Text B Kunqu Opera
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发源于江苏昆山至今已有600多年历史的昆曲被称为“百戏之祖，百戏之师”，许多地方的剧种，像晋剧、蒲剧、上党戏、湘剧、川剧、赣剧、桂剧、越剧和广东粤剧、闽剧等，都受到过昆剧艺术多方面的哺育和滋养。2001年5月，联合国教科文组织在巴黎宣布第一批“人类口述和非物质遗产代表作”名单，中国的昆曲艺术入选，中国成为首次获得殊荣的19个国家之一。
Kunqu Opera first appeared in late Yuan Dynasty (1271—1368) some 600 years ago in the lower reaches of Yangtze River.It was one of the earliest genres of drama and named for its birthplace,Kunshan,near the city of Suzhou in today’s Jiangsu Province.The opera reached its heyday during the reign of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty.
Characters of Kunqu Opera
Kunqu Opera is famous for its gentle and clear vocals,beautiful and refined tunes,and the perfect combination of dance and acrobatic performances.The music is much softer and the dialogue is more poetic and refined.The dance and movement of a role is gentle and closely connected with singing.
Musical instruments
The musical instruments used in Kunqu Opera are distinguished from that in Beijing Opera.In order to match the poetry style of the play perfectly,flute is widely used as the accompanying instrument instead of instruments with strings.Boasting for its time-honored history and all-around skills,Kunqu Opera is considered as the mother of many other traditional operas,influencing Beijing Opera.It was awarded as one of 19 Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in May 2001.It has been listed as the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage.
Development
In the early days,the songs were composed of many long and short lines.The singer sang solo,and the orchestra,basically percussion instrument,only came in at the end of each line.
Later,Kunqu music was reformed by famous musician Wei Liangfu,the forefather of Kunqu,in the mid-16th century.After his refinement,Kunqu became milder,smoother and more graceful.Performers began to attach more importance to clear recitation,correct singing and pure tunes.The composers wrote the musical scores after working out the tunes,and the songs were written in seven-character or ten-character lines.The accompaniment began to employ stringed instruments,bamboo flutes as well as drums and clappers.
Roles of Kunqu Opera
The roles of Kunqu are mainly divided into seven categories,including Sheng (male roles),Dan (female roles),Jing (painted face),Mo (middle-aged male roles),Chou (clowns),Wai and Tie,and each category has further subdivisions.
The Sheng roles,for example,have Laosheng (aged male roles),Wusheng (male warriors),and Xiaosheng (young male roles),each of which are further divided.Xiaosheng,the young male role,is divided into Daguansheng (big hat role),Xiaoguansheng (small hat role),Jinsheng (kerchief role),Qiongsheng (pauper role) and Zhiweisheng (a warrior whose helmet decorated by a pheasant tail feather).
Stage makeup of Kunqu Opera
The Kunqu style of stage makeup is mainly used for Jing and Chou roles,and occasionally for Sheng and Dan roles.The three predominant colors are red,white and black.The shades of blue,green,purple and gold are used to portray forest brigands,or ghosts and demons.
As in Beijing Opera,the color red represents loyalty and justice,black conveys uprightness and straightforwardness,white signifies cunning and shrewdness,and yellow indicates a fierce,tough character.Most of the patterns and techniques of Beijing Opera facial makeup evolved from Kunqu.
Kunqu is of very great literary value for its rich traditional repertoire.Most of the stories of Kunqu Opera are love romances.It seldom has too many military roles or acrobatic part in a play.The representative works are The Peony Pavilion,The Palace of Eternal Youth,and Fifteen Strings of Cash and so on.
The Kunqu opera was added in 2001 to the UNESCO list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.It dates back to the Yuan Dynasty,making it one of the oldest Chinese operas still widely performed today.It has also greatly influenced most Chinese local operas over time,therefore also being called “mother of one hundred operas”.Kunqu opera is also one of the most complex to perform among the Chinese operas,actors need to be one with the piece and perform according to rhythm,melody and the tones of the Chinese language.The music in turn is played according to the actor’s singing,the composition of which is also dictated by strict rules.Content ranges from the comical to the dramatic,never however ceasing to be of high poetic value.
Words & Expressions
1.heyday['heidei] n.全盛期
2.reign[rein] vi.统治；盛行；支配；君临
n.统治；支配；统治时期
3.acrobatic[，ækrəu'bætik] adj.特技的；杂技的
4.poetic[pəu'etik] adj.诗的；诗歌的；诗意的；诗人的
5.refined[ri'faind] adj.精练的；微妙的；精确的；有教养的
6.flute[fluːt] n.长笛
7.string[striŋ] n.（乐器的）弦
8.solo['səuləu] n.独奏曲；独奏；独唱
9.orchestra['ɔːkistrə，-kes-] n.管弦乐队；乐队演奏处
10.percussion[pəː'kʌʃən] n.振动；碰撞；敲打乐器；打击乐器组
11.clapper['klæpə] n.拍手者；铃舌；响板；［俚］唠唠叨叨的嘴巴
12.category['kætiɡəri] n.种类；分类；范畴
13.subdivision['sʌbdi，viʒən，，sʌbdi'viʒən] n.细分；分部
14.pauper['pɔːpə] n.乞丐；穷人；靠救济度日者
15.pheasant['feznt] n.野鸡；雉科鸟
16.brigand['briɡənd] n.土匪；强盗；盗贼
17.demon['diːmən] n.魔鬼；精力充沛的人；恶魔；邪恶的事物
18.cunning['kʌniŋ] adj.狡猾的；可爱的；巧妙的
n.狡猾
19.repertoire['repətwɑː] n.全部节目；计算机指令系统
20.renown[ri'naun] n.声誉；名望
Notes
1.UNESCO： United Nations Educational，Scientific and Cultural Organization联合国教育科学及文化组织（简称“教科文组织”）
2.The Peony Pavilion（牡丹亭）：The Peony Pavilion is a play written by Tang Xianzu in the Ming Dynasty and first performed in 1598 at the Pavilion of Prince Teng.One of Tang’s “Four Dreams”，it has traditionally been performed as a Kunqu opera，but Chuan （川） and Gan （赣） opera versions also exist.It is by far the most popular play of the Ming Dynasty，and is the primary showcase of the guimendan （闺门旦） role type.All Kun theatre troupes include it in their repertoire.Recent adaptations have sought to inject new life into one of China’s best-loved classical operas，though such efforts have met with opposition from the Kun opera traditionalists.
Exercises
I.Match each of the words on the left with its meaning on the right.
1.poetic a.clever at deceiving people
2.refined b.fame or distinction
3.category c.like or suggesting poetry
4.cunning d.class or group of things
5.renown e.cultured or elegant; freed from impurities
II.Decide whether each of the following statements is true (T) or false (F) according to the passage.
1.Kunqu Opera first appeared in late Yuan Dynasty (1271 A.D.—1368 A.D.) some 600 years ago in the higher reaches of Yangtze River.( )
2.The dance and movement of a role in Kunqu Opera is not closely connected with singing.( )
3.In order to match the poetry style of the play perfectly,flute is widely used as the accompanying instrument instead of instruments with strings.( )
4.The Kunqu style of stage makeup is mainly used for Jing and Chou roles,and occasionally for Sheng and Dan roles.( )
5.As in Beijing Opera,the color white represents loyalty and justice and black signifies cunning and shrewdness.( )
III.Try to fill in each of the following blanks with suitable words.
1.The Kunqu Opera reached its heyday in_______Dynasty.
2.The music is much softer and the dialogue is more_______.
3.Later,Kunqu music was reformed by famous musician Wei Liangfu,the forefather of Kunqu,in the_______century.
4.The three predominant colors of stage makeup in Kunqu Opera are_______.
5.Most of the stories of Kunqu Opera are_______.It seldom has too many military roles or acrobatic part in a play.