Formal characteristics of Peking Opera

Author: Tianjin Association for the Promotion of Chinese Culture, Chief Editor
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The extraordinary artistic charm of Peking Opera is inextricably linked with its artistic form. To explore the mysteries of Peking Opera, one must understand its formal characteristics, which is what it means to "know how to watch opera" and "understand the art." This book analyzes and studies the formal features of Peking Opera, such as conventions, virtualization, techniques, and rhythms, supported by rich performance examples. It is a theoretical work on Peking Opera that combines knowledge, readability, and academic rigor. The extraordinary artistic charm of Peking Opera is clearly inseparable from its artistic form. To explore the mysteries of Peking Opera, one must have a clear understanding of its formal characteristics. As the saying goes, "To watch opera, one must know how to watch," and "only those who know how to watch can perform." The term "know how to watch" means to understand the opera, to understand its characteristics. However, understanding Peking Opera is not that easy. The key to moving from not understanding to understanding lies in continuously reflecting and experiencing the performances of Peking Opera over a long period; reading books about Peking Opera can help people shorten this process and accelerate and deepen their understanding of the art. Due to the long history and profound depth of Peking Opera, even with decades of experience in watching performances and long-term research, the author can only say that they are still in the process of gradually understanding the art. Writing this book can only be seen as a compilation of the author's limited insights and accumulated experiences over the years, providing a reference for young readers.
When it comes to the features of Peking Opera's artistic form, this is actually a topic with diverse opinions. Many different views have been proposed regarding issues such as the conventions of Peking Opera, the emphasis on martial arts techniques, its comprehensiveness, the singing, recitation, and dialogue, the relationship between symbolism and Peking Opera, and the relationship between realism and virtuality.