Repertoire of Shaoxing Opera

Butterfly Lovers

The Chinese lover story — “Butterfly Lovers”, or “Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai” – has been adapted into many kinds of opera genres, and the Yue opera version of the story is among the most successful. The story goes like this:

In order that she may travel to Hangzhou, a city in Zhejiang Province, to study, Zhu Yingtai impersonates and takes on a male identity. There she meets Liang Shanbo and in the course of their studies, they become extremely close friends.

When the time comes for Yingtai to return home, the pair hesitate greatly in departure, entreating each other with much ceremony and suppressed sadness. Yingtai offers ‘his’ younger sister’s hand in marriage and entreats Shanbo to visit ‘his’ residence soon to raise the issue of marriage with ‘his’ parents. Shanbo is unaware that Yingtai does not have a younger sister and is in fact offering her own hand in marriage.

A year passes before Shanbo makes his way to the Zhu Residence. Liang Shanbo is overjoyed to realize Yingtai’s true identity and that she is in love with him. However, happiness turns into sorrow as the two soon discover that Yingtai has been betrothed to another man. In great sadness, the two lovers meet at the tower and lament their great misfortune. Upon his return to Hangzhou, Shanbo falls ill in his great misery and dies. Yingtai hears of this on her marriage day and flees to his grave. There, folklore has it that her crying so moved the heavens that the clouds themselves shed tears at her grief. Further, the earth beneath her cracked apart, and the ill-fated Yingtai commits suicide by jumping into the opened grave. Miraculously, the pair are transformed into butterflies. Arising into the air, they flutter and dance side by side among the flowers, never to be separated again.

Shaoxing Opera

Shaoxing Opera is a newcomer among the Chinese local operas. It developed from local musical plays that used only the ban-clapper as the accompaniment in East China’s Zhejiang Province. As the province belonged to the Yue State in the ancient times, it is popularly known as Yue opera.

Shaoxing Opera has a history of more than 80 years, and has its origins in a rough and ready kind of drama told by actors in fields. At the turn of the century, this basic drama began to make its way from the fields to the stage, and developed from a small group of actors to larger and larger troupes accompanied by musicians.

The popularity of this art form began to grow in 1916, when it was performed in Shanghai to large audiences of Shaoxing origin. Gradually, first string instruments and later other instruments were added to the orchestra, although the music was still based on the same Shaoxing melodies. The performances were, in fact, very successful.

In 1923, the training of female actors for this art form was set up. Since 1928, the Shaoxing opera troupes, consisting of solely female actors, began their performances in Shanghai. In a few years, females impersonating males had become the most important feature of this opera form, and at the same time the yue opera became well known all over China. In the Qing dynasty China (1644-1911) mixed troupes consisting of both male and female actors had been prohibited, and even in Peking opera, the lady-actors were not allowed to enter the stage together with men before 1930.

From the 1940s on, Shaoxing Opera developed a great deal and the melodies were enriched, and performances enhanced. It was a period of great innovation, and many famous actors established reputations at the time. One of these actors was Yuan Xuefen. She became famous for her performances of female characters that were decent and kind-hearted, but suffered tragic fates nonetheless.

Roles in Beijing Opera – Chou

Chou — The Comedy Role:

Lastly there is the Chou or comedy actor who generally plays the role of a dim but likeable and amusing character with blinking eyes and all the appropriate gestures. Sometimes the Chou can be a rascal, with a slightly wicked nature. Alternatively a scholar or prince–an eccentric or representing the sort of scholar or prince who would not command much respect. Chou parts can be divided into two types: Wen Chou, who is usually a civilian, such as a jailer, servant, merchant or scholar; and Wu Chou, who performs minor military roles as a soldier and must be skilled in acrobatics. His costume is either elaborate or fussy if of high social standing, but simple if of a low standing.

Mention must be made of the Monkey King who has a special place in the hearts of all who are interested in Chinese opera. Played by an exceptionally talented Wu Sheng actor, the Monkey King holds every minute of the audience’s attention with the quick, agile movements of his lithe body, and his blinking eyes. He is traditionally supposed have accompanied a Buddhist monk who went on a long journey across the mountains from China to India to collect the Buddhist scriptures and bring them back to China. The Monk’s legendary companions on this journey are a pig (to provide the humor), a not so learned monk, supposed to represent a shark spirit, to mediate in quarrels, and the Monkey King, who possesses special supernatural powers to combat evil spirits encountered on the way. The Monkey King’s costume is bright yellow in color and consists of a voluminous jacket and baggy trousers to enable him to perform his movements with ease and grace. He mimics a monkey the whole time, with his knees always bent and his hands held dangling in front of him, occasionally even scratching himself. His eyes have a mischievous twinkle in them as they blink at the audience.

The Monkey King also has a trouble of monkeys who behave in the same manner, but all have their own characteristics–one is greedy, one naughty, one sleepy, etc.–and their skilful acrobatics and movements are a continual source of delight and object of affection for the audience.

Roles in Beijing Opera – Jing

Jing — Painted Face Male: To see a Jing (ching) actor for the first time is a startling experience for the spectator. This part is more noted for courage and resourcefulness than for scholarly intelligence. Often playing the part of a high-ranking army general, the Jing actor with his painted face can also be seen as a warrior or official . His robust, gruff, bass voice and grotesquely painted face together with his swaggering self-assertive manner all combine to make him the most forceful personality in most scenes in which he appears. Jing actors are usually, in fact, extroverts. The general rule for the basic color is: red for good,white for treacherous, black for brusque, and blue for wild, i.e. a bandit would have a blue face. All Jing actors wear a heavy, ornate costume and a head dress with a padded jacket underneath to enhance the effect, They can be divided into three main types: Dong-Chui(T’ung Ch’uei), better known as Hei Tou (black face), who is good at singing and usually a loyal general; Jia Zi(Chia Tze), who is good at acting , and generally a more complicated character; and Wu Jing, who is mainly proficient in fighting and acrobatics and seldom plays a very prominent role.

Roles in Beijing Opera – Dan

Dan — Female Role:

The Dan (Tan) or female role can be divided into six main parts which principally indicate character; Qing Yi(Ch’ing I), modest and virtuous; Hua dan(Hua tan) flirtatious; Gui Men Dan(Kuei Men Tan), a young, married girl; Dao Ma Dan(Tao Ma Tan), a stronger, more forceful character, usually a woman general; Wu Dan(Wu Tan), the female acrobat; and Lao Dan(Lao Tan), an old woman.

 A Qing Yi actress portrays a lady of good and sympathetic character Usually of a quiet, gentle disposition and graceful in her movements, she is the Chinese ideal of a beautiful woman. As a wife she is faithful, as a young girl a model of propriety. Her good breeding is shown by the graceful, flowing movements of her ‘water sleeves’. The Qing Yi’s costume is elegant, simple and of good quality, but not as vivid in color as that of the Hua Dan. Her singing is of a pure, high-pitched quality.

For a Hua Dan actress the gay, flirtatious personality of a young girl is required. Usually not of such a high social standing as the Qing Yi, the Hua Dan actress with her coy, coquettish and generally quicker movements arrests the attention of the audience. This is a difficult part to play successfully. The Hua Dan’s facial expression is continually changing and her mischievous eye movements are particularly attractive. Because of her lower social status more hand movements are required, as in olden times it was not considered polite for a well-bred Chinese lady to show her hands. Costume, usually vivid in design and color, consists of a jacket and trousers, and a red or coloews handkerchief is carried to flutter in the actress’s hand. Her character, needless to say, is not as virtuous as that of the Qing Yi and therefore her singing voice has a gayer and slightly stronger quality. She also has to do more speaking than singing.

A Gui Men Dan is the young, unmarried girl, who in later life will develop into a Qing Yi or a Hua Dan; her immaturity is clearly shown in her reactions, for though naughty and slightly mischievous, she has not the confidence of the Hua Dan, although her schemes and plans are often just as successful.

A Dao Ma Dan plays the part of the female warrior. She is trained mainly for acting and singing and performs many skilful movements especially with the pheasant feathers in her head-dress and her military weapons. She still retains feminine charm, however, and a very versatile actress is required for this role. Her parts, such as that of Mu Gui Ying, are of the heroines in Chinese history who were famed for their military prowess. A Dao Ma Dan’s clothes can be very elaborate, as she wears the four pennants strapped to her back and the Kao

A Wu Dan is the female acrobatic role and the Wu Dan actress steps into or takes any female role that requires a high degree of acrobatics. She is purely an acrobat but her role demands a talented actress for a successful performance.

A Lao Dan is simply an old woman, but great skill is required for this specilized part. The Lao Dan actress cleverly portrays in her bent back and faltering but dignified movements her character’s advancing years. She is often seen carrying a staff. Unlike the other female roles, the Lao Dan wears no make-up and her costume is more subdued in color and design. Her voice tends to be slightly deeper, because the natural voice is used, not the forced high-pitched one used on other Dan roles.