京剧历史英语介绍

Introduction of Peking (Beijing) Opera--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Peking opera of China is a national treasure with a history of 200 years. In the 55th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty(1790) ,the four big Huiban opera Troupes entered the capital and combined with Kunqu opera, Yiyang opera, Hanju opera and Luantan in Beijing's thearetical circle of the time. Through a period of more than half a century of combination and integration of various kinds of opera there evolved the present Peking opera, the biggest kind of opera in China, whose richness of repertoire, great number of artists of performance and of audiences, and profound influence are incomparable in China.Peking opera is a synthesis of stylized action, singing, dialogue and mime, acrobatic fighting and dancing to represent a story or depict different characters and their feelings of gladness, anger, sorrow, happiness, surprise, fear and sadness. In Peking opera there are four main types of roles: sheng (male) dan (young female), jing( painted face,male), and chou (clown, male or female). The characters may be loyal or treacherous, beautiful or ugly, good or bad, their images being vividly manifested.The repertoire of Peking opera is mainly engaged in fairy tales of preceding dynasties, important historical events, emperors, ministers and generals, geniuses and great beauties, from the ancient times to Yao, Shun, Yu, the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period and the dynasties of Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing.The music of Peking opera is that of the "plate and cavity style".Its melody with harmonious rhythms is graceful and pleasing to the ears. The melody may be classified into two groups: "Xipi" and "erhong", guiding pattern, original pattern, slow pattern, quick pattern, desultary pattern being their chief patterns. The performance is accompanied by a tune played on wind instruments, percussion instruments and stringed instruments, the chief musical instruments being jinghu (a two-stringed bowed instrument with a high register), yueqin( a four-stringed plucked instrument with a full-moon-shaped sound box), Sanxian( a three-stringed plucked instrument), suona horn, flute drum, big-gong, cymbals, small-gong, etc.The costumes in Peking opera are graceful, magnificent, elegant and brilliant, most of which are made in handicraft embroidery. As the traditional Chinese pattern are adopted, the costumes are of a high aesthetic value.The types of facial make-ups in Peking opera are rich and various, depicting different characters and remarkable images, therefore they are highly appreciated. Moreover there are numerous fixed editions of facial make-up.Since Mei Lanfang, the grand master of Peking opera, visited Japan in 1919, Peking opera has become more and more popular with people all over the world, and it has made an excellent contribution to cultural exchange between China and the West, to friendly association and to improvement of solidarity.Peking Opera house of Beijing has been invited to perform in U.S.A., England, France, Germany, Italy (three times), Australia, Japan( four times), Brazil, Turkey, Singapore, South korea and Hongkong (five times). The performances have made an outstanding contribution to Sino-foreign cultural exchange and to the promotion of friendly association of peoples in the world, and were highly appreciated by foreign audiences.In 1993 Peking Opera House of Beijing as a big Peking opera troupe made a performance visit to Taiwan, pushing the cultural exchange to a new height.Peking Opera house of Beijing is willing to participate in activities of international cultural exchange and of commercial performances and sincerely hopes that friends in various countries will make contacts with us about cultural exchange and performances.

1、Beijing Opera translation: a great taskIn recent years, more and more foreign dramas and operas are being performed in Chinese theatres. However, it seems that chances for foreign audience to enjoy Chinese traditional operas are relatively fewer, resulting in an unbalanced exchange between China and the other foreign countries in the world. Beijing Opera, the very repress introduced to more audience of Chinese traditional operas, worth being of the entire world. Mrs. Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak's version of Mei Lanfang's representative Beijing Opera work The Phoenix Returns to Its Nest sets a good example.2、A brief introduction to Beijing OperaBeijing Opera (or Peking Opera) has existed for over 200 years.It is widely regarded as the highest expression of Chinese culture. It is known as one of the three main theatrical systems in the world. Artistically, Beijing Opera is perhaps the most refined form of opera in the world. It has deeply influenced the hearts of the Chinese people. Although it is called Beijing Opera, its origins are not in Beijing but in the Chinese provinces of Anhui and Hubei. After absorbing the operatic tunes of regional operas such as Han Opera, Hui Opera, and Kunqu Opera, it became a genre of national significance and popularity during the 1790's. The charm of Beijing Opera lies in the comprehensive form of stage art. It is an organic combination of script literature, the performing techniques of "singing, reciting, dance-acting and acrobatics", music, painted-face make-ups and costumes, and so on.3、Beijing Opera translationThe early attempts to bring Chinese drama to the West mainly consisted in translation of traditional Chinese opera lyrics, which served as literature for the purpose of reading rather than performance. These include Xi Xiang .Ii and a great number of other Yuan dynasty operas. In 1741, Zhao Shi Gu Er, or as Edward Cave rendered it, Chau Shi Ku Eul: The Little Orphan of the Family of Chau, was translated into English. Three English versions' of this play were published in London, translated respectively by Edward Cave, William Hatchett and John Watts. Among the modern classics in Chinese modern drama translated into English were Cao Yu's Thundestorm by Wang Tso-Bang and A.C. Barnes and Wildness by James Liu. Since the late 1970s, many new Chinese plays have been collected in anthologies of translations of contemporary Chinese literature.以上资料，引用请注明出处（见“参考资料”）4、In this period, Peking opera became the most popular and economically developed form of urban stage entertainment in China and its actors, playwrights, and patrons were central figures in the popular imagination and cultural politics of the day. As a diverse group these actors and their allies worked within the context of a rapidly changing urban and national culture to overcome social and political discrimination and elevate their art to the level of internationally recognized cultural respectability. In the process, Peking opera was in many ways on the leading edge of modern transformations and experimentations in creating new meanings for popular theater, new dynamics of urban sociability, and new representations of gender, while at the same time serving as a symbol for a traditional culture that many sensed was receding under the pressures of modernization. 参考资料：浙江大学，邵佳，《戏剧翻译与文化——京剧翻译初探》，11－12页。

参考这网页对你有帮助：Beijing opera or Peking opera (simplified Chinese: 京剧; traditional Chinese: 京剧; pinyin: Jīngjù) is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century.[1] The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China.[2] Major performance troupes are based in Beijing and Tianjin in the north, and Shanghai in the south.[3] The art form is also enjoyed in Taiwan, where it is known as Guoju (国剧; pinyin: Guójù). It has also spread to other countries such as the United States and Japan.[4]Beijing opera features four main types of performers. 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 Beijing opera's characteristically sparse stage. They utilize the skills of speech, song, dance, and combat in movements that are symbolic and suggestive, rather than realistic. Above all else, the skill of performers is evaluated according to the beauty of their movements. Performers also adhere to a variety of stylistic conventions that help audiences navigate the plot of the production.[5] The layers of meaning within each movement must be expressed in time with music. The music of Beijing opera can be divided into the Xipi and Erhuang styles. Melodies include arias, fixed-tune melodies, and percussion patterns.[6] The repertoire of Beijing opera includes over 1,400 works, which are based on Chinese history, folklore, and, increasingly, contemporary life.[7]In recent years, Beijing opera has attempted numerous reforms in response to sagging audience numbers. These reforms, which include improving performance quality, adapting new performance elements, and performing new and original plays, have met with mixed success. Some Western works have been adopted as new plays, but a lack of funding and an adverse political climate have left Beijing opera's fate uncertain as the form enters the 21st century.[8]