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Kun Opera
Kunqu (), also known as Kunju (), K'un-ch'ü, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. Kunqu is one of the oldest traditional operas of the Han nationality, and is also a treasure of Chinese traditional culture and art, especially opera art. It evolved from the local melody of Kunshan and later came to dominate Chinese theater from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area. It has been listed as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO since 2001. Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, Wei Liang Fu has been the sole leader of Chinese opera for nearly 300 years. In 2006, it was listed on the first national intangible cultural heritage list. In 2008, it was included in the List of Representative Works of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In December 2018, the General Office of the Ministry of Education announced that Peking University is the base for inheriting excellen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kunshan
Kunshan is a county-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province with Shanghai bordering its eastern border and Suzhou on its western boundary. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Suzhou. Name There is a strong possibility that the name Kunshan is derived from a hill, but which one is controversial. According to an impacted version, the hill is present-day Little Kunshan (''Xiaokunshan'') in Shanghai's Songjiang District. The character (''Kun'') was the old Chinese name for the Kunlun Mountains. From it developed the Chinese idiom "a jade from Kunlun Mountains", meaning any "outstanding figure". This was applied to Lu Ji and a hill in his hometown was designated as Kun to commemorate him. History Lou county () which administered Kunshan and the area around was established in Qin dynasty. It was named after Lou River (; present-day Liu River: ), while its seat was located in the north eastern of Kunshan. In 507, Xinyi county () which hold Lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taicang
Taicang is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The city located in the south of the Yangtze River estuary opposite Nantong, being bordered by Shanghai proper to the south, while the river also delineates much of its northeastern boundary along Chongming Island. Administration Taicang administers 7 towns: History Toponym Taicang as a place name is mentioned in a memorial to the throne of geographer Jia Dan during the Song dynasty, "Where lies to the east of Kunshan nowadays", he supposedly wrote, "is called Taicang, also known as Gangshen". Overview Taicang is a natural port. Under the Yuan, the city reached its peak between 1271 and 1368. Under the Ming, Taicang's Liuhe Harbor was the departure point for Zheng He's treasure fleets. It was also during this period that the shoals in the Yangtze estuary which later became Chongming Island were placed under the supervision of Taicang Prefecture. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. The Revolution marked the effective commanding return of Mao –who was still the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)– to the centre of power, after a period of self-abstention and ceding to less radical leadership in the aftermath of the Mao-led Great Leap Forward debacle and the Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961). The Revolution failed to achieve its main goals. Launching the movement in May 1966 with the help of the Cultural Revolution Group, Mao charged that bourgeois elements had infiltrated the government and society with the aim of restoring capitalism. Mao called on young people to " bombard the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peking Opera
Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. The art form is also preserved in Taiwan, where it is also known as (). It has also spread to other regions such as the United States and Japan. Peking opera features four main role types, ''Sheng role, sheng'' (gentlemen), ''dan role, dan'' (women), ''jing role, jing'' (rough men), and ''chou role, chou'' (clowns). Performing troupes often have several of each variety, as well as numerous secondary and tertiary performers. With their elaborate and colorful costumes, performers are the only focal points on Peking opera's char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peking Opera
Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. The art form is also preserved in Taiwan, where it is also known as (). It has also spread to other regions such as the United States and Japan. Peking opera features four main role types, ''Sheng role, sheng'' (gentlemen), ''dan role, dan'' (women), ''jing role, jing'' (rough men), and ''chou role, chou'' (clowns). Performing troupes often have several of each variety, as well as numerous secondary and tertiary performers. With their elaborate and colorful costumes, performers are the only focal points on Peking opera's char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Palace Of Eternal Life
''The Palace of Eternal Life'' (), also translated as ''The Palace of Eternal Youth'', is a play written by Hong Sheng () in the Qing dynasty. He absorbed certain material from the long narrative poem '' The Song of Everlasting Sorrow'' written by Bai Juyi and the zaju ''Rain on the Paulownia Tree'' () written by Bai Renfu. ''The Palace of Eternal Life'' is acclaimed as one of the China's "Four Great Classical Dramas", along with '' The Peony Pavilion'', '' The Peach Blossom Fan'' and ''Romance of the Western Chamber''. The performance is focused on the everlasting love story of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his favorite consort Yang Guifei. This story has been translated into English and published by the Foreign Languages Press. Author , one of the period's most famous playwrights and poets, was born in 1645 in a shack outside Hangzhou City in the Qing Dynasty. He graduated from the Imperial Academy in 1668 and then returned home the following year. At the age of 18, he beg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Peach Blossom Fan
''The Peach Blossom Fan'' () is a musical play and historical drama in 44 scenes that was completed in 1699 by the early Qing dynasty playwright Kong Shangren after more than 10 years of effort. The play depicts the drama that resulted in the 1644 collapse of the Ming dynasty.Acton, pxvii The play recounts the death of the Ming dynasty through the love story of its two main characters, young scholar Hou Fangyu ( 侯方域) and a courtesan named Li Xiangjun. The ''Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature'' has called it "China's greatest historical drama". An English translation published by the University of California Press was translated by Chen Shih-hsiang and Harold Acton, K.B.E. with Cyril Birch collaborating. Background In the early Qing dynasty, the rise and fall of the dynasty touched many poets and playwrights, especially intellectuals, which pushed them into thinking of the historical lessons taught by the downfall of the Ming. These writers, includi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tang Xianzu
Tang Xianzu (; September 24, 1550 – July 29, 1616), courtesy name Yireng (), was a Chinese playwright of the Ming Dynasty. Biography Tang was a native of Linchuan, Jiangxi and his career as an official consisted principally of low-level positions. He successfully participated in the provincial examinations ('' juren'') at the age of 21 and at the imperial examinations (''jinshi'') at the age of 34. He held official positions in Nanjing, Zhejiang province, Guangdong province etc. After serving as the magistrate of Suichang, Zhejiang from 1593 to 1598, he retired in 1598 and returned to his hometown where he focused on writing. Tang died in 1616, the same year as famed English playwright William Shakespeare. His major plays are collectively called the ''Four Dreams'', because of the decisive role dreams play in the plot of each one. All of them are still performed (in scenes, or in adapted full versions) on the Chinese Kun opera (kunqu) stage. Generally considered his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Peony Pavilion
''The Peony Pavilion'' ( zh, t=牡丹亭, s=牡丹亭, p=Mǔdān tíng, w=Mu-tan t'ing), also named ''The Return of Soul at the Peony Pavilion'', is a romantic tragicomedy play written by dramatist Tang Xianzu in 1598. The plot was drawn from the short story ''Du Liniang Revives For Love'', and depicts a love story between Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei that overcomes all difficulties. Tang's play diverges from the short story in that it integrates elements of the Ming dynasty, despite being set in the Southern Song. The play was originally written for staging as Kunqu opera, one of the genres of traditional Chinese theatre arts. It was first performed in 1598 at the Pavilion of Prince Teng. Its author, Tang Xianzu, was one of the greatest dramatists and writers in the Ming dynasty, and ''The Peony Pavilion'' can be regarded as the most successful masterpiece in his life. It is also one of the dramas in Tang's famous collection ''Linchuan si meng'' (The Four Dreams in the Jade Tea Hal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chuanqi (theatre)
''Chuanqi'' is a form of Chinese opera popular in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and early Qing dynasty (1636–1912). It emerged in the mid-Ming dynasty from the older form of '' nanxi''. As it spread throughout the empire, it absorbed regional music styles and topolects and eventually evolved into different local genres, among them '' kunqu''. Of the 2000 plus titles recorded in history, over 600 ''chuanqi'' plays are extant, including '' The Peony Pavilion'' by Tang Xianzu, '' The Palace of Eternal Life'' by Hong Sheng, and '' The Peach Blossom Fan'' by Kong Shangren. Music Whereas its precursor '' nanxi'' predominantly used southern Chinese tunes, which were pentatonic, melismatic, slow and soft, ''chuanqi'' widely incorporated northern tunes which were heptatonic, syllabic, fast and forceful. This process had begun in the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), which reunified northern China (the former Jin dynasty (1115–1234)) and southern China (the former Song dynasty (960–1279)) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liang Chenyu
Liang may refer to: Chinese history * Liang (state) (梁) (8th century BC – 641 BC), a Spring and Autumn period state * Wei (state) (403–225 BC), a Warring States period state, also known as Liang (梁) after moving its capital to Daliang ** Kaifeng, a city formerly known as Daliang (大梁) ** Liang (realm) (梁), a fief held by various princes under imperial China * Liang (Han dynasty kingdom) (梁), a kingdom/principality in the Han dynasty * Liang Province (涼州), an administrative division in ancient China covering present-day Gansu, Ningxia, and parts of Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia * Former Liang (涼) (320–376), one of the Sixteen Kingdoms * Later Liang (Sixteen Kingdoms) (涼) (386–403), one of the Sixteen Kingdoms * Southern Liang (Sixteen Kingdoms) (涼) (397–414), one of the Sixteen Kingdoms * Northern Liang (涼) (397–439), one of the Sixteen Kingdoms * Western Liang (Sixteen Kingdoms) (涼) (400–421), one of the Sixteen Kingdoms * Liang dyn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zaju
''Zaju'' was a form of Chinese opera which provided entertainment through a synthesis of recitations of prose and poetry, dance, singing, and mime, with a certain emphasis on comedy (or, happy endings). Although with diverse and earlier roots, ''zaju'' has particularly been associated with the time of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), and ''zaju'' remains important in terms of the historical study of the theater arts as well as Classical Chinese literature and poetry. ''Zaju'' is known to have been performed during the earlier Song (960–1279) and Jin (1115–1234) dynasties. The various particulars of the ''zaju'' multimedia performance were derived from many and diverse sources of musical, dance, poetry, and theater traditions. Characteristics The Yuan ''zaju'' were poetic music dramas comprising four acts, with the "act" (齣, ''chu'') defined as a set of songs following and completing a certain musical modal progression. Occasionally one or two "wedges" (楔子, ''xiezi''), or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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