About Peking Opera...

The Shengxing of Peking Opera

Laosheng*Hongsheng

Laosheng is generally divided into two types: civil and military. According to the focus of the performance, it can be divided into the following types : Singing Laosheng, working Laosheng, Wu Laosheng. Singing Gong Laosheng is also called An Gong Laosheng, who mainly sings. Why is it called An Gong Laosheng? I think it’s because this kind of Laosheng mainly sings, so his movements are relatively secondary, the range of movements is smaller, his attitude is more leisurely and calm, and he is always calm and steady when singing. Therefore, it is called An Gong Laosheng. For example, Yang Bo in "Second Entering the Palace", Chen Guan in "Capture and Release Cao", Mi Heng in "Beating Drums and Scolding Cao", Wu Zixu in "Wenzhao Pass" and "Yuchang Sword", "Hongyang Cave" and "Yuanmen Zhan" Yang Yanzhao in "Empty City Strategy", "Yongliang Pass", "Battle of Beiyuan", "Powder Powder Strategy", "Seven Star Lantern" and other dramas, Yang Yanhui in "Silang Visits His Mother", and Yang Jiye in "Bumping the Monument". Deng Bodao in "The Son in the Mulberry Garden", Tao Qian in "Let Xuzhou", Han Xiandi in "Xiaoyaojin", etc., all belong to Gong Opera. There is also a kind of play that is mainly about chanting, which is between singing and working dramas. Both singing and working students can perform at the same time, such as Chu Suiliang in "Ten Dao Ben" and "Night Trial of Pan Hong" Kou Zhun in "The Assassin", Lu Bing in "The Assassin", Min Jue in "The Assassin", etc. all belong to this category. Because it is difficult to master long speeches and the performance skills are much more difficult than singing and work dramas, this type of drama is rarely performed now. Workman Laosheng is also called Aipai Laosheng, and it is a profession that focuses on performance. There are also two explanations for the old students of the Shanpai. One is that this type of Laosheng specializes in playing the role of the old, frail and wearing a white beard, so it is called the Shanpai. For example, Zhang Yuanxiu in "Qingfeng Pavilion", Zhang Guangcai in "Sweeping Songxia Shu", Xue Bao in "Sanniang Jiaozi", Ma Yi in "Jiu Geng Tian", Xu Ce in "Xu Ce Running for the City", etc. all disdain this A category. Another explanation is that it is mainly about workmanship, usually performing characters who are mentally stimulated, emotionally tense, rough-looking, and violent in action. The mental state of these characters is almost decadent, so it is called the bad style. For example, Song Jiang in "Sitting on the Tower to Kill the Cherish", Fan Zhongyu in "The Stick Out of the Box", Bai Huai in "Lost Seal to Fight the Fire", Zhang En in "Spring and Autumn Bi", Liu Zhong in "War at Puguan", etc., are all falls into this category. I think the term "Shengpai Laosheng" is not comprehensive. It is still called "Working Laosheng". Its characteristic is that it focuses on performance, which is more scientific and rigorous. Singing Laosheng and working Laosheng both belong to the category of Wen Laosheng.

There are two types of martial arts candidates: long-back and arrow-jacket (commonly known as short-fight). Changkuan Laosheng is also called Jianbaolaosheng. "Bai" is a special term in Peking Opera, which is the armor worn by ancient military commanders. Wearing armor is called Phi Piao or Zha Piao in Peking Opera. "Ba" is the abbreviation of "Bar", which is a weapon, commonly known as the handle of a knife or a gun, and is also a specialized term for Peking Opera. Any Laosheng character who wears armor, holds weapons, and is good at martial arts is called an Laosheng. For example, Huang Zhong in "Dingjun Mountain", Huang Zhong in "Yang Pingguan", Wang Ping in "Lost Street Pavilion", Hua Yun in "War on Peace", Yue Fei in "Zhentanzhou", "Eight Hammers" and other dramas , Hu Yanshou Pavilion in "Down to the East of the River", Wu Zixu in "Wuzhao Pass", "Crouching Tiger Pass", "Battle of Ying City" and other dramas, Lu Deng in "Lu'an Prefecture", etc., all bothered to rely on old students to act as actors. work. There is also a kind of Wu Laosheng opera with arrow jacket, such as "Nanyangguan" (Wu Yunzhao), "Dadengzhou" (Qin Qiong), etc.

In addition to dividing the details of Laosheng's line according to the focus of the performance, there is also a method of dividing Laosheng according to the type of clothing that should be worn according to the identity and social status of the role played. The types classified in this way include: king hat Laosheng, robe belt Laosheng, pleated Laosheng, handle Laosheng, and arrow cloak Laosheng. Wangmao Laosheng refers to someone who wears a king's hat hidden on his head and wears a dragon robe, playing the role of an emperor on the stage. For example, Liu Xiu in "Going to the Tiantai" and "Strike the Golden Brick", Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty in "Golden Water Bridge", Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty in "Maweipo", Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty in "Xiaoyaojin", Liu Zhang in "Taking Chengdu", etc. These Wangmao Laosheng operas basically focus on singing. There are also several types of robe belts for Laosheng: the so-called robe belts generally wear a gauze hat on the head and a python robe on the body. People wearing python robes include Yang Bo in "Second Entry into the Palace" and Yang Yanzhao in "Yuanmen Beheads the Son". There is also one who wears official clothes. The style of the official robe is the same as the python robe, which is a relatively plain robe without embroidered dragons or flowers on the body. Laosheng characters who wear official clothes such as Lu Su in "The Meeting of Heroes", red robes and blue robes in "Yu Tangchun", including Zhuge Liang, although they do not wear gauze hats, python robes and official clothes, but they play roles like Zhuge Liang, and they are also divided into Go to this category. There is also a pleated old student. Guihezi Laosheng plays the most roles. This pleated character is a rather special character. There are two ways to pronounce this word. According to the Xinhua Dictionary, the standard pronunciation is nianzhe. For example, we usually say pleated skirt. There is another sound that is not in the Xinhua Dictionary, the sound is "xue", which is a customary word used in the troupe, called "fold". Pleats is the name of a kind of clothing. The style is a bit like the clothes worn by monks and Taoists, with a large slanted collar, a large slanted placket, and long robes with large sleeves. Because it resembles the robes worn by monks and Taoists. So it is commonly called Taoist robe. This is a kind of casual clothing on the stage, and it is generally divided into several types: one with embroidery on the top is called flower pleats; one is relatively plain and is called plain pleats; and the pure black one is called green pleats. This is a kind of casual clothes worn by ordinary people, people of not too high status, or ordinary scholars and scholars.

There are many characters who wear pleats, including some gentlemen and opposition officials, who also wear this kind of casual clothes. Any old student who wears this kind of clothes is called a pleated old student. For example, the old student Chen Boyu in "The Number One Scholar", Mi Heng in "Beating Drums and Scolding Cao", Chen Gong in "Catch and Release Cao", etc. Similarly, the particularly poor, unlucky, and defeated literati wore green pleats, which were pure blue Taoist robes, such as Fan Zhongyu in "Ask Qiao Naofu", Zhu Maichen in "Horse Splashing Water", etc. Because the lives of such characters are relatively difficult and their clothing is relatively simple, there are also two special terms called poor students, or poor students. Kutiaozi is a local saying, and Danjiao also has Kutiaozi Qingyi. This is a way to identify roles based on clothing. In addition, there are arrows and cloaks for Laosheng. Arrow is short for Arrow Jacket. The cloak means a big cloak, which is a coat that covers the outside. An arrow cloak laosheng is a person who wears an open cloak or other clothing outside the arrow cloak. Most of these people are warriors. There may not necessarily be martial arts in the play, but because these characters are martial artists, they wear such costumes. Common dramas such as Xue Pinggui in "Wujia Slope" and Xue Rengui in "Fenhe Bay" are all this kind of roles. I mentioned Laosheng before, it’s Wu Laosheng.

In the Peking Opera profession, there is another profession - Hongsheng, which should also be discussed in the category of Laosheng. Hongsheng refers to old students with red faces and painted facial makeup in red. There are not many such roles, mainly playing the two roles of Guan Yu and Zhao Kuangyin.

Xiaosheng

Xiaosheng are also divided into two categories: civil and military. Wen Xiaosheng is divided into several categories: students with robes, students with fans, students with feathers, poor students, etc. The young man with a robe belt can also be called a young man with a gauze hat, playing the role of an ordinary young man serving as an official. Most of these characters are literati. When they are played out, they should neither be murderous, crude, nor childish. They should appear innocent and lively. That won't work. Generally speaking, the demeanor of a young man wearing a robe should be graceful and dignified with a bit of elegance and stability. For example, Wang Jinlong in "Yutangchun" and Chen Kui in "Chen Sanliang Climbing the Hall" all wear gauze hats and python robes. There are also those who wear official clothes, indicating lower-ranking characters, such as Zhao Chong in "Qi Shuang Hui", Liu Shengchun in "Royal Stele Pavilion" (after passing the Jinshi examination), and the last appearance in "Qingfeng Pavilion" Zhang Jibao et al. There is also a kind of fan student in Wen Xiaosheng, who holds a fan in his hand and wears a Wen Sheng scarf and pleats on his head, so he is also called a pleated student. The pleats worn by fan students are usually embroidered with flowers, indicating youth and chicness. Why is it called Fan Sheng? Because the fan itself is a dance prop that can assist actors in making many dance moves. On the Peking Opera stage, fans are not just for the hot weather. You can wear fans no matter what the weather is. In fact, the fan is a special prop, mainly used to help the character express his chic and gentle demeanor. For example, Fu Peng in "Peach Blossom", Zhang Sheng in "The Romance of the West Chamber", Cui Hu in "Peach Blossom", etc. are all this kind of characters. This kind of role is usually inseparable from the love scene, so it is often paired with a female actor. There is also a kind of poor student in Wen Xiaosheng, which specifically refers to some unlucky and down-and-out students, such as Lu Mengzheng in "Ping Xue Bian Zong", Mo Ji in "Jin Yu Slave", and "Three Levels in a row" Wang Mingfang in "The Number One Scholar" and Chen Daguan in "The Number One Scholar" all belong to this type of role. These characters generally wear rich clothes. Fuguiyi is a specialized term for a green Taoist robe patched with many flower patches. This kind of clothing is given a nice name called Fuguiyi. There is also a saying that although these people are poor now, they will definitely be rich in the future. Although they are wearing such shabby clothes now, it is a symbol of future wealth, so this kind of clothes is called rich clothes. This is a saying in the theater troupe in the past. Among Wen Xiaosheng, there is another one that is quite special, that is Ling Zisheng. Lingzi, also called pheasant tail, or pheasant tail as the saying goes, is very long in size, the longest is about two meters, and generally it is about 1.45 or 1.67 meters. Two large pheasant feathers are inserted on the head as a head decoration. Any young man who wears a pheasant tail on his head is usually a strong, heroic, handsome and imposing young character. Although this kind of role is classified as a civil servant, it can actually be said to be both civil and military, or it can be said to be a profession between civil and military roles. Because those who perform Lingzi generally have some martial arts skills, mainly relying on work frames and dancing, and using Lingzi to make many dance moves. For example, Zhou Yu in "The Meeting of Heroes", "Returning to Jingzhou", and "Yellow Crane Tower", Lu Bu in "Fengyi Pavilion" and "Shooting Halberds at the Gate", "Silang Visits His Mother", "Muke Village", and "Broken Hongzhou" Yang Zongbao and others all fall into this category. To play such a role, one must generally have a strong and heroic demeanor.

In addition to Wen Xiaosheng, there is also Wu Xiaosheng. Some Wu Xiaosheng were also played by Ling Zisheng. Pure Wu Xiaosheng is also divided into two types. One is the Wu Xiaosheng who wears long clothes, such as Yang Zaixing in "Zhentanzhou" and "Xiaoshanghe", Zhao Yun in "The Battle of Panhe", "Borrowing Zhao Yun", "Yinkong Mountain" "" Gao Siji, "Chaisangguan" Zhou Yu, etc., all belong to this type of role. There is also a short-playing Wu Xiaosheng, who wears short clothes. Judging from the martial arts skills, it is similar to that of Wusheng, but the singing and speaking are all done in Xiaosheng's way, that is, using a combination of Xiaosheng's real and false voices. Some work frames and shapes are also somewhat different from Wu Sheng's. For example, Shi Xiu in "Shi Xiu Explores the Village" and Li Cunxiao in "Yaguan Tower" all belong to this type of role. But some plays, like Lu Wenlong in "The Eight Hammers", are now also played by Wu Sheng.

So this kind of play is also called "two-door hug". The so-called "two-door embrace" means that Wu Xiaosheng can act, and Wu Sheng can also act.

Wu Sheng

The so-called Wu Sheng is a character who is good at martial arts. Martial arts students are also divided into two categories, one is called long-term martial arts students, and the other is called short-term martial arts students. The long-armed warriors all wear armor, helmets, thick-soled boots, and usually use long-handled weapons. This kind of martial arts student is not only required to have good martial arts skills, but also to have the demeanor and courage of a general. The work frame must be beautiful, steady and dignified. Some plays require not only good martial arts and good workmanship, but also delicate performance and a certain amount of singing and chanting skills. For example, Zhao Yun in dramas such as "Chang Ban Slope", "Borrowing the East Wind", and "Returning to Jingzhou" is such a character. He not only needs to have good martial arts, but also shows Zhao Yun's general demeanor, loyalty and courage. There are many dramas about Wu Sheng, except for Zhao Yun's dramas, such as Gao Chong in "Picking a Pulley", "Battle in Jizhou", "Revolt against Xiliang", "Battle in Weinan", "Two Generals", "Earning Licheng" and other dramas. Ma Chao's Gan Ning in "Gan Ning's Hundred Horsemen Rob the Wei Camp", etc., all fall into this category of characters. The short-fighting martial arts requires students to wear short clothes and use short weapons, which requires strong and agile skills. Experts say that they should be smooth, quick, crisp, look neat, and fight beautifully without being sloppy. According to the clothing worn, short-fighting martial arts students can be divided into wearing a hard hat (wearing a hugger, pants or arrow jacket), wearing a soft hat (wearing a hugger, pants, fast pants or arrow jacket), wearing a tie (Arrow Jacket) and other types. For example, Huang Tianba in dramas such as "Evil Tiger Village", "Luoma Lake" and "Serial" all wear hard hats. For example, Wu Song in dramas such as "Dian Shop", "Tiger Fight", and "Lion Tower", Ren Tanghui in "Sanchakou", Yu Qian in "Four Heroes Village"; Lin Chong in "Night Run", Wan Wenhua in "Wu Wenhua" Jun Zhao and others are all short-fighting martial arts students wearing soft hats, and there are also scenes in which they wear turbans and arrow jackets, such as Shi Wengong in "One Arrow", Xue Li in "Dumuguan", etc. These roles range between Between long-term support and short-term fighting, I focus on martial arts, focusing on martial arts, and also focusing on performance, singing, and chanting. There is also a type of wusheng who has a charming face, that is, one with facial makeup on his face, such as Jiang Wei in "Iron Cage Mountain", Gao Deng in "Yanyang Tower", Leopard Spirit in "The Golden Leopard", and Chang Yuchun in "The Seal of the Number One Scholar" They are Li Yuanba in dramas such as "Siping Mountain" and "Jinyang Palace". Some of these plays were originally performed by Wu Jing (Wu Hua Lian). In the late Qing Dynasty, when Peking Opera had just matured, there was a senior Wu Jing named Yu Jusheng. Because he was very tall and had a big face, He performed these plays with Wuhua faces in Wusheng's way, and the results were very popular. Therefore, the plays passed down from him later, although they still had Wusheng faces, were all performed by Wusheng. The plays we see now such as "Yanyang Tower", "Iron Cage Mountain", "Golden Leopard" and "Siping Mountain" are all performed by Wu Sheng, but the singing style, work frame, shape and majesty are still preserved. The performance characteristics of many martial arts faces were passed down from Yu Jusheng. Of course, these plays now also belong to the category of Wu Sheng plays.

In the wusheng profession, there is also a kind of silent martial artist who specializes in somersaults or falls, which is called a turning wusheng. Finally, let’s talk about the monkey show. Nowadays, actors who play monkey roles are generally recruited by martial arts students. Its origin is in Kunqu Opera. Monkey operas in Kun Opera, such as Sun Wukong, were played by Sheng Xing. After they were introduced to Beijing Opera, Wu Sheng also performed the monkey operas. Originally, the character who plays a monkey fairy like Sun Wukong is supposed to be smart, lively, light and agile in his movements, so it seems inappropriate to play a martial artist. However, because Sun Wukong is already a divine monkey, in addition to being smart and agile, he also needs to be courageous and have a more detailed performance, so it is appropriate for Wu Sheng to play the role. However, in the Peking Opera troupe, some Sun Wukong plays were also performed by Wu Chou, but relatively rarely. Most of them were played by Wu Sheng. For example, Yang Xiaolou, the master of Wusheng in Peking Opera, and later famous Wusheng Li Shaochun and Li Wanchun, etc., were all played by Wu Chou. Famous for being good at playing monkey. Yang Xiaolou's father, Yang Yuelou, was originally a martial arts student and an old student of civil and military arts. He was nicknamed Yang Houhou because he was good at performing monkey plays. When Yang Xiaolou was young, he was also famous for his stage name as Xiao Yang Monkey because he was good at performing monkey plays. In addition, some Wusheng students also wear beards. There is a difference between Wusheng students with beards and Wu Laosheng. Wu Laosheng pays great attention to singing, chanting, doing, and fighting. Although Wusheng wears a beard, he still focuses on martial arts. For example, Zhao Yun of "Lianyingzhai" and "Yangpingguan", the general soldier of "Jiaxing Mansion", Characters such as Qiu Cheng in "Jianfeng Mountain", although they look the same as Wu Laosheng, they are all played by Wu Sheng

Washeng

In addition to Laosheng and Hongsheng in Shengxing , Xiaosheng, Wusheng, and there is also a character called Wansheng. Wansheng specializes in playing children's roles, such as Xue Yige in "Sanniang Godson", Xue Dingshan in "Fenhe Bay", Deng Yuan and Deng Fang in "Song of the Mulberry Garden", Lu Tianlin in "Suolin Bag", etc. They are all born as babies. He wears baby hair on his head and a tea suit (child's clothing) on ??his body. Such roles are all sung with one's own voice. Even though they are very young, they don't have to sing in a niche way. Although Wansheng sings with his own voice, he cannot sing in Laosheng tune, so Wansheng's singing tune is a mixture of raw, dan and xiaosheng's singing tunes, which is very special. The acting should have the innocence and childishness of a child. It is generally difficult to find baby dolls in the troupe, because if they are too young, it is impossible to join the troupe, and if they are too old, they will not be suitable to play the role of baby boys.

Therefore, except for units like opera schools, which specialize in playing the role of children born from dolls, most theater troupes now use smaller actresses to fill the roles. The actress's voice is relatively clear, so she still sings with her own voice when singing. Because she is relatively small and looks relatively delicate, it is more suitable to play the role of a baby.

In Peking Opera, there is also a role between Wu Xiaosheng, Ling Zisheng and Wansheng, which is generally played by Xiaosheng. For example, read Yue Yun in "Yuejiazhuang", Xue Jiao in "Lifting a Cauldron to View Painting", etc. This type of role should originally have a specialized profession to play, but it is not easy to find such a profession. In fact, there is no specialized profession to cope with such roles, so some are played by niche students, and some are played by niche students. It would be up to Wu Sheng or Wawa Sheng to play both roles.

Ugliness in Peking Opera

Harlequins are also divided into two categories, one is literary ugliness and the other is martial ugliness. There is a kind of square scarf ugly in Wen Chou. They play some educated people. These characters are polite on the surface, but they are a bit pedantic and sour. They wear a square scarf on their heads, so they are called square scarf ugly. Wearing pleats on the body, some even hold a fan in their hands, walking in a square step, moving slowly and elegantly, speaking rhyme white, generally not Beijing white, such as Jiang Qian in "The Meeting of Heroes", Zhang Wenyuan in "Wulong Yuan", etc. They are all kerchief-ugly. The second type is the ugly robe, which refers to playing the role of a relatively low-ranking official, wearing a gauze hat and official clothes, such as Tang Qin in "Shen Tou Ci Tang" and the magistrate of Shanyang County in "Snow in June" etc., all belong to this type of role. The most common form of ugliness is tea-clothes ugliness. A tea coat is a short blue cloth gown, the term is called a tea coat. Chayi Chou plays the roles of working people, such as the boatman in "Autumn River", the fisherman in "The Man in the Lu", the woodcutter in "Ask the Woodman in the Mansion", the bartender in "Luoma Lake", Qiu Shui in "Punching Cherry" and so on. There is also a kind of character between the square scarf Chou and the tea-clothed Chou, such as the shop owner of "Liansheng Store" and the character Chou Gongdao in "Nvqijie". This kind of characters belong to the scarf Chou. Jinzi Chou refers to Jingbai, and sometimes wears a long gown or arrow jacket. The performance style is slightly more rigorous than that of Chayi Chou. There is also Caidan, which originally belongs to the scope of Danjiao, but is actually applied by Harlequins. In the past, most actors in this field were played by male actors, but now there are also many actresses. However, when actresses play Cai Dan, they also sing and read in their own voices, instead of using the falsetto voice of ordinary Dan roles. Finally, let’s talk about Wu Chou. Wu Chou also has another name called open dance. Because in martial arts, in addition to being good at jumping, one also needs to be good at speaking. Wu Chou's Jingbai should be pronounced eloquently, crisply and melodiously. Characters like Zhu Guangzu in "Lian Lian Tao" and Shi Qian in "Yan Ling Jia" are called open-ended jumpers. Such a role requires superb martial arts and nimble and agile movements. He has a humorous and witty personality. Most of these characters are knights and righteous men. Some cunning and deceitful characters are also played by Wu Chou, but there are only a small number of them. The idea that clowns don’t play good guys needs to be completely reversed. Ugly does not mean ugly. Judging from the appearance, he may not be very handsome, but his soul is beautiful. For example, Xu Jiujing in the newly edited Peking Opera "Xu Jiujing's Promotion" is such a character.

Qingyi

There is another term for Qingyi called Zhengdan. Typical Qingyi operas include "Sacrifice to the Pagoda" in the last part of "The Legend of White Snake", and "Sacrifice to the River" in which Sun Shangxiang heard the news of Liu Bei's death and went to the river to cry and offer sacrifices, Li Yanfei in "The Second Entering the Palace", "Sanniang" Wang Chun'e in "The Godfather", Jiang Qiulian in "Spring and Autumn Match", and Empress He in "The Queen Curses the Palace" were all played by Tsing Yi.

These plays are basically performed while sitting, without any heavy performances. They are relatively typical and standard Tsing Yi plays. Of course, some Qingyi operas also pay equal attention to singing, reading and acting, such as Zhao Yanrong in "Universal Frontier", Wang Baochuan in "Three Fives", Liu Yingchun in "Fenhe Bay", Wang Guiying in "Baolian Lantern", etc. . Although these are also Tsing Yi operas, they require equal emphasis on singing, reading, and performing. From the clothing point of view, Tsing Yi wears more blue pleats, so another name for Tsing Yi is also Qingshan, or shirt for short. Although some Qingyi also wear female pythons or palace robes, no matter what they wear, except that pythons and palace robes have fixed styles and colors, the general pleats and colors are relatively simple and elegant. In Peking Opera, actors like Wang Baochuan in "Red Mane Horse", Wang Chun'e in "Sanniang Godson", Liu Yingchun in "Fenhe Bay", Dou E in "Snow in June", "Five Dragons" (i.e. "Jingtaihui") ") Li Sanniang, Li Yanfei in "Second Entering the Palace" and "Da Baoguo", Qin Xianglian in "The Beauty Case", Zhao Yanrong in "Universal Frontier", Sun Shangxiang in "Farewell Palace·Sacrifice to the River", Jiang Qiulian in "Spring and Autumn Match" , He Hou in "The Curse of the Palace", Song Qiaojiao in "Famen Temple", Huansha Nu in "The Story of Huansha", etc., are all characters in the Qingyi category. In the old society, women were not free to move. Feudal etiquette required women to keep their eyes straight, smile without showing their teeth, or even show their sleeves without showing their fingers. They should not walk fast and should be steady and peaceful. Therefore, in the past, women performed on the stage in a normal way. The posture, whether sitting, standing, or walking, requires one hand to be held horizontally, covering the area between the chest and the stomach, and one hand drooping beside the body, and it must always be done slowly and leisurely, whether sitting or walking, and always maintaining Such a gesture. Therefore, the audience gave Qing Yi a common name of Baodudan. This nickname is quite vivid.

Hua Dan

The second category of Dan is called Hua Dan.

Hua Dan's situation is exactly the opposite of Qing Yi's. In terms of clothing, they all wear short clothes, either short coats or short skirts, or short coats or short skirts. Even the long clothes are embroidered with brightly colored patterns. Judging from their age, they all play young women. In terms of performance, it is mainly about workmanship and speaking. In terms of white, Jingbai is the main one. Of course, there are also people who say Yunbai, but there are more people who say Jingbai. The characters are generally lively and cheerful, and their movements are agile and smart. This is the difference between Hua Dan and Qing Yi in general. If we elaborate further, Huadan can be divided into two concepts: narrow sense and broad sense. Huadan in a narrow sense refers to young women who play the role of lively and cheerful characters, and light and smart manners. There are many maids for such roles, such as the matchmaker in "The Matchmaker", Ping Xin in "Cherry Blossom", Chunlan in "The Flower Field", Chuncao in "Spring Grass", etc., all played by Hua Dan. Roles such as Jin Yunu in "Hongluan Jubilee" and Di Yunluan in "Desirable Fate" were also played by Hua Dan in the past. This is a relatively narrow sense. The broad scope of Hua Dan is relatively wide, and generally includes the following types: One is Guimen Dan, which originally refers to unmarried girls who are good at work and reading. A typical example is the character in "Picking Up Jade Bracelets" Sun Yujiao, Liu Yulian in "The Edge of the Cabinet", etc. Later, although some characters behaved more steadily and paid more attention to their singing and acting, such as Cheng Xue'e in "The Phoenix Returns to the Nest", Tang Huixian in "The Hairpin-Headed Phoenix", Su Yulian in "Plum Blossoms", "Two Degrees of Plum", etc. Characters such as Chen Xingyuan in "" were later classified as boudoir girls.

Most of the boudoir girls play the role of young lady or the more stable Xiaojiabiyu. Gui Men Dan can pronounce Yun Bai, and most of the Gui Men Dan pronounce Yun Bai. For example, although Sun Yujiao in "Picking Up Jade Bracelets" is a little girl, she still pronounces Yun Bai. The second category is the joker. As the name suggests, he is a character who is easy to fight, easy to make trouble with, easy to talk, and funny. Such characters all appear in comedies or farces. Their performance focuses on joking, fun, and humor. Most of these characters are paired with clowns, and occasionally there are niche ones, but most of them are paired with clowns. Joke Dan is more focused on workmanship and plain speaking. In some plays, there is basically no singing, and even if there is singing in some plays, some ditties are sung, or a brand of music is sung, instead of Pi Huang. For example, "Make a Noodle Jar", "Little New Year", "Little Mill", "A Piece of Cloth", "Carrying a Baby into the House", "Beat the Steel Knife", "Beat the City God", "Beat the Gangzi", "Beat the Stove" "King", "Playing Casserole", etc., there are many such dramas. There are also some from folk songs and dances. The singing and dancing are mixed with some humorous performances, and the folk tunes with strong local flavor are also sung, such as "Little Herding Cows", "Little Visiting Graves", "Playing Flower Drums" and so on. , those who play the role of dan, can also be classified as joking dan. The third category is called spicy dan, which is to play a character with a very aggressive personality. There are not many such dramas. This kind of character has a distinct personality, speaks sharply, and behaves uninhibitedly. They also use workmanship and speaking as the main means of performance, such as Yan Xijiao in "Sitting on the Tower to Kill Xi", Zou in "War in Wancheng", Pan Qiaoyun in "Cuipingshan" and Pan Jinlian in "Wu Song Kills His Wife" all fall into this category. There is one of the most typical plays in Punk Dan, called "Ba Luo He" (full name "Longtan Bao Luo" or "Hongbi Yuan"). There is a grandma Ba Jiu in it. This character has a very pungent character. It can be said that Typical Spicy Dan. There is another role called assassin Dan, who plays the role of assassinating people in the play. This term comes from Kun Opera. There is a kind of assassin dan in Kun Opera, that is, some women assassinate their enemies for revenge. Playing such roles, the emotions in the performance are more intense, the movements are more exaggerated, and the singing is more nervous, so there is a special profession called assassin dan. For example, Wu Feixia in "Xiang Liang Ci Liang" and Fei Zhen'e in "Zhen'e Ci Hu" were both played by assassin Danlai. But the assassination dan in Peking opera is different. The assassination dan in Peking opera generally refers to the one who was assassinated. For example, the Zou family in "Zhan Wancheng" mentioned earlier was stabbed to death by Zhang Xiu, and the Pan Qiaoyun in "Cuiping Mountain" was stabbed to death by Zhang Xiu. Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu killed Pan Jinlian in "Wu Song Kills His Wife" by Wu Song, and Yan Xijiao in "Sitting on the Tower to Kill Xi" was also killed by Song Jiang. People who are killed like this are called Assassination Dans. On the other hand, for those roles of assassinating people in Peking Opera, because they are mostly decent women and they assassinate their enemies for revenge, they are all played by Tsing Yi in Peking Opera. For example, Xue Yan stabbed Tang Qin to death in "Shen Tou Stabbing Soup", and Shen Xuezhen killed her enemy for revenge in Cheng Pai's famous drama "Qingshuang Sword". Some roles like this are played by Qing Yi, so the Assassin Dan in Peking Opera does not exist. Since the role of the assassin is no longer a separate profession, and the person being assassinated is basically the same as the pungent dan, the difference between the pungent dan and the assassin dan is not big in Peking opera, and generally there is not much difference.

Xiaodan

In Danjiao, in addition to the two major categories of Qingyi and Huadan, there is also a kind of Xiaodan, which could have been attached to Huadan, but because it is not quite the same as Huadan, So list it in one category. There is no special profession for Xiaodan to work in Peking Opera. , the so-called Xiaodan is to play the role of some young little girls. They are usually supporting roles, with few leading roles, so they are all played by minor male actors. If I really find a little girl, I'm afraid she won't be able to play the role.

In addition, from an image point of view, it is not necessarily suitable, because although these little girls are in the same color, they still have some roles, such as Wang Youdao's sister in "Royal Stele Pavilion", Ying'er in "Cuiping Mountain" and some roles in other dramas. The role of the maid. You could say that he has no role. He has a little role, but not many real roles. It would be impossible to play it with a child, and it would be unnecessary to play it with a main character. So gradually Xiaodan merged with the Tieqie mentioned earlier, that is, Erludan. In the past, there used to be the name Xiaodan in Peking Opera, but now it no longer exists. I mentioned Tiedan when I introduced the Chinese opera industry. There was a time in the past when the Xiaodan and Tiedan in Peking Opera were separate. Let’s look at the old opera In "Kao" (old-style scripts), Xiaodan and Tiedan are often specifically marked as hints of the profession: this role is played by Tie, and that role is played by Xiaodan. Nowadays, both Xiaodan and Tie are filled by secondary general Dan roles, so there is no need to set up another profession.

Hua Shan

Hua Shan is an important profession in Peking Opera, because pure singing or pure work usually always reflects life. Relatively monotonous. With the advancement of the times and the development of society, social life has become more and more abundant, and the characters' personalities and actions have become more and more complex. Therefore, the forms of performance on the stage require a variety of forms, and the requirements for actors also require them to The more you know, the more you can do. Based on such an objective need, the flower shirt business naturally emerged. The name of flower shirt appeared around the 1920s. It turns out that in the tradition of Peking Opera, there are only Tsing Yi and Hua Dan, and there is no name for Hua Shan. This name came later. Of course, there were some elders of Peking Opera in the past. For example, there was a man named Yu Ziyun, who was the father of the famous Peking Opera veteran Yu Shuyan. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, he had already performed in Qingyi and Huadan. Before this, people who played Tsing Yi could not play Hua Dan, and those who played Hua Dan could not play Tsing Yi. Starting from Yu Ziyun, he felt that it was too monotonous to specialize in Tsing Yi or Hua Dan, so he acted in both Tsing Yi and Hua Qie. This performance was very popular with the crowd. However, Yu Ziyun has not yet created a flower shirt business, because he still plays relatively few roles. The founder of this business is Wang Yaoqing. Wang Yaoqing made great contributions to the history of Peking Opera. One of his biggest characteristics is that he is not only very knowledgeable and proficient in business, but also a very famous performing artist. He is also an educator. Many famous performing artists came from his disciples. The four famous Dan actors, Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Shang Xiaoyun, and Xun Huisheng, all studied opera with him and asked for advice from him. Therefore, this person is very prestigious and has established an important position in the history of Peking Opera, especially in the history of Dan roles. A great achievement. Wang Yaoqing saw that the performing arts of Dan roles must expand the scope of expression, enrich and enhance the performance ability. Therefore, in his stage practice, he combined Tsing Yi's calm and dignified style, Hua Dan's lively and smart performance, Wu Dan's martial arts and other performing arts into one, and created A kind of Danxing that pays equal attention to singing, chanting, doing and playing. In other words, every character he creates involves singing, thinking, acting, and fighting when performing, which greatly expands Danxing's performance scope. Because he combined the performance characteristics of Tsing Yi and Hua Dan, Tsing Yi's former name was also Qingshan, so people gave it a new name called Huadan. As soon as the term "flower shirt" came out, it became popular immediately. Therefore, from the 1920s onwards, not only terms such as "famous Tsing Yi" and "famous Hua Dan" appeared in newspapers and advertisements at that time, but the term "famous Hua Dan" also appeared, which means that a new profession was added to the role of Dan. Since then, the four famous Dan Dans have continued to develop on this basis. It can be said that most of the new repertoire of the four famous dandans falls into the category of Hua Shan. There are very few repertoires they perform that focus solely on singing or workmanship. Every new play performance can satisfy the audience's appreciation requirements in all aspects of singing, reading, acting, and playing.

For example, Mei Lanfang's "The Drunken Concubine", "Farewell My Concubine", "Lian Jinfeng", "Mulan", "Taizhen Gaiden"