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Peking opera words in Chinese

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The four roles of Peking opera

In ChineseWho they playKinds
Sheng生 shēngThe main male roles老生 小生 武生
Dan旦 dànEvery female role, once all played by men青衣 花旦 老旦 刀马旦
Jing净 jìngPainted-face men, forceful, with strong voices脸谱 painted faces
Chou丑 chǒuClowns, with a white patch of paint round the nose文丑 武丑 civil, martial

Kinds of opera

  1. xì戏qǔ曲

    Chinese opera; traditional drama

  2. jīng京jù剧

    Peking opera; Beijing opera

  3. kūn昆qǔ曲

    Kunqu opera

  4. yuè粤jù剧

    Cantonese opera

  5. yuè越jù剧

    Yue opera; Shaoxing opera

  6. chuān川jù剧

    Sichuan opera

  7. huáng黄méi梅xì戏

    Huangmei opera (from Anhui)

  8. yù豫jù剧

    Henan opera

The roles

  1. dàn旦

    female role in Chinese opera

  2. jìng净

    painted-face role (in Chinese opera)

  3. chǒu丑

    clown role in Chinese opera

  4. lǎo老shēng生

    old man role (in Chinese opera)

  5. xiǎo小shēng生

    young male role (in Chinese opera)

  6. wǔ武shēng生

    martial male role (in Chinese opera)

  7. qīng青yī衣

    (Chinese opera) qingyi, role of a virtuous woman

  8. huā花dàn旦

    huadan (lively young female role in Chinese opera)

  9. lǎo老dàn旦

    old woman role (in Chinese opera)

  10. dāo刀mǎ马dàn旦

    female warrior role (in Chinese opera)

Face paint and costume

  1. liǎn脸pǔ谱

    facial makeup (in Chinese opera)

  2. biàn变liǎn脸

    face-changing (Sichuan opera art)

  3. hóng红liǎn脸

    good-guy role

  4. bái白liǎn脸

    the villain role; bad cop

  5. shuǐ水xiù袖

    water sleeves (long flowing sleeves in Chinese opera)

  6. mǎng蟒páo袍

    python robe (official robe of the Ming and Qing)

The music

  1. jīng京hú胡

    jinghu (Peking opera fiddle)

  2. yuè月qín琴

    yueqin (moon-shaped lute)

  3. luó锣

    gong

  4. gǔ鼓

    drum

  5. bǎn板

    (music) clapper; beat

  6. pí皮huáng黄

    xipi and erhuang (tunes of Peking opera)

  7. xī西pí皮

    xipi (melody type in Peking opera)

  8. èr二huáng黄

    erhuang (tune in Chinese opera)

At the opera

  1. xì戏

    play; drama

  2. xì戏tái台

    theatrical stage

  3. xì戏yuàn院

    theater (building)

  4. chàng唱xì戏

    to sing in a (Chinese) opera; to perform opera

  5. kàn看xì戏

    to watch a play; to see an opera

  6. xì戏mí迷

    opera fan; theater fan

  7. piào票yǒu友

    amateur performer (of Peking opera)

  8. jué角sè色

    role; part

  9. wǔ武dǎ打

    martial arts fighting (in film or opera)

  10. fān翻gēn跟tou头

    to do a somersault

  11. liàng亮xiàng相

    to strike a pose (on stage)

  12. xiè谢mù幕

    to take a curtain call

Famous names and plays

  1. méi梅lán兰fāng芳

    Mei Lanfang (1894-1961), Peking opera master

  2. bà霸wáng王bié别jī姬

    Farewell My Concubine (opera and film)

  3. guì贵fēi妃zuì醉jiǔ酒

    The Drunken Concubine (Peking opera)

  4. guān关gōng公

    Lord Guan (Guan Yu, deified general of the Three Kingdoms)

  5. bāo包gōng公

    Lord Bao (Bao Zheng, Song dynasty judge known for justice)

  6. cáo曹cāo操

    Cao Cao (155-220), warlord of the late Han and founder of Wei

Sayings from the opera

  1. chàng唱hóng红liǎn脸

    to play the good cop; to play the friendly role

  2. chàng唱bái白liǎn脸

    to play the villain; to play bad cop

  3. pǎo跑lóng龙tào套

    to play a bit part

  4. yā压zhòu轴

    grand finale; last and best item on a program

  5. fěn粉mò墨dēng登chǎng场

    to make one's debut

What are the four roles in Peking opera?

生 (shēng), the main male roles; 旦 (dàn), every female role; 净 (jìng), the painted-face men; and 丑 (chǒu), the clown, whose name sounds like 丑, ugly. In its early years all the 旦 roles were played by men; 梅兰芳 (Méi Lánfāng) is the most famous of them.

What do the colours of Peking opera masks mean?

The painted faces, 脸谱 (liǎnpǔ), follow Chinese colour symbolism: red is for uprightness and loyalty, like 关公 (Guān Gōng); white for evil or crafty characters, like 曹操 (Cáo Cāo); and black for soundness and integrity, like the judge 包公 (Bāo Gōng). There are 16 basic face patterns and over a hundred variations.

What is face-changing in Chinese opera?

变脸 (biànliǎn) is a Sichuan opera art in which a performer changes masks in a flash, too fast to follow. In everyday Chinese 变脸 also means to turn hostile suddenly.

What do 唱红脸 and 唱白脸 mean?

They come from the opera’s face colours: 唱红脸 (chàng hóngliǎn), to sing the red face, is to play the good cop, and 唱白脸 (chàng báiliǎn) is to play the bad cop. 跑龙套 (pǎo lóngtào), to run as an extra, is to have a bit part, and 压轴 (yāzhòu) is the best act, kept for last.

What instruments are used in Peking opera?

The lead is the 京胡 (jīnghú), a small, high two-string fiddle, with the moon lute 月琴 (yuèqín). The drum and clapper player, 鼓 (gǔ) and 板 (bǎn), conducts the whole band, and gongs, 锣 (luó), and cymbals mark the action.

What is the difference between Peking opera and Chinese opera?

戏曲 (xìqǔ), Chinese opera, is the whole family of regional styles: 京剧 (jīngjù), Peking opera, is the best known, alongside 昆曲 (kūnqǔ), the oldest, 粤剧 (yuèjù), Cantonese opera, 越剧 from Zhejiang, 川剧 from Sichuan and 黄梅戏 from Anhui.

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More Chinese culture

Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; the roles, face colours and music from Wikipedia’s Peking opera.