Figure 1.--Here is a scene from a Beijing opera using boy actors. We are not sure when it was taken, but it looks like the early-20th century. Both portray male characters, although we are not sure what the two different costumes represent. |
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We have some limited information on Chinese theatricals. The most important traditional form is Chinese opera (戏曲/戲曲). It is a form combining drama and musical theatre. Its origins go back to the third century AD. Over time various regional styles of opera developed. The Beijing opera (Jingju), presumably because the imperial court was located there is the most notable. Canjun opera of the Three Kingdoms period was one of the first Chinese operatic forms. The gebnre developed into a more organized form during the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong (712–755) founded the "Pear Garden" (梨园/梨園), the first known Vhinese opera troupe. Before the Yuan Dynasty, plays were performed in classical Chinese and with singing. A wide range of opera masks with different designs and colors were used. Major changes came with the 20th century, by which time European influences were having an impact on China. Chinese students returning from abroad had been influenced with Western plays. The movies all had an impact. Chinese films appeared after World War I in the 1920s and radio became a popular medium. . Following the May Fourth Movement (1919), Western plays were staged in China. Chinese playwrights began to create Western theater plays. Cao Yu (1910--). His major plays were "Thunderstorm", "Sunrise", "Wilderness", and "Peking Man" written during the 1930s. The Communist Party adopted Chinese opera forms as an important propganda form. Red Army cultural troupes staged productions from an early point of the Civil war to promote Communist ideology. With the Communist victory in the Civil War, the Party established control over all media forms. We have virtually no information on Chinese movies and know nothing about television. Productions of Chinese Opera continue. We believe many are produced for television.
The most important traditional theatrical form is Chinese opera (戏曲/戲曲). It is a form combining drama and musical theatre. Its origins go back to the third century AD. Over time various regional styles of opera developed. The Beijing opera (Jingju), presumably because the imperial court was located there is the most notable. Canjun opera of the Three Kingdoms period was one of the first Chinese operatic forms. The gebnre developed into a more organized form during the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong (712–755) founded the "Pear Garden" (梨园/梨園), the first known Vhinese opera troupe. Before the Yuan Dynasty, plays were performed in classical Chinese and with singing. The actors wore styalized facial make-up and costumes to tell the audience about the rank, status and personality of the character. A wide range of masks with different designs and colors were also used. Actors and in Europe had very low status. Many had as boys been sold to acting troupes. There weree laws prohibiting women frim acting, but vthis varied over time. Major changes came with the 20th century, by which time European influences were having an impact on China. Chinese students returning from abroad had been influenced with Western plays. The movies and radio also had an impact. The Communist Party adopted Chinese opera forms as an important propganda form. Red Army cultural troupes staged productions from an early point of the Civil war to promote Communist ideology. With the Communist victory in the Civil War, the Party established control over all media forms. We have virtually no information on Chinese movies and know nothing about television. Productions of Chinese Opera continue. We believe many are produced for television.
Before the 20th century we believe a popular theatrical genre was story telling. There were traveling story tellers. By the early 20th century there were theaters in cities where individual told stories, rather like very basic movie theaters.
Radio became a popular medium after World War I in the 1920s.
Following the May Fourth Movement (1919), Western plays were staged in China. Chinese playwrights began to create Western theater plays. Cao Yu (1910--). His major plays were "Thunderstorm", "Sunrise", "Wilderness", and "Peking Man" written during the 1930s.
HBC has no information on Chinese movies yet. We know the Chinese began making films after World war I in the 1920s. We know of some Western films about China, but we have no information on actual Chinese films. One French film noted by HBC sets part of the film in China. This provides some insights into the clothes worn by Chinese boys and their Young Pioneer uniforms.
We know nothing about Chinese television at this time.
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