The History Of Chinese Opera

2006-11-9 17:54:27

Chinese opera in a more organized form began in the Tang Dynasty with Emperor Xuanzong (712–755), who founded the "Pear Garden" (梨園; líyuán), the first known opera troupe in China. The troupe mostly performed for the emperors' personal pleasure. To this day operatic professionals are still referred to as "Disciples of the Pear Garden" (梨園弟子, líyuán dìzi).

In the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368), forms like the Zaju (雜劇, zájù, variety plays), which acts based on rhyming schemes plus the innovation of having specialized roles like Dan (旦, dàn, female), Sheng (生, shēng, male), Hua (花, huā, painted-face) and Chou (丑, chou, clown) were introduced into the opera.

Although actors in theatrical performances of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) strictly adhered to speaking in Classical Chinese onstage, during the Yuan Dynasty actors speaking in the vernacular tongue gained precedent on stage.

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