A survey by Netease (news portal in China) shows that twenty-seven percent of the participants believe that such a course can foster a new generation of Peking Opera fans seventeen percent think the course should not be compulsory, as students' opinions should be respected if students are forced to learn, they will lose interest. This move immediately drew public attention, and the educational approach has spawned diverse opinion. Fifteen carefully selected works from the Peking Opera repertoire have been added to the music curricula of 200 schools in ten provinces throughout China. Instead of offering discount tickets and free lectures to young generations (as is the case with American opera houses), the Chinese Ministry of Education recently announced a pilot program of teaching Peking Opera in elementary and high schools. In recent years, Peking Opera has faced the same challenges troubling Western opera: reduced audiences and lack of newcomers. Oscar-winning Chinese composer Tan Dun incorporated a great deal of Peking Opera style into his new opera, The First Emperor, which had a successful world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in 2006 it featured Western opera legend Placido Domingo in ten performances singing the leading role of the Chinese Emperor. Since then, that national treasure has made significant contributions to cultural exchange. Likewise, Chinese culture started to attract Western society foreigners visited China and wished to learn its legends from Peking Opera. In the late 1970s, as China began to open to the Western world, Chinese people were newly exposed to modern Western music. As most Chinese in that generation could sing quite a few songs from the eight operas, the phenomenon was historically famous as "800 million people with eight operas" (the population of China at that time). Those eight operas were promoted for ideological reasons to meet Chairman Mao's and his wife Madam Jiang's political views. (1)ĭuring the ten-year Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), there were eight so-called "Revolutionary Operas" that dominated theaters and media throughout China the rest of Peking Opera repertoire was dismissed as the legacy of feudalism.
It is a highly entertaining and fascinating art form, even to people who do not understand Chinese. A widely regarded expression of Chinese culture, Peking Opera includes many historic events and legends in its rich and large repertoire, and it features a great variety of dramatic gestures, artistic face painting, and elaborate costumes in its performances. Peking Opera, a Chinese cultural treasure with a history of over 200 years, is a synthesis of singing, dancing, acting, and acrobatics, as well as instrumental music.
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