Jingju (Beijing/Peking opera) is a synthesis of elements of many different regional forms and has... more Jingju (Beijing/Peking opera) is a synthesis of elements of many different regional forms and has a ‘tradition’ of innovation and integration of diverse influences. But it currently sits at the centre of intense conflicting pressures: the need to innovate to attract contemporary audiences and the need to preserve, engendered by its current status as endangered yet nationally representative performing art. As a result, jingju has become a difficult form within which to innovate successfully. This article analyses the interplay of traditional and innovative aural and visual elements in a 1999 award-winning jingju production, Camel Xiangzi. Jingju musical structures provided the core mode of character expression, but were interlaced with Beijing folk melodies and computer-synthesized elements in effective and innovative ways.
This article analyses various approaches to the transposition of Chinesexiquperformance into movi... more This article analyses various approaches to the transposition of Chinesexiquperformance into moving-image media in terms of preservingxiqu's aesthetic aims. Pre- and post-Cultural Revolution filmic examples, as well as contemporary television serials, are discussed. I argue that within a ‘cinema of attractions’ rather than a realist line of inquiry, ‘filmed theatre’ continues as a viable and valued stream of access toxiquperformance for contemporary audiences.
Leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, multinational corporations such as McDonald's exploi... more Leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, multinational corporations such as McDonald's exploited jingju (Beijing opera) as an internationally legible marker of “Chinese-ness.” Though jingju received muddled exposure in the Olympics opening ceremony, post-Olympic deployments prove it persists as a central component of an emerging “Brand China” that emphasizes the synthesis of traditional and 21st-century elements.
As with so many traditional performing arts, xiqu (the umbrella term encompassing the more than t... more As with so many traditional performing arts, xiqu (the umbrella term encompassing the more than three hundred regional forms of Chinese opera) and particularly jingju (Beijing opera, the one nationally prominent form of xiqu) is perceived by its artists, scholars, and fans as ...
Qitao Guo s most recent book is a fascinating study of the complex interplay between elite and po... more Qitao Guo s most recent book is a fascinating study of the complex interplay between elite and popular and commercial and religious forces shaping the soci ety of the Huizhou region (southern Anhui and northeastern Jiangxi) in late imperial China, an area that produced ...
Given China's rising status in the global power structure, it is surprising how few plays fr... more Given China's rising status in the global power structure, it is surprising how few plays from its extraordinarily rich performance traditions have been translated into English. The selection of unabridged and/or newer translations is more limited still. Thus Qian Ma's new anthology ...
Jingju (Beijing/Peking opera) is a synthesis of elements of many different regional forms and has... more Jingju (Beijing/Peking opera) is a synthesis of elements of many different regional forms and has a ‘tradition’ of innovation and integration of diverse influences. But it currently sits at the centre of intense conflicting pressures: the need to innovate to attract contemporary audiences and the need to preserve, engendered by its current status as endangered yet nationally representative performing art. As a result, jingju has become a difficult form within which to innovate successfully. This article analyses the interplay of traditional and innovative aural and visual elements in a 1999 award-winning jingju production, Camel Xiangzi. Jingju musical structures provided the core mode of character expression, but were interlaced with Beijing folk melodies and computer-synthesized elements in effective and innovative ways.
This article analyses various approaches to the transposition of Chinesexiquperformance into movi... more This article analyses various approaches to the transposition of Chinesexiquperformance into moving-image media in terms of preservingxiqu's aesthetic aims. Pre- and post-Cultural Revolution filmic examples, as well as contemporary television serials, are discussed. I argue that within a ‘cinema of attractions’ rather than a realist line of inquiry, ‘filmed theatre’ continues as a viable and valued stream of access toxiquperformance for contemporary audiences.
Leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, multinational corporations such as McDonald's exploi... more Leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, multinational corporations such as McDonald's exploited jingju (Beijing opera) as an internationally legible marker of “Chinese-ness.” Though jingju received muddled exposure in the Olympics opening ceremony, post-Olympic deployments prove it persists as a central component of an emerging “Brand China” that emphasizes the synthesis of traditional and 21st-century elements.
As with so many traditional performing arts, xiqu (the umbrella term encompassing the more than t... more As with so many traditional performing arts, xiqu (the umbrella term encompassing the more than three hundred regional forms of Chinese opera) and particularly jingju (Beijing opera, the one nationally prominent form of xiqu) is perceived by its artists, scholars, and fans as ...
Qitao Guo s most recent book is a fascinating study of the complex interplay between elite and po... more Qitao Guo s most recent book is a fascinating study of the complex interplay between elite and popular and commercial and religious forces shaping the soci ety of the Huizhou region (southern Anhui and northeastern Jiangxi) in late imperial China, an area that produced ...
Given China's rising status in the global power structure, it is surprising how few plays fr... more Given China's rising status in the global power structure, it is surprising how few plays from its extraordinarily rich performance traditions have been translated into English. The selection of unabridged and/or newer translations is more limited still. Thus Qian Ma's new anthology ...
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