Arts in Mapeh 8!

• Peking opera


  • Male singers sometimes need to perform in a female range
• Peking opera instruments


  • Jinghu (small, high-pitched, two-string spike fiddle)
  • Yuegin (circular-bodied plucked lute)
  • Daluo, xiaoluo, and naobo (percussion)
  • Gu and ban (small high-pitched drum and clapper)
• Jinghu player


  Must adapt to the singer's spontaneous improvisations and have the instinctive ability to change notes without warning
• Main musical styles of Peking opera

  • Xipi
  • Erhuang
• Xipi


  • Melodies are very disjointed, high, and loud, reflecting the Qinqiang opera of northwestern China
  • Commonly used to tell joyous stories
• Erhuang


  • Reflects the low and soft folk tunes of south-central China
  • Used for lyrical stories
• Accompanying melodies in Peking opera

  • Aria (long song for a solo singer expressing emotion or ideal)
  • Qupai (fixed-tuned melody serving a wider range of purposes)
  • Percussion pattern (offers context to the music, e.g. stage entrances)
• Peking opera instrumentation


  • Wuchang (military instrumentation)
  • Wenchang (civic instrumentation)
• Wuchang


  Accompanies acting, recitation, dancing, and acrobatic fighting, using drums, wooden clappers, gongs, cymbals, and other membranophone instruments
• Wenchang


  Plays musical accompaniment in singing, dominated by string instruments like the jinghu, yue qin, and pipa
• Music has always been a huge part of the Chinese Peking opera, serving to show off the virtuosity and musicality of performers, provide the right atmosphere, and guide the singers, actors, and dancers
• Famous Asian theatrical forms

  • Noh and Kabuki of Japan
  • Chinese Peking Opera
  • Wayang Kulit of Indonesia
• Asian theater


  • Combines storytelling, dance, music, and mime
  • Uses masks, makeup, scenery, costumes, props, and scripts
  • Focus is on performance rather than story
• Kabuki


  Popular theater in Japan known for its highly artistic showmanship and stylized costumes and actions
• Elements and principles of arts in Kabuki

  • Formalized acting (movements like dancing, pauses in picture poses, non-natural speaking)
  • Actors (trained in Japanese dancing and music, highly esteemed in society)
  • Costume, makeup, and props (attractive, bright colors, extraordinary)
  • Music (shamisen accompaniment)
• Noh


  Very old form of dance drama in Japan, dating back to 12th-13th century, originally performed by the samurai class as prayer for peace and long life
• Artistic elements of Noh

  • Poetic language
  • Slow movement
  • Themes of dreams, supernatural worlds, ghosts, and spirits
  • Plots drawn from legend, history, literature, and contemporary events
  • Monotonous tone
  • Rich, heavy costumes
• Artistic elements of Noh masks and costumes

  • Masks (made of Japanese cypress, 3D, can express different facial expressions, neutral earth color)
  • Costumes (silk, bright colors, bulky, multiple textures and layers, symbolic designs)
• Noh actors


  • Shite (lead actor, could be deity, god, holy man, or spirit)
  • Waki (supporting actor, living man)
  • Musicians (flute, 3 types of drums)
  • Chorus (assists in narration)
• Noh stage


  Includes props like mallets, swords, household/farm tools, and the popular hand fan
• Wayang Kulit


  Popular theater form in Indonesia, part of religious rituals and entertainment, involving a dalang (puppet master) who recites the story, dialogues, and manipulates the puppets while cuing the gamelan orchestra
• Types of stories popularly used in Wayang Kulit

  • Wayang stories mainly came from the Mahabharata
  • It also originated from popular, Islamic tales or local folklore
  • The theme of these stories centers on the battle between good and evil and the overcoming of disorder after efforts are made to restore balance and order
• Legong


  • A well-known dance drama in Bali, Indonesia
  • It is popular because of the young girls who wear colorful sarongs and flower headdresses
  • These girls dance gracefully to the accompaniment of Gamelan music
• Kecak


  • Named after an old Balinese monkey chant
  • With the light of oil lamps, a dalang narrates the story while a male chorus produces the "cak-cak" sound of the monkeys
  • The Ramayana is also performed in pantomime
• Dalang


  The puppeteer's job is probably the hardest among the Wayang performers
• Without the puppets, there wouldn't be any characters to show
• Traditional Chinese theater is unique because it is presentational
• Jingxi or jingju


  Drama of the capital city
• Peking opera


  Traditional Chinese theater known to Americans and Europeans
• Peking Opera stage


  • Square platforms, simple, bare, with a carpet and an embroidered curtain
• Artistic elements of the Peking Opera


  • Costumes and Makeup
  • Facial Painting
  • Stage Design
• Costumes and Makeup


  • Materials: silk, satin
  • Design: stylized and elaborate long cuffs, satin coats
  • Color: white, sharp contrasting colors
• Facial Painting


  • Design: abstract patterns
  • Color: multicolored or black-and-white patterns
• Actors in the Peking Opera


  • The leading male actors and acrobats
  • The female actors
  • The face-painted roles that represent the heroes and villains
  • The funny man or the clown who has a white patch on his nose as his mark
• Red-painted face


  Represents a character who is brave and honest
• Green-painted face


  Symbolizes a character who is hard-headed, disobedient, and someone who lacks self-control
• White-painted face


  Shows a character who is not loyal and cannot be trusted