view that there is no tragedy in traditional Chinese operas like that in the Western drama. The people in China, an agricultural country, generally pursue a stable and contented life, and do not like big changes. In addition, the Confucian ideology of loyalty, forgiveness, and the “middle way” approaches, and the Buddhist doctrine of reincarnation have great influence on traditional Chinese operas, A lot of people believe that “the good people would have good rewards, while the bad ones would have their bad retributions.” That concept is particularly prominent in operas.

Artistic Characteristics

When compared with foreign operas (plays), traditional Chinese operas have four main characteristics.

Firstly, there are four categories of performers: Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou, and there are sub-categorizations in each of them. Let’s take the Peking Opera as an example.

Sheng is a general term for male roles, other than Hualian (painted face) and Chou (male clown). There are Lao Shen (old male with beard), Xiao Sheng (young male), Wu Sheng (martial arts role), and Wawa Sheng (baby or child).

Dan is a general term for female roles, and there are Zheng Dan (heroine), Hua Dan (young female), Guimen Dan (female in her boudoir), Wu Dan (martial arts role), Lao Dan (old female), Cai Dan (female clown), and Daoma Dan (knife and horse).

Jing is also called Hualian (painted face), usually for a person with a special character, virtue or appearance. The roles are further divided into the Primary and Secondary Painted Faces.

Chou (literally “ugly”) is a clown figure, most notably indicated by a small paint of white powder on the bridge of the nose.

Secondly, the stage make-up is exaggerated. There are set rules for the make-up of the Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou characters in the operas. The Sheng and Dan characters are to have beautiful make-up, while the Jing and Chou characters typically have exaggerated patterns and colors to achieve certain stage effects. These result in Peking Opera characters having exaggerated painted faces.

Thirdly, the performances simulate real actions. This is also one of the most basic characteristics of traditional Chinese operas, and an important difference between the Chinese and the Western operas. A person holding a whip means that person is riding a horse. Wielding the whip with a few other gestures would mean travelling in the different locations of a long journey. A battle with tens of thousands of soldiers could be performed with one general commanding a handful of soldiers. The darkness of the night and the fighting actions in darkness are not achieved by turning off the light on the stage, but through the performers’ actions.

Fourthly, the performances follow of routines. The performances on the opera stage have been summarized, extracted and beautified from real life situations and have certain routines for the script, characters, types of performers, music and singing, dress and make-up. For example, the closing of a door, the riding of a horse and the travelling on a boat have formulated ways of performances. However, some excellent artists had shown some flexibility and created their own styles of performing. For example, Mei Lanfang (1894 –1961), a well-known Peking Opera master, has developed his own unique styles.