Peking Opera Research Articles

Navigating Gender Fluidity Amidst the Male Gaze:An Analysis of David Cronenberg’s M. Butterfly

David Cronenberg’s M. Butterfly (1993) tells the story of René Gallimard, a French diplomat, and Song Liling, a Peking opera performer who is later revealed to be a spy. Their 20-year affair unfolds with Gallimard unaware of Song’s true identity as a man. This essay will explore the view of gender through Gallimard’s expectations of eastern women. It will also examine how Song’s “gender change” challenges the traditional gender concepts at the time. Additionally, the essay will analyze the criticism from the director of Gallimard’s “male gaze”, and how the director, as a man, unavoidably has some extent of “male gaze” in narration. Finally, the essay will compare M. Butterfly with the other film about gender fluidity in the Chinese context - Farewell My Concubine.

Styled and characteristic Peking opera facial makeup synthesis with co-training and transfer conditional styleGAN2

Against the backdrop of the deep integration of culture and technology, research and practice in digitization of intangible cultural heritage has continued to deepen. However, due to the lack of data and training, it is still very difficult to apply artificial intelligence to the field of cultural heritage protection. This article integrates image generation technology into the digital protection of Peking opera facial makeup, using a self-built Peking opera facial makeup dataset. Based on the StyleGAN2 network, we propose a style generative cooperative training network Co-StyleGAN2, which integrates the adaptive data augmentation (ADA) to alleviate the problem of discriminator overfitting and introduces the idea of cooperative training to stabilize the training process. We design a Peking opera facial makeup image transform conditional generation network TC-StyleGAN2 which is transferred from unconditional generation network. The weights of the unconditional pre-training model are fixed, and an adaptive filtering modulation module is added to modulate the category parameters to complete the conversion from unconditional to conditional StyleGAN2 to deal with the training difficulty of conditional GANs on limited data, which suffer from severe mode collapse. The experimental results show that the proposed training strategy is better than the comparison algorithms, and the image generation quality and diversity have been improved.

The Contemporary Transformation of Thematic Connotation and Narrative Mode of Peking Opera from The Jewelry Purse

Artistic creation in any era reflects the collective consciousness in the context of the era in which it is created. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, Peking Opera has completed its transformation as a systematic performing art in the course of historical changes, while retaining its unique cultural heritage and traditional performance forms. This paper adopts the typical text The Jewelry Purse as the research subject in the review of the history of Peking Opera, conducts an in-depth analysis of the development of Peking Opera. By deconstructing the text of The Jewelry Purse, refines the modernity of The Jewelry Purse as evidence for discussing the changes in the modernity of Peking Opera in terms of themes and narrative modes. Peking Opera intensifies the reflection on the real situation by reinforcing the gap between the ideal and real society in its development process. As one of the excellent examples of Peking Operas self-renewal and transcendence, The Jewelry Purse can be created and expressed through the creators and performers realization of the reality in which they live, and resonate with audiences of different times.

What Noise Does a Psychotic Door Listen To? Information, Intermediality, and Guo Baochang's Peking Opera Film Dream of the Bridal Chamber

The Chinese opera film criticism of the late 1950s coincided with the introduction of cybernetics to China. Echoing cybernetics’ emphasis on the homeostasis of an artificial or living machine archived by filtering noise from information in the environment, film critics aimed no less at maintaining the steady states of Chinese culture (epitomized by traditional opera) when taking on the treacherous milieu called modernization (in the form of cinema). The whole problematic of opera films—in which one is forced to choose filtering out formulaic operatic gestures or realistic cinematic mise-en-scène as noise to maintain a self-cohesive cultural system—follows from the mistake of essentializing media specificities as prior to the contingent encounter among different mediums. However, an alternative approach lies in treating noise not as interference that must be eliminated but as surplus information that introduces system errors, triggers phase shifts, and brings about random changes for genuine self-organization, allowing us to confront control with the noise in its own channels. A revamping of cybernetics in this regard opens up new possibilities of understanding opera films through the peculiar prism of Guo Baochang's 2005 opera film Chungui meng 春閨夢 (Dream of the Bridal Chamber). And that prism particularly takes the form of a series of moon gates (yueliang men 月亮門), an architectural trope invoked throughout the film signifying the cybernetic circuit of gateways that at once exerts control over and yet is disturbed and reshaped by the noisy signals arising from the mutual interferences among opera, film, and, ultimately, television.

“If you wish to see some great theatre…”

David Henry Hwang’s play M. Butterfly (1988), reworked by David Cronenberg into a film (1993), is well-known for its suspension of disbelief (which resulted in some rewriting for the 2017 Broadway revival). While the play and its film adaptation have been extensively discussed in terms of gender and race, performing femininity and masculinity, East and West (Chow, de Lauretis, Levin), I will look at the trope of theatricality in film (Bazin, Sontag, Knopf, Loiselle) and the effects of liminality that it mediates. M. Butterfly ascribes the “betwixt and between,” liminal quality to all complex issues of human existence, including art and politics. The essay illuminates four aspects of the liminal experience: its ability to blur spatial boundaries, to disorient temporarily, to intensify perceptions, and to transform the observers into participants (Turner, Schechner, Fischer-Lichte). M. Butterfly is the story of a French diplomat René Gallimard’s (Jeremy Irons) love for a Peking opera diva Song Liling—a spy and a man in disguise (John Lone). Hwang’s play elaborates on the spatio-temporal aspects of the liminal: the blurred boundaries between the past and the present, the inside and the outside, or the ego versus alter ego. The film places emphasis on the intensifying and transformational potential of the liminal space, relying upon intermedial effects of the theatre within a film. Theatricality flows over into the cinematic reality and creates—through intermedial contact—an alternative reality, self-conscious, disorienting, and hallucinatory. Condensing various liminality effects, the play and its adaptation foster liminal sensibilities in the audiences.

A semiotic view of symbol and identity in the film Farewell My Concubine

Abstract Adapted by Li Bihua and Lu Wei and directed by Chen Kaige, Farewell My Concubine was first released in mainland China and Hong Kong in 1993. It gained strong momentum and went on to break the box office for mainland Chinese literary films in the USA. Against the background of traditional Peking Opera culture, the film spans nearly half a century and follows the love–hate relationship between Cheng Dieyi, played by Leslie Cheung, and Duan Xiaolou, played by Zhang Fengyi. It shows the changes in human nature and the rise and fall of classical art in the city of Beiping in different eras. Taking “symbols” as the entry point, this paper analyses and explores the characteristics of the cultural symbols and metaphors that accompany the main narrative line of the film so as to further trace and understand the multiple interpretations that “anti-identity construction” brings to the film, as well as the ethical implications reflected in the symbols.

The Embodiment of the Tragic in the Qin and Peking Operas

The article is devoted to the problem of refl ecting the “tragic” in Chinese art. The tragic genre in Chinese culture dates back to antiquity, and a vivid example of its embodiment in national music are the Qin and Peking operas, in which emotions, shades of moods, feelings, images and tragic life situations are subtly expressed. The origins of the Chinese tragedy lie in the contradictory political situation and the tragic life of the people, which signifi cantly infl uenced the psychology of people. An important expressive means of the Qin opera is specifi c “bitter voices” (⧰⍽ⱘ)) and “scattered and mournful sounds” (㔖ᢔಌढ़ⱘ)), conveying tragic pictures and stories that serve as an expression of pain and bitterness. The Peking opera performance is based on the “unique descending sound of singing” (⁛․⊛)), the use of microtones and imitation of crying, which contributes to a specifi c vocal sound and creates a special atmosphere, forming a singing style with strong tragic overtones. The purpose of the article is to explore the specifi cs of refl ecting the tragic in Chinese operas.

The Impact of Social Media on Propaganda of Peking Opera

Peking Opera, as one of the most precious cultures in China, has been inherited for hundreds of years and used to be an important form of entertainment, but it has declined now. With the development of technology, social media become an indispensable tool in people's lives. The researcher wants to focus on both the positive and negative impact of social media on the propaganda of Peking Opera. The research is conducted through the insight of the relationship between social media and Peking Opera, the influence, and solutions based on existing data and documents. It can be seen that Social Media promotes the spreading of Peking Opera to some extent: it updates Peking Opera's propagating ways to become more interesting and attractive; it changes the performing form to a more acceptable one; It provides a broader online communicating platform for artists. Nevertheless, social media changes people's psychological expectations of entertainment and leads to boredom with art easily. The effective way of helping Peking Opera become popular again is by combining it with modern online elements, using multimedia for education, and changing its performing form with respect to originality.

Am I a Girl or a Boy -An Analysis of Gender Misperception in the Film Farewell My Concubine

Farewell My Concubine, a 1993 Chinese drama film directed by Chen Kaige and starring Leslie Cheung, Zhang Fengyi, and Gong Li, is adapted from the novel of the same name by Leslie Cheung. Douzi, a boy whose stage name is Cheng Dieyi, plays the concubine Consort Yu, and his senior fellow trouper Shitou, whose stage name is Duan Xiaolou, plays the hero Xiang Yu in Peking Opera Farewell My Concubine. In life, Cheng Dieyi falls in love with Duan Xiaolou just like Consort Yu deeply loves Xiang Yu. In traditional Eastern culture and Western culture, gender is binary, that is, a person is either male or female, and there is nothing in between. In the traditional Chinese society with a dichotomous view of gender, Cheng Dieyi has a queer tendency. Based on Sigmund Jacques’ and Lacan’s theories of the Oedipus complex and castration complex, this article explores how Cheng Dieyi’s experiences of “castration” leads to his gender misperception in three aspects: Cheng Dieyi’s family background, troupe experience, and self-fantasy.

Identifying Peking Opera Roles Through Vocal Timbre: An Acoustical and Conceptual Comparison Between Dan and Laosheng

Chinese jingju (Peking opera) typically distinguishes several stock character types differentiated by narrative function, appearance, and vocal timbre. Though aspects of jingju music and dramaturgy have been thoroughly mapped by scholars, the contribution of timbre to the differentiation and characterization of dramatic roles has not been theorized. Here we sampled 20,000 excerpts of a cappella recordings of dan (woman) and laosheng (old man) singers from a large corpus. We analyzed the acoustic characteristics of the two roles both qualitatively and computationally, extracting and comparing relevant acoustic descriptors including spectral centroid, roughness, inharmonicity, and spectral fluctuation. We found statistically significant differences between the roles in spectral centroid (controlling for differences in fundamental frequency), roughness, and spectral flux (16­00­–3200 Hz). Lower normalized spectral centroid and reduced roughness in dan timbre is semiotically congruent with this virtuous and gentle female role; higher normalized spectral centroid, roughness, and spectral flux in laosheng timbre are congruent with an elderly, powerful, and educated man, indicating the contribution of vocal timbre in communicating identification and narrative information to audiences. These timbral attributes also reflect traditional Confucian ideals for music, gender, and age. These patriarchal and filial hierarchies are reiterated through Peking opera vocal timbre, displaying the effectiveness of music, and timbre specifically, in reflecting and reinforcing cultural and societal scripts.

The Identity Crisis in China’s National Drama: Vilification and Erasure of the Homosexuality of the Dan in Peking Opera, 1910–45

The homosexuality of male dan actors — female impersonators — in the renowned Peking Opera has long been the subject of tabloid speculation and intellectual criticism since the 19th century, and yet little is said about it in modern-day China. While scholars have ascribed the cause of this change in perceptions of dan homosexuality to events of 1910–20s, including the work of Mei Lanfang, domestic political and economic change, and Japanese influence, I argue that Western and Soviet influence spanning from 1910–45 was the driving factor behind the vilification and heterosexualisation of dan actors. I show the absence of homophobic stigma surrounding dan actors in fin-de-siècle China, before the introduction of Western ideas by the New Culture Movement. I then illustrate how the New Culture Movement’s import of Western sexology (1910–35) created homophobia and vilification toward dan actors. Finally, I examine how American and Soviet praise for dan actors (1930–35) was connected with the immediately subsequent heterosexualisation of dan actors in Chinese literature (1935–45) by showing that these new writings incorporated the rhetoric of American and Soviet commentary of dan to deny their homosexuality.

A Study of Chinese Peking Opera Arithmetic Coding in Tan Dun’s Opera Marco Polo and the Art of Mixed Sexuality

Abstract Opera is an important part of Western music culture. Chinese Peking Opera and Western opera are a kind of art style focusing on expressiveness. Both of them are isomorphic to a certain extent, and they are different due to cultural differences. This paper takes Tan Dun’s opera “Marco Polo,” a hybrid work of art containing elements of Chinese Peking Opera and Western Opera, as the object of study and quantitatively analyzes the artistic characteristics and expressive forms of the work by means of arithmetic coding technology of audio signals and terminology acquisition and labeling model. According to the results, there are 15 labeled Beijing Opera singing tune fields in the work and 12 labeled locations, which indicate the destinations of Marco Polo’s travel process. The feasibility of the arithmetic coding quantization method, which was employed in the study of Tan Dun’s opera Marco Polo, is confirmed by the results.

A Comparative Study on the Compromise and Struggle Between the False Overlord and the Real Concubine in Farewell My Concubine Based on Hegels Tragedy Aesthetics

In the study of the text Farewell to My Concubine, most of the studies are on the interpretation of different characters and the direction of drama film art and Chinese literature. The author believes that the tragedy of Different characters in the Farewell to My Concubine tragic theory can be used as a novel and necessary research direction. Hegels Aesthetics Tragic Theory is based on his philosophical theory. He uses conflict and reconciliation, regarding the generation and solving of tragedy as an aliasing uniform dialectical process, having special historical value and research significance, used to analyze the Farewell to My Concubine, it can enable readers to understand and appreciate the tragedy while producing more profound thinking. The original book embodies the turmoil of the troubled times, the distinct time passages, the span of time. From the melee period at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the anti-Japanese period, to the Kuomintang rule period or the liberation War period, and finally to the Cultural Revolution period, and the new China period. Named after the Peking Opera name, it not only reflects the author Li Bihuas thinking about the traditional culture represented by Peking Opera, but also contains the emotion about the situation and fate of Peking Opera actors under the changing times. There is also the relationship between ideal and reality, which is often discussed in literature. In the later film remake, director Chen Kaige not only tells the content of the original well, but also uses the contrast of cold and warm colors from a visual point of view; Light intensity and side light and backlight; The joys and sorrows of musical tunes; In different scenes, the closed, framed, and Chinese-style composition, playsing the story alive.

PLACE AND ROLE OF DANCE IN THE BEIJING OPERA

Dance in the Beijing Opera is distinguished by its unique aesthetic system, ex-cellent performing mastery, symbolism, submission to certain canons allowing to create a bright artistic image of the character of the performance. The article describes the characteristic features of opera dance, reveals its functions and forms. Special attention is paid to the specifics of the actor’s performing art in opera dance.

Water-Based Additive-Free Chromic Inks for Printing of Flexible Photochromics and Electrochromics.

Digital inkjet printing has become one of the most convenient and efficient technologies for coating chromic materials on flexible substrates with complicated patterns. However, the development of water-based, additive-free chromic inks for inkjet printing still remains a challenge. Herein, three ammonium-functionalized colorless viologen derivatives AV, APV, and AQV with excellent water solubilities are utilized as chromes in the chromic inks due to their excellent photochromic and electrochromic properties. Water, ethanol, and ethylene glycol are selected as cosolvents, and their contents in this ternary solvent system have been optimized to achieve comprehensive rheological properties. With the H2O:EtOH:EG weight ratio of 8:1:7, the chromic ink based on AV realizes a viscosity of 4.69 mPa·s, a surface tension of 45.13 mN/m, and a Z value of 3.87. Without adding any additive, the as-prepared chromic inks can be printed on flexible substrates, such as paper and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films, by a conventional inkjet printer with inherent high resolutions. The printed patterns are initially invisible due to the colorless characteristics of the chromic inks. Interestingly, the printed films are responsive to both light and electric stimuli. Upon irradiation by UV light, a series of sentences with font sizes from 5 to 12 points and four quick response codes with different lattice resolutions clearly appear on the printed paper. Meanwhile, after printing on an indium tin oxide-coated PET substrate, electrochromic devices (ECDs) can be facilely fabricated by covering a hydrogel electrolyte on the printed films. Upon application of different potentials, the assembled ECDs exhibit "Peking Opera facial makeup" patterns with different colors. Therefore, the developed water-based additive-free chromic inks can be utilized for information display and encryption applications.

Schoolchildren's motivation for viewing Chinese opera animation according to opera genre.

The emergence of Chinese opera animation allows a wider audience, especially a younger audience, to access and embrace the art of opera heritage. This study used a two-way mixed-design ANOVA to explore the effect of Chinese opera animation on schoolchildren's viewing motivation; the independent variables were the children's grade level and the opera genre of the animation. Grade level was divided into three groups: lower, middle, and upper (grades 2, 4, and 6, respectively). Opera genre consisted of Peking, Yue, and Henan opera. The dependent variable, viewing motivation, comprised six dimensions: entertainment and relaxation, learning knowledge, escapist pastime, aesthetic appreciation, empathic identification, and socializing and sharing. After statistically analyzing the evaluations of 457 participants, the results showed the following: (1) Peking and Yue opera animation had a better entertainment and relaxation effect on the lower and middle groups. Henan opera had a better escapist pastime effect on the upper group but less effect on the lower group. (2) In terms of learning knowledge, empathic identification, aesthetic appreciation, and overall performance, Yue and Henan opera animations were more effective for enhancing viewing motivation compared with Peking opera animation. (3) The middle and lower groups showed higher viewing motivation than the upper group in the learning knowledge, empathic identification, and socializing and sharing dimensions. Overall, grades 2 and 4 were appropriate stages for schoolchildren to engage with opera animation. Our findings can provide a reference for promoting cultural heritage sustainability and support follow-up research on integrating opera animation into children's education.

EXCERPTS ON THE HISTORY OF THE PEKING OPERA MODERNISATION IN THE 20TH CENTURY

The founding of the People’s Republic of China in the 20th century, the advent of changes in Chinese society lead to the emergence of new artistic requirements for Chinese dramatic art, and especially for the Peking Opera. Style changes have been brewing in the theater since the late Qing era, but they were fi nally thought out and fi xed in it by the personal talent of its representatives, such as Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Zhou Xinfang, Qi Zhushang and others. Their work had a signifi cant impact on the style of the Peking Opera and contributed to new fl owering of Chinese theatrical art. The article discusses the ways of its renewal; the most radical one subsequently led to the emergence of the so-called “exemplary performances”.

경극과 판소리 화용도의 사설 비교 연구

This study compared and analyzed saseol (texts like lyrics and dialogues) of Chinese Peking opera Hwayongdo (華容道 The Huarong Path) and the passage of 'Hwayongdo' in Korean pansori (musical storytelling) Jeokbyeokga. To this end, reviewing the written materials related to the Peking opera Hwayongdo, it found that it was first included under the title Dangcao in Chewangfu quben, a collection of librettos of early Peking opera works from the mid-Qing Dynasty (1636-1912).
 The title Hwayongdo was first used in the 'Qingshengping ban ximu' (repertoire of plays by the Qingshengping troupe) of the Chinese literature Dao Xian yilai Liyuan xinian xiaolu (a small record of the theater from the Daoguang and Xianfeng) at the 4th year of the Daoguang Emperor (1824).
 The results of comparing the saseol of the Peking opera Hwayongdo included in Jingju chuantong juben huibian (a collection of traditional Peking opera scripts) with that of 'Hwayongdo' in Jeokbyeokga performed by Song Sun-seop are as follows. First, the Hwayongdo of the two countries were different in terms of saseol composition by each section. Scenes were added to the beginning section in Peking opera whereas they were added in the middle and final sections in pansori. Second, the development of saseol contents was generally similar, but there were differences in the focal point of the description. Pansori 'Hwayongdo' had a strong tendency to express the character's way of speaking, expression, and appearance vividly and realistically. However, the Peking opera Hwayongdo was concisely organized around the plot.
 This phenomenon is not only because Chinese audiences are more familiar with the contents of the novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms , but also because the dialogue, acting, and makeup of Peking opera actors were able to vividly express Hwayongdo and thus a realistic description was unnecessary. On the other hand, Korean audiences would have been very curious about the exotic subject matter and characters appearing in 'Hwayongdo' and to satisfy this curiosity, a more detailed description and added content would have been needed.
 This study are significant in that they confirm how the traditional performing art of China and Korea, both based on the same novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms , has developed as different types of contents in the process of accommodating the performance environment and the taste of audiences.

Understanding the multi-sign communication system: A study on Peking Opera stage translation

Peking Opera is an artist-centered art rather than a director-centered one, and its true significance lies in its stage performance. However, the realization of the meaning of the “Performance Text” is the result of the joint action of different sign systems. Therefore, translators engaged in the stage translation of Peking Opera must understand the meaning and operation mechanism of this multi-sign system. From the perspective of semiotics of theater and drama, this paper deconstructs the Peking Opera sign system and divides them into several subsystems, describes in detail the characteristics of each secondary system, especially their semiotization process, their manners of meaning transmission, the rules of interaction among them, and finally presents the meaning generation and communication mechanism of this “Performance Text”. On this basis, the paper clarifies that the main tasks and challenges faced by translators engaged in Peking Opera stage translation which are they should not only translate the language but also need to find time and space to realize the transformation of the meaning of the non-verbal sign system.

Chinese and French traditions in Chen Qigang's Piano Concerto

The subject of the research is the concerto for piano and orchestra "Erhuang" by the contemporary Chinese-French composer Chen Qigang (1951). The work, written in the mature period of the master's work, clearly demonstrates an artistically convincing synthesis of national and European musical traditions. Chinese influences are associated primarily with the reliance on the characteristic features of the Peking Opera jingju, French influences are due to the influence of the Impressionist style of Claude Debussy and the principles of musical writing by Olivier Messiaen, whose student was Chen Qigang. The main purpose of the study is to characterize the original features of the Erhuang concerto, due to the combination of influences from the Peking Opera and French music of the 20th century. The concert "Erhuang", one of the most repertoire works in the composer's heritage and a representative example of his style, is considered for the first time in Russian musicology. The main conclusions of the study: the national traditions of the Peking Opera are presented in the concert "Erhuang" on the modal modes (pentatonic scale of zhi), metro-rhythmic (patterns of luo gu dian zi), forma (traditional variations of banqiang ti) and timbre (imitation of the instruments of the Peking Opera ensemble and their tuning system) levels; French influences manifest themselves in a colorful harmonic palette (the influence of Debussy's musical language), as well as in the reception of Messiaen's technique (the theory of additional duration, the method of irregular increase and decrease in rhythm, the principle of motivic combinatorics, the sequential change of modes of limited transposition).