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Introduction

Jonathan P. J. Stock

in Huju: Traditional Opera in Modern Shanghai

This introductory chapter first sets out the purpose of the book, which is to present the history and music of Shanghai opera to students and scholars of ethnomusicology. Chinese music, despite being ... More

This introductory chapter first sets out the purpose of the book, which is to present the history and music of Shanghai opera to students and scholars of ethnomusicology. Chinese music, despite being much researched by a large body of scholars, sometimes seems to remain in a peripheral position within the discipline as a whole. This study also aims to re-evaluate certain aspects of current ethnomusicological theory and practice. The chapter considers the use of the term ‘opera’ in the Chinese context followed by a discussion of Shanghai opera. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less

Place and Music: Local Opera in Shanghai, 1912–49

Jonathan P. J. Stock

in Huju: Traditional Opera in Modern Shanghai

This chapter develops the historical consideration of Shanghai opera begun in Chapter 1, looking now at huju in mid-20th-century Shanghai. Other than the appearance of female performers, in the ... More

This chapter develops the historical consideration of Shanghai opera begun in Chapter 1, looking now at huju in mid-20th-century Shanghai. Other than the appearance of female performers, in the period from approximately 1920 to 1949, there was an expansion of troupes with a concomitant increase in specialization; the rise of new performance venues and media, most obviously recorded sound and radio broadcasting; the influence of other artistic forms, such as the spoken drama and film; and changing modes of musical learning. Distinctive schools of performance were created, several of which remain significant in terms of musical style today. Discussion of these factors is enclosed within an examination of musical place.Less

The Rise of a Local Opera form in east China, up to 1920

Jonathan P. J. Stock

in Huju: Traditional Opera in Modern Shanghai

Scholars of Shanghai opera accord their tradition, huju, a history of some two centuries or more, typically describing its rise in terms of a development from local traditions of folk song to ... More

Scholars of Shanghai opera accord their tradition, huju, a history of some two centuries or more, typically describing its rise in terms of a development from local traditions of folk song to balladry, and from ballad-singing to staged and costumed opera (in the 1920s). This chapter begins with a brief summary of the history of opera in China to provide initial orientation for the subsequent evaluation of how huju relates to and contrasts with other dramatic forms. The analysis draws on surviving primary and secondary source materials, such as the memoirs of old singers, to assess the question as to how much huju changed as it gained acceptance in the city of Shanghai. The data suggests that the generally cited model of development through stages of folk song-ballad-local opera is in need of revision, and new models are generated.Less

Female Roles and the Rise of Actresses, 1915–c. 1950

Jonathan P. J. Stock

in Huju: Traditional Opera in Modern Shanghai

A central element of the history of huju in the 20th century is the emergence of female performers: this in a tradition formerly dominated by men, some of whom impersonated female roles. This chapter ... More

A central element of the history of huju in the 20th century is the emergence of female performers: this in a tradition formerly dominated by men, some of whom impersonated female roles. This chapter focuses on issues pertaining to and associated with these new performers. Treated as a case study in the field of music and gender, and drawing on theoretical proposals from several fields, the chapter begins in the same historical area as that discussed in Chapter 1 but ranges beyond the former chapter's historical confines to consider some later data also.Less

How Chinese Theatre Solves Theatrical Problems

Siu Wang-Ngai and Peter Lovrick

in Chinese Opera: The Actor's Craft

This chapter provides an outline on the development of Chinese opera. It sets up the terms of reference for the following chapters.

Using Stage Movement

Siu Wang-Ngai and Peter Lovrick

in Chinese Opera: The Actor's Craft

This chapter deals with pure movement that does not rely upon props. It discuses both conventional mime movements and acrobatics on the Chinese stage.

Using Props

Siu Wang-Ngai and Peter Lovrick

in Chinese Opera: The Actor's Craft

This chapter demonstrates how props common to Chinese stage craft are used. It includes the horsewhip which represents an entire horse, paddles which represent boats, the fan and furniture.

Culture in Common: Intersecting European, Javanese, and Chinese Art Worlds

Matthew Isaac Cohen

in Inventing the Performing Arts: Modernity and Tradition in Colonial Indonesia

The constituent ethnic groups of nineteenth-century Indonesia shared arts – remaking them as what Raymond Williams called “culture in common.” European arts, including drama and music, promoted a ... More

The constituent ethnic groups of nineteenth-century Indonesia shared arts – remaking them as what Raymond Williams called “culture in common.” European arts, including drama and music, promoted a sense of European identity in the tropics and dispelled boredom. European music was also appropriated: brass bands were hybridized by musicians in Java while church harmonies integrated with folk song in Ambon. While European participation in Javanese performing arts was once déclassé, a nineteenth-century “renaissance” of arts in central Java’s Javanese courts emerged through intense exchange with both Chinese and Europeans. The provision of arts to fill the Mangkunegaran court’s capacious Grand Gazebo resulted in much artistic innovation-including new forms of gamelan, langendriya, and wayang wong, and the reputation of court arts soared. Chinese opera, once a ritual theater and status symbol, became a business with the banning of slavery and the establishment of the Chinese-owned public theaters starting in 1870.Less

Using Costumes

Siu Wang-Ngai and Peter Lovrick

in Chinese Opera: The Actor's Craft

This chapter discusses actors' use of costume as stage technique. Items in this chapter include headgear, feathers, robes, sleeves and beards.

Using Weapons and Skills for Stage Fighting

Siu Wang-Ngai and Peter Lovrick

in Chinese Opera: The Actor's Craft

This chapter outlines fighting skills and the use of various weapons in stage battles. These weapons include spears, swords, polearms, maces, and bows and arrows.

Organizing the Village

Kate Merkel-Hess

in The Rural Modern: Reconstructing the Self and State in Republican China

Like reformers in many other places around the world, early twentieth century Chinese intellectuals believed rural China was disorganized, a state of being that was unnatural and the direct result of ... More

Like reformers in many other places around the world, early twentieth century Chinese intellectuals believed rural China was disorganized, a state of being that was unnatural and the direct result of violent incorporation into the global economy. Focusing on the notion that peasants lacked “organization” and should be encouraged to form group associations, Chinese reformers emphasized “social education” via both traditional and new village institutions, like teahouses, agricultural cooperatives, and opera troupes. Rural people, however, had their own ideas about what kinds of reform were useful or acceptable and they embraced some efforts in some places and rejected others, setting the stage for tensions between reformers and reformed that in part explain the contraction of excitement over rural reconstruction in the late 1930s. Moreover, notions of rural organization were easily adapted by the government and authoritarian regional leaders to their own ends of using rural social organization to extend government’s reach into the villages.Less

Chen Yi, Symphony No. 2 (1993)

Nancy Yunhwa Rao

in Analytical Essays on Music by Women Composers: Concert Music from 1960-2000

Musical gestures play an important role in the process of spiritual transformation in Chen Yi’s Symphony No. 2 (1998), which was written in commemoration of her father’s recent passing. Chen Yi uses ... More

Musical gestures play an important role in the process of spiritual transformation in Chen Yi’s Symphony No. 2 (1998), which was written in commemoration of her father’s recent passing. Chen Yi uses unique luogu dianzi (percussion patterns used in Beijing opera), characteristic melodic elements, and large-scale rhythmic design to convey an intense process of grieving and transcendence. Linking Chen Yi’s unique adaptation of traditional rhythmic patterns to musical gestures, the chapter considers how traditional music signifiers of the Chinese operatic stage have been shifted into another kind of musical space and genre, while gaining significantly more weight and dignity. The symphony reflects not only her crossing of borderlines between cultures and nations, but also the bringing together of these simultaneous dimensions to create a powerful work and to pay homage to her father.Less

Using Special Skills

Siu Wang-Ngai and Peter Lovrick

in Chinese Opera: The Actor's Craft

This chapter discusses the use of special skills found in particular regional operas. It includes face-changing skills found in the Sichuan opera, techniques used by the clown and other skills.

Conclusion

Wing Chung Ng

in The Rise of Cantonese Opera

This concluding chapter summarizes key themes and presents some final thoughts. This study constructed a three-part narrative to chronicle the rise of Cantonese opera. At the outset, much information ... More

This concluding chapter summarizes key themes and presents some final thoughts. This study constructed a three-part narrative to chronicle the rise of Cantonese opera. At the outset, much information on the latter half of the nineteenth century is provided, and the imperial period also is covered as additional background, but the principal time frame is the early part of the twentieth century. A key finding of this study is the resilience of the opera community and how it managed to find ways to tap into the underlying appeal of a plebeian theater and to make difficult adjustments in logistics and other long-held conventions in order to stay afloat and rebound. The changes made during the 1920s and early 1930s continued a larger process of ongoing evolution and showcased the remarkable adaptive capacity of Cantonese opera. They also underscore the tremendous resilience of the opera community band its art in facing the severe disruptions and dislocation caused by the Sino- Japanese War and even greater uncertainties in the ensuing postwar years.Less