Peking Opera
This is one of the characters in a story of the Monkey King during his pilgrimage to "the West" - India. Seen during a Peking Opera performance in Beijing in 1984. Unfortunately, my notes only record that the performance was very colourful and funny, with excellent demonstrations of balance and acrobatics. Hopefully someone can tell us who this represents. Based on other, blurred, photos that I took at the show (hand-held, no flash!), and the facial make-up above, it is possible that this is the Monkey King himself, in disguise.
Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is a mythological figure who features in a body of legends, which can be traced back to the period of the Song dynasty. He appeared as a main character in the 16th century Chinese classical novel Journey to the West and is also found in many later stories and adaptations. In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha, he later accompanies the monk Xuanzang on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India.
Peking Opera is the dominant dance-drama genre in China. No masks are worn. Instead the actors wear make-up that is intended to highlight their facial features. The focus of the art form is spectacle and athleticism. Like Japanese kabuki, all the actors, even those playing female roles, are male. Most Peking Opera stories come from Chinese history and legends.
Peking opera was formally created in 1790 through the merging of several regional styles in China. Despite being singled out during the Cultural Revolution for particularly vicious attacks, being deemed feudalistic and reactionary, Peking Opera managed to survive the Mao era. Subsequently, however, it did less well bouncing back than other art forms such as Western music and dance.
Scanned from a negative.
Peking Opera
This is one of the characters in a story of the Monkey King during his pilgrimage to "the West" - India. Seen during a Peking Opera performance in Beijing in 1984. Unfortunately, my notes only record that the performance was very colourful and funny, with excellent demonstrations of balance and acrobatics. Hopefully someone can tell us who this represents. Based on other, blurred, photos that I took at the show (hand-held, no flash!), and the facial make-up above, it is possible that this is the Monkey King himself, in disguise.
Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is a mythological figure who features in a body of legends, which can be traced back to the period of the Song dynasty. He appeared as a main character in the 16th century Chinese classical novel Journey to the West and is also found in many later stories and adaptations. In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha, he later accompanies the monk Xuanzang on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India.
Peking Opera is the dominant dance-drama genre in China. No masks are worn. Instead the actors wear make-up that is intended to highlight their facial features. The focus of the art form is spectacle and athleticism. Like Japanese kabuki, all the actors, even those playing female roles, are male. Most Peking Opera stories come from Chinese history and legends.
Peking opera was formally created in 1790 through the merging of several regional styles in China. Despite being singled out during the Cultural Revolution for particularly vicious attacks, being deemed feudalistic and reactionary, Peking Opera managed to survive the Mao era. Subsequently, however, it did less well bouncing back than other art forms such as Western music and dance.
Scanned from a negative.