Traditional Chinese Theatre

Xi

The generic term for theatre in China, originally meaning play, games, or acrobatics.

Three Eras of Codification

Zaju (13th century), Kunqu (16th century), and Beijing theatre style.

Traditional Chinese Theatre Style

A presentational style focused intensely on music and choreography.

Archetype Characters

Characters having particular speech patterns, movement techniques, makeup, and costumes.

Tonal Patterns

Pitch variation used in Chinese to create different meanings for words with identical phonic sounds.

Playwright's Text Selection

Choosing words to match line structure and stanzas rather than setting words directly to music.

Religious Ritual Roots

The early origin where Chinese performance is closely tied to religious ritual.

Shamanistic Rituals

Early performances that combined song, dance, gesture, and costume.

Tang Dynasty Canjun Xi

Comic skits developed during the medieval Tang Dynasty featuring dialogue and music.

Tang Dynasty Performers

Both male and female performers, alongside popular puppet theatre on high stages.

Song Dynasty Theatres

A stable merchant class and the first fully developed theatres established between 960-1127 AD.

Goulan

Covered theatres housed within amusement centers called wazi.

Wazi

Amusement centers in the Song dynasty that could house up to 50 covered theatres.

Zaju in the North

Performances in the north meaning various plays, including dancing, acrobatics, and comic bits.

Yuanben

The core play or playlet in zaju, usually a funny piece about a love affair or local official satire.

Zaju Cast

Included a musician, four to five actors, and clowns or jesters acting as clever servants.

Zaju Masks and Makeup

Masks were probably used for supernatural roles, and makeup was common.

Nanxi

Longer southern dramas with complex storylines, usually romantic comedies where all characters sang.

Seven Role Categories

Standardized role categories developed that became the standard for Chinese theatre.

Sheng

The primary male category in traditional Chinese theatre role types.

Dan

The primary female character type in traditional Chinese theatre.

Mo

A secondary male figure in traditional role categories.

Wai

Another secondary male figure in traditional role categories.

Tie

The secondary female character category.

Jing

Strong male characters in traditional Chinese theatre.

Chou

Ugly male characters and comedic roles in traditional Chinese theatre.

Yuan Dynasty

A Mongol dynasty that ruled China from 1279-1368, during which zaju was favored.

Kublai Khan

Yuan dynasty ruler during whose reign zaju became the favored form of theatre.

Extant Zaju Texts

Just over 160 extant texts remaining from the Yuan Dynasty period.

Zaju Writers' Backgrounds

Writers were mostly Han Chinese, minor officials, entertainers, or merchants.

Four Most Noted Zaju Writers

Guan Hanqing, Bai Pu, Ma Zhiyuan, and Zheng Guangzu.

Zaju Content Themes

Romance, courtesans, friendship, tyrants, rebels, politics, war, and judges.

Bai Pu

Zaju writer who wrote over 16 plays, including his most popular work.

Rain on the Paulownia Tree

Bai Pu's most popular play about the doomed love of a Tang emperor for his favorite concubine.

Yuan Dynasty Music

Musical accompaniment was usually provided by stringed instruments like a four-stringed lute (pipa).

Zaju Actresses

Actresses dominated the zaju stage; many were prostitutes, keeping acting at a low social status.

Traditional Playing Space

A nearly bare thrust stage with a carpet, table, two chairs, and two doorways upstage.

Stage Attendants

Musician and stage attendants who remain on stage throughout performances.

Marvel Dramas

Southern drama that reclaimed ground during the start of the Ming dynasty.

The Story of the Lute

The first marvel drama written by Gao Ming.

Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang

Ming dynasty founder who ordered all noble families to own a copy of The Story of the Lute.

Marvel Drama Prologues

Used to explain the story, introduce the play, and present the moral to be learned.

Decline of Zaju

Caused by experimental mixing of southern music and styles, leading to its disappearance by 1644.

Xu Wei

Popular playwright who incorporated southern music and styles, contributing to zaju's decline.

Kunqu

A refined southern style popular with the educated elite, characterized by a slow moving melismatic melody.

Wei Liangfu

Considered the father of the kunqu form, active as a musician and actor.

Kunqu Orchestration

Centered around the flute, lute, and a wind organ.

Kunqu Stage Movement

Slow with sparse action, creating an overall effect of delicate melancholy known as elegant drama.

Popular Theatre Styles

About 350 local styles of popular theatre growing alongside kunqu, featuring local differences.

Yiyang Qiang Style

Musical theatre style featuring local dialects, literary explanations, and an offstage helping chorus.

Clapper Opera

Northern style derived from using a clapper or block struck with a stick in rhythm for percussion.

Pihuang System

Introduced in the late 18th century, marking the birth of Beijing opera.

Ming Dynasty

Dynasty lasting from 1368 to 1644 that produced zaju and nanxi.

Qing Dynasty

Dynasty lasting from 1644 to 1911 that gave us kunqu, yiyang qiang, and Beijing opera.

Acting Symbolism

Use of specific manners of walking, gestures, and finger movements to convey character nature.

Water Sleeve Technique

Costume and style aspect that is the origin of the modern ribbon dance.

Red Makeup Symbolism

Represents loyalty, strength, and patriotism in Jing character face painting.

Black Makeup Symbolism

Stands for honest, direct, and fierce qualities in character face painting.

White Makeup Symbolism

Indicates wicked and evil characters in traditional facial makeup.

Acrobatics in Chinese Theatre

Tumbling, somersaults, and gymnastics incorporated in zaju, yiyang qiang, and Beijing opera.

Mei Lanfang

Brought respectability and international recognition to 20th-century Chinese theatre, improving professional education.

Cao Yu

The most important 20th-century playwright who wrote the Western-style play Thunderstorm.

People's Republic of China

Established in 1949 under Mao Zedong, introducing censorship and the Drama Reform Committee.

Cultural Revolution

Movement starting in 1966 led by Mao's wife that literally destroyed the arts in China.

Fall of the Gang of Four

Occurred in October 1976 following Mao's death, ending a dark phase for theatre and allowing it to return.