Training+In+Beijing+Opera+by+Mercer+Pinkston

Training in Beijing Opera Mercer Pinkston

The training for Beijing Opera like the other forms w have studied this semester was in traditional days, and still is very intense. Like Kathakali the students would join a school at a young age and begin their work as a training actor. In //The Chinese Drama// Arlington explains that boys where sold to schools or an apprentice where they trained. The schools in early Chinese drama where called k’o-pan. Once in the schools day to day life would have been much like we saw in the movie //Farwell my Concubine.// The students once in the school are basically ‘sized up’ and then sent along a certain path of study and training. There were many different areas of study at these schools. Students would learn acrobatics, weaponry, acting, singing, and martial arts among other things. Not every character in Beijing Operas is required to do everything, for example there are clown characters that have acrobatic bits in which the actor would have to train rigorously for, but no other character would need as much training in that area. Also, boys played womens roles, so the boys chosen for those roles had to train their voices and bodies to be more feminine than the boys who had male roles.

There are many catagories and sub catagories that actors are divided into in the Chinese Opera, however the five basic catagories are as follows: Shêng- Leading Character Tan/Dan- Feminine Character Ching- Villainous Character Ch'ou- Comedians, Jesters Mo- Corner Men, Outside Characters (This list was taken from Arlington's //The Chinese Drama//) So the boys in school would train as one of these character types by learning all the conventions that came with their specific type on top of all the basic training they had.

Punishment in these schools in harsh. They were often beaten if they couldn’t do things they were asked, like acrobatic tricks, or song recitation. In Arlington’s book he explains “… the stick playing a very important part in their curriculum…” which is talking about the fact that the teachers and masters of the school were not afraid to beat trainees with a stick if they didn’t proved smart enough, physical enough, and more. Arlington talks about five levels of punishment in the traditional schools, those levels being as follows: (these are taken from his book, cited below) 1st grade- expelled permenantly. 2nd grade- explulsion for some time, but allowance back into the school. 3rd grade- beating with bamboo. 4th grade- kneel before God of theatricals 5th grade- burn incense before the God of theatricals There is a strict diet at the schools; the students must stay in top physical condition. They wake up early to begin training and go to sleep much earlier than any teenager I know on any given day. Like in the movie, students are made to go outside in freezing weather early on some mornings and chant and sing to warm their voices and begin the days training. For about four year the actor will train before they are even considered for a stage role. Once an actor is voted by the teachers and the troupe to be a ‘ready’ performer they can begin stage work. In the beginning they are not paid for their performances. Instead, the money goes to the school sort of as a tuition payment. Once the school has been paid in full the actor may then start to receive small payments for their work. Even when the actor is out of the school, they are still watched. The teachers and troupe members keep close tabs on the actor throughout their career, especially in the beginning.

Some famous Beijing Opera performers are now studied closely in training at some schools including: Mei Lanfang- He specilized in the feminine or Tan/Dan roles. Cheng Yanqui- Also a Tan/Dan performer. And many others.

Here is a link to a youtube video of Farewell my Concubine. It's the one we watched in class, still it is a good reference to look at when wanting to see the life of boys in the Chinese training academies. In the clip they Sing in the cold reciting lines such as "I am so Strong I can Uproot the Mountains." There is also a seen showing a teacher beating a student with a stick, like I talked about previously, this was a common form of punishment. The student had left the school without permission, and I read that doing so was though of as very bad, because the student could have been lead astray in the world outside of the school.

Click here to see a video of a young boy doing some exercises at a Beijing Opera School.

Below are some photos from Life.com that depict training at a Peking Opera school in recent years. There are many similarities to what is seen in these and what would have been seen in traditional training. There are many more pictures like this at life.com if you want to check it out. Here a teacher sits and directs his student.

Here a teacher helps apply makeup.

Bibliography: //The Chinese Drama// L.C. Arlington http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_Opera_School Youtube.com Google.com life.com