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When you enter a
Chinese Opera theater in Taipei, the first thing you will notice is a brilliant,
lavishly embroidered hanging. Performers will then stride on stage to the sound
of strings and woodwinds, or to the clanging of gongs and drums.
 First may be a handsome, sturdy
young man in warrior garb, somersaulting across stage and displaying his martial
skills. Next may follow a young woman veiled by strings of pearls and dressed in
silk brocade, singing in a gentle, feminine voice and performing a billowing
dance. Then there is the famous Monkey King Sun Wu-k'ung, of the opera journey
to the West, with his twitching, scratching, and mischievous simian antics.
These characters are all representative of China's traditional National Opera,
or Peking Opera.
 Opera viewing has long been a popular entertainment enjoyed by both the common
people as well as China's royalty and aristocracy. Libretto and musical score
writing attracted the participation of literati and the gentry. The T'ang
Dynasty Emperor Ming Huang (712-755 A.D., also known as Hsuan Tsung) and Emperor
Chuang Tsung (923-925 A.D.) of the Later T'ang are considered the "honorary
fathers of Chinese Opera" for their enthusiastic support of the art. Their main
claim to this title was their technical knowledge of music. Emperor Hsuan Tsung
founded the Pear Garden Academy, a music and dance performing troupe within the
court. In later times, opera singing was referred to as the "pear garden
profession," and opera performers as "pear garden brothers."
Librettos for Peking operas feature both
tragic and comic elements, interspersed with singing, dancing, and poetic
narration, to dramatize historical events and popular legends. Another style of
performance is dialog rendered in language close to everyday speech, and
pantomime executed with ordinary gestures. Heartwarming humor reflects and
satirizes society, while being educational and entertaining.
The character roles of Peking Opera
are distinguished on the basis of sex, age, and personality. The four main
character types are the
sheng,
tan,
ching, and
ch'ou.
The costumes worn in Chinese Opera performances are broadly based on the dress
current in China about four centuries ago, during the Ming Dynasty. Exaggerated
flowing sleeves, pennants worn on the backs of military officers, and pheasant
feathers used in headwear were added to heighten the dramatic effect of the
stage choreography. These extra touches bring out the various levels of gestures
and the rhythm of the movement. Like facial make-up, Chinese Opera costumes tell
much about the character wearing them, while also being aesthetically appealing.
In the past, Chinese Opera singers would rather wear a worn and torn costume
than one that did not correctly represent the character he was portraying.
 Chinese Opera was originally
performed against only a backdrop, with the other three sides open. The set is
extremely simple. It includes a table, which might stand in for a desk, an
official's table, or even a hill or bridge. Spatial transitions from one place
to another are smooth and economic. The actors have over the centuries developed
a set of sophisticated formulae of stylized symbolism. The beards worn by male
characters; flowing sleeves, fans, and colored satin ribbons used in dances; and
weapons used in fighting are all different types of banners that represent
extensions of human limbs. All require a high degree of skill to manipulate, and
embody rich theatrical meaning. Actors must begin receiving strict training from
a very young age to be able to bring off naturally and with complete ease the
singing and reciting style, eye movements, hand gestures, and gait that express
the thoughts and emotions of the opera characters.
In the past, Peking Opera tended to be a "theater for actors." Actors drew on
the tradition in which they were well-versed to give extemporaneous
performances. The moon lute, two-stringed violin, and drum players, who provide
the musical accompaniment for the opera, had to cultivate a high degree of
sensitivity to and coordination with the actors through years of working
together to be able to flow with the performance. Modern Chinese Opera, however,
is now set in a box-type stage, and a director system, stage design, and
professional lighting are gradually being introduced. These new features serve
to enrich the performance and viewing experience, while not being allowed to
violate the traditional core of the opera.
 Major Peking Opera troupes in the
Taiwan include the Ta Peng, Hai Kuang, and Lu Kuang troupes, and the National
Fu-Hsing Dramatic Arts Academy. All four are first-rate professional groups that
employ the top Chinese Opera talent in the Taiwan. Through an alternating
schedule, a public performance of traditional Peking Opera is staged by one of
the four groups almost every evening in Taipei.
 There
is also a new avant-garde group, the Ya Yin Elnsemble, led by Kuo Hsiao-chuang,
a younger generation opera actor. Ya Yin has won wide affirmation and praise
from both domestic and international audiences through its writing of new
librettos, flexible incorporation of Western theatrical concepts and functions,
and experimentation with new performance techniques. The true degree of Ya Yin's
success can be measured in how the group has succeeded in attracting young
intellectuals to Peking Opera performances.
An impressive new experiment has combined
Western drama with traditional Chinese operatic style. Director Wu Hsing-kuo
produced a highly innovative and successful adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth
into a modern Peking Opera. Rather than forsaking tradition, this type of
experiment is an intermediary step that helps to make traditional Chinese Opera
more accessible to modern audiences.
The National Fu-Hsing Dramatic Arts Academy, funded by the Taiwan Ministry of
Education, provides seven years of intensive professional training under the
finest teachers in the field. This program is the core of a long-term commitment
to cultivating young actors, musicians, and stage technicians for Chinese Opera.
The academy has a practice troupe that specializes in performing operas with
educational themes for elementary and high school students. There are also over
1,000 amateur Peking Opera troupes in the community, and in colleges and
universities. Such groups hold occasional public performances.
Every week, Taiwan's three television stations air prerecorded or live Peking
Opera performances, bringing high quality Chinese Opera into everybody's living
room, One program teaches children to appreciate this traditional art through a
lively presentation of the history, symbolism, and performance of Peking Opera.
Most radio stations offer programs that feature the best of Peking Opera through
records of outstanding past performances as well as live broadcasts. These
efforts go a long way to keeping the art vital and popular.
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