Silang Visits His Mother: A Chinese Opera - Essay Example

CHINESE OPERA Question One a) A brief synopsis of the Chinese opera Silang Visits His Mother “Generals of the Yang Family” was a powerful Northern Song Dynasty force (960-1127). The story is majorly based on Yang Si Lang, who is the fourth son in his family. Following his capturing by Northern Liao State in battle, he changed his name to a Liao style last name in order to escape. He got married to Liao princess, Tie Jing. Fifteen years later. The military wing led by the family of Yang’s went towards the north to attack Liao state again. Lang wanted to meet them after hearing that his mother is the frontier this time. Due to the battles between Liao and Song militaries, he asked Tie Jing the princess to assist him in having an order board from her mother. Mr. Yang then successfully went through the Liao pass and proceeded to the Song camps at great speed. His nephew captured him outside the camps, and he was brought to his entire family. Finally, he called on his mother who was on the frontier. Yang then hurriedly returned to Liao at Liao just after the short reunion. The Liao military had home captured on his way home. The mother of the princess saw through his being among the “Generals of the Yang Family” and ordered for military to behead him. But, the princess begged her mother and Yang got saved from death by his wife (Jin 12). a) What are the historical and literary sources of the opera? Chinese opera are popular forms of musical and drama theatre in China that has roots in the early periods in China. It comprises performance art with amalgamation of diverse art forms that existed in China in ancient times and evolved gradually over thousand years and reaching its mature form in 13th century during Song Dynasty. The early forms of the Chinese opera are simple though currently they get incorporated and can get found in music, martial arts, song and dance, acrobatics and the literary art forms turning out to Chinese Opera. Recently, there are many Chinese Opera branches, and Beijing Opera is among the most noticeable (Jin 10). b) When and why was it banned? Peking Opera has great influence on the modern European theatre from Brecht and Stanislavsky amongst others. The play got banned by the Chinese government on 25th October 1937 due to its content (Jin 11). Most people accused the play to enhance illicit relations with enemies, presenting an act that is cowardly presented and enhancing the Taiwan mainlanders to “surrender to the enemy” the communist. c) the opera's main characters and their role types in relation to Chinese opera (such as laosheng, xiaosheng, qingyi, huadan, etc.). The main characters included Yang Si Lang, Tie Jing, Yang mother and Jing mother. Their roles get classified according to personality and age characters. The females that get known as Dan in the Chinese opera represented the hua da, wu dan and dao ma da. The two old mothers represented women that are vivacious, with martial skills and skilled in fighting with weapons. On the other hand, Yang Si Lang represented the Chinese opera’s both Xiao sheng and wu sheng. He was a young man that was a warrior. Thus, he had the role to present the brave man who was a warrior clone and had had good fighting skills. Hence, the characters had the role both the female and the male role in relation to the Chinese Opera (Jin, 13). QUESTION TWO The term popular culture get defined as the modern urban series culture forms that include spoken cartoons, dramas, and newspapers that gained popularity and prominence in China during the early decades. The spoken arts also had a great impact on the war. The turns and twist during the course of the campaign of the popular culture in wartime China should be examined in the larger historical context of the Chinese war with Japan (Jin 10). The campaign got divided into two sections, the high morale early period and intense activity, saw patriotic intellectuals of Chinese and artists roam the towns and village spreading the resistance gospel. The new art novelty and plays forms generated curiosity that drew diverse admirers. Nevertheless, the plays or the drama introduction into China had to bet understood within great rapid political and social change during the Qing Dynasty waning years. During this era, the old political hierarchy was disappearing, and Confucian tradition is eroding. The weakness of the Manchu government and its inability in fending off any advances from West resulted to increase of traditional norms criticism making the youth embrace new thinking ways. It is because the young Chinese yearned for the nation to have strength in withstanding oppression at home and abroad (Jin 14). In the dramatists’ case, for instance, street plays turned out to be the staple in their propaganda arsenal. However, in 1939 as the fighting settled into a stalemate, and the early enthusiasm waned, the Chinese dramatists were mentally drained and physically exhausted, gravitated back to the cities. Hence, the trend was now towards the most historical plays such as “Grass Boats Borrowing Arrows" and traditional dramas targeted the urban audience (Jin 15). It was the time of digging in along with waiting, though; it was also a time of having a discontent among the intellectuals with the government’s corruption, ineptitude and increasing censorship. The spoken dramas are among the first urban culture forms that the resisters had to turn for the patriotic cause. The travelling dramatic troupes formation immediately after the war broke out showed both the urgency to spread information in the rural interior and the creation of a new communication channel desire. The wartime dramas such as “Silang Visits His Mother” tend to have a mass audience in a face-to-face novel dialogue. In their frustrating and ambitious attempts galvanize support from the public for the war cause and spurring national consciousness, the dramatists systematically cultivated patriotic symbols. For instance, the female symbols like dao ma da inspired devotion and unity to the nation during critical times. In order to nourish the solidarity feeling, the plays also invoked the past and recalling China’s glory against the outsiders. Thus, the tradition plays brought about familiarity and the sense of cohesiveness and identity. But, the drama usage to educate the audience was not unique to China. Also, the Greeks had the history of using theaters in instructing the citizen on communal values (Jin 16). In conclusion, the plays characters in the two plays; “Silang Visits His Mother” and “Grass Boats Borrowing Arrows" aimed at restoring the patriotism in China. The plays also had the roles of encouraging the fighters that they can win the war and encouraged patriotism. Thus, the plays had a significant role in the historical wars of China. WORK CITED Jin Fu. Chinese Theatre (3rd edition ed.). Cambridge University Press. 2012, p. 10- 20. Read More