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If, one evening at the theater, you are seated at a table, rather
than in a row of seats, sipping tea and eating peanuts as your
neighbors stamp their feet and shout their approval, the chances
are you are watching a Peking opera performance.
Nowadays several Beijing theaters show daily Peking Opera performances.
They are generally a pastiche of extracts from famous operas,
featuring acrobatics, martial arts and not too much singing, for
the benefit of Western tourists. Chinese Opera lovers regard such
performances with disdain for their lack of artistic authenticity,
and regard the Westerners that so enjoy such “military”
operas as slow-witted children ignorant of the degree of artistry
with which Peking opera is imbued.
Theatergoers with a true appreciation of this extraordinary performance
art know each play they see by heart, and often close their eyes
the instant before a particularly difficult passage of an aria,
as they prefer to listen to rather than watch it being performed.
Piaoyou – amateur actors – are Peking Opera aficionados
that have been in existence as long as the art itself. They are
generally professionals who devote their free time to Peking Opera.
In old China they often pooled their enthusiasm and staged amateur
performances. The dedication of piaoyou could be compared with
that of today’s football fans. In addition to shouting their
approval at performances, they would also throw parties after
a particularly good performance, and hold celebrations to honor
virtuoso actors. Sad to say, classical piaoyou these days are
hard to find.
Yet some of their traditions live on, one of them that of holding
regular meetings, piaofang, at someone’s house or in a public
place. Go to any city park and from 9 am (earlier in summertime)
onward you will see a piaofang of singing piaoyou, generally elderly
people. They meet in the cold of winter and the sandstorms of
spring. To them, singing Peking Opera is what living is for.
Peking opera aficionados can identify an opera simply from one
of its character’s stage make-up. A popular character in
Chinese theater and history is Guan Yu. Actors playing him wear
red face make-up as this expresses the character’s sincere
and humane character. The most famous judge of the Celestial Kingdom,
who frequently appears in Peking Opera, is Bao Zheng, who wears
a distinctively black face.
Peking Opera stage settings are minimal. They often comprise
no more than a table and two chairs, but these paltry props speak
volumes as regards defining scenarios. In order to catch the nuances
you must be well versed in the Peking Opera subtext. You will
then know that if the table and chairs bear valances embroidered
with a flying dragon, the backdrop is an imperial palace, light-blue
or green valances embroidered with orchids denote a study, while
those bearing grand, majestic colors and images indicate a military
camp. Bright and garish colors indicate that the action takes
place in a tavern.
The way the table and chairs are arranged is also significant.
Chairs at the table signify a ceremonial situation, such as an
emperor giving audience, a general convening a military meeting
or officials discussing state affairs. If the chairs are in front
of a table, a scene from everyday family life is being portrayed.
A table can also represent a bed, an observation platform, a city
wall tower, a mountain or even a cloud transporting immortals,
while chairs are often used as weapons in fight sequences. The
humble table and two chairs are thus indispensable to the high
culture of Peking Opera, wherein the main focus is on moral content
rather than strict compliance with reality.
Playbills as we know them appeared in Chinese theaters quite
recently – only 60 years ago. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
and Republican era (1911-1949) a notice naming the troupe and
its artists, but neglecting to mention the name of the play, would
appear at the theater entrance. But the piaoyou were never in
doubt as to which opera they would be seeing that evening because
the props for each evening performance were on display during
the day. To the piaoyou, this was the equivalent of a hand engraved
program detailing play, plot and players.
Nowadays opera goers get their information from playbills, newspapers
and magazines, and are as keen ever to behold this most refined
and stylized of performance arts. As long as there is Peking Opera,
the great piaoyou traditions will live on.
INESA PLESKACHEUSKAYA is the Beijing
bureau chief of the Belorussian national newspaper Belarus
Today and the National TV channel
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