From its very beginning, Peking Opera was closely connected with the culture of the national
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| In the 1910s, Mei Lanfang put on some modern-theme plays which revealed the oppression of chinese women. | capital. Classic plays re-acting events of past dynasties constitute the bulk of Peking Opera repertoire. And Peking Opera performers improve their acting skills by playing roles in classic plays. So-called "modem plays" appeared as early as the early 20th century. These refer to operas telling stories that took place in the Qing and the Republic of China periods. Costume was also different from the traditional variety. Mei Lanfang at a young age came up with a number of new plays such as Deng Xiagu (deng xia gu, telling the story of Deng Xiagu helping her sister and sister-in-law escape persecution by their relatives) and A Strand of Hemp (yi lu ma, telling the life story of a talented girl and her simpleton husband). During the Second World War, a new play titled Three Campaigns against the Zujiazhuang Village (san da zhu jia zhuang), which is based on The Water Margin, was staged to inspire people in their resistance against Japanese aggression. But there had been no large-scale performance of modem plays until the 1960s.
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| The Red Lantern, a revolutionary model play. | In the 1950s and 1960s, the practice of staging only classic plays among Peking Opera troupes faced grave challenges. Like other art forms, it was necessary for Peking Opera to let images of ordinary workers and peasants become leading roles on the theatrical stage. The idea that an and literature should serve politics became mainstream thought. In 1963, the Ministry of Culture required theatrical troupes to write and perform Peking Operas with a modem theme for national performance. In 1964, "National Performance of Modem Peking Operas before Fellow Artists for the Purpose of Discussion and Emulation" pushed to a climax activities of creating and staging modern-theme Peking Operas. A total of 37 plays were staged, and performance lasted 37 days and attracted 330,000 audiences. State leaders watched performances, too.
After the start of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong's wife, led the art and literary circles in creating and staging five modern revolutionary Peking Operas - Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy (zhi qu wei hu shah), The Red Lantern (hong deng ji), Sha Jia Creek (sha jia bang), On the Docks (hai gang) and Raid on the White Tiger Regiment (qi xi bai hu tuan). And together with two ballets and a symphony, they were called "'Eight Revolutionary Model Plays." During the ten years, performance of all classic Peking Operas was banned. Radio stations broadcast and taught singing sections of these plays day in and day out (there were few television sets in the country then). Schools often organized performances of
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| During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), actors and actresses of the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe staged performances and picked tea with farmers in Zhejiang. | sections of the "model plays." Many people learned the plays by heart. The "model plays" became the standard for artistic creation in the country. They exerted influence over literature, painting, drama, traditional opera, dancing and music. Many accomplished artists were subjected to persecution during the Cultural Revolution; and some left the Peking Opera stage forever. Inheritance of traditional Peking Opera was forced to stop.
Revolutionary modern Peking Opera was quite different from the traditional one. Themes catered to political needs; movements of performers were closer to life; makeup was simplified; costume and stage settings were truer to reality; and Western musical instruments were introduced, with music aimed at stimulating a revolutionary fervor. It is not until 1978, two years after the end of the Cultural Revolution, that traditional Peking Opera made its difficult re- appearance on the stage.
The Chinese nowadays have mixed feelings about the "revolutionary model plays." Some people are strongly opposed to them because of their unhappy experiences in the Cultural Revolutions; others cannot forget them because these plays accompanied them in their adolescence; there are even people who, in a nostalgic fervor, performed them on the
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| Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, a revolutionary model play. | stage once again. There are also people who, while disapproving of the tendency of political interference in artistic creation as evidenced strongly in the "'model plays," speak positively of their artistic accomplishment.
Close to 30 years have passed since the heyday of the "model plays" It is worthwhile to look at them from today's perspective. All these plays bear a distinct brand of a particular historical period, and extol a brand of heroism. Many well-known performers at the time played roles in these plays. Their level of acting was fairly high and their singing was pleasant to listen to. And singing is much more important than the plot. That is why these +'revolutionary model plays+' continue to have audiences today.
Attempts have continued to create modern plays. It is embarrassing to note. However, that, although quite a number of new plays have been created, none of them has
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| The town of Sha Jia Bang has become a tourist destination thanks to the revolutionary model play Sha Jia Creek, which has made it famous. | surpassed the "model plays" in artistic attainment. In addition, because of less publicity than that for the "model plays" in their day, these new plays have had little impact.
Peking Opera has been passed down through oral instructions and face-to-face teachings. It developed into a system and came to maturity 60-70 years ago. For acting in Peking Opera, different schools have their respective unique +'winning secrets," which in the past were not easily passed onto people outside their respective circles. On the history and traditions of Peking Opera, it is not advisable for later generations to take a simplistic attitude of judging what is correct and what is wrong. Watching a Peking Opera performance involves a spectator's own cultural interest and way of appreciating the beautiful. Only with a penetrating spirit can one gain the ability to really appreciate the charms of Peking Opera. And Peking Opera is a '+slow'" art. For internal innovation of Peking Opera as well as for enjoyment of the art form, a ¡°gradual approach,¡± rather than abrupt change," is favored. This is because such an approach better reflects the soul of Peking Opera. |
