Tag: Chinese Opera

Art in China

The Oriental Piano-Chinese Guzheng For a long time, Guzheng(古筝gǔzhēng),which also calling Qinzheng(秦筝qín zhēng), is considered as an ancient ethnic musical instrument in our splendid culture.It is as early as the 5th century BC to the 3rd century BC that Guzheng started to become popular.That is why it is so-called Qinzheng.

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HK Festival: the Hungry Ghost Festival

According to traditional Chinese belief, the seventh month in the lunar calendar is when restless spirits roam the earth. Many Chinese people make efforts to appease these transient ghosts, while ‘feeding’ their own ancestors – particularly on the 15th day, which is the Yu Lan or Hungry Ghost Festival(Zhōngyuán Jié中元节).

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The traditions of Ghost Festival in China

In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in Spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in Autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.

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Mei Lanfang 梅兰芳

梅兰芳出身于京剧世家。他8岁学戏，11岁登台。在50多年的舞台生涯中，对京剧旦角的唱腔、念白、舞蹈、音乐、服装、化妆等各方面都有创新和发展，形成了独特的"梅派"艺术风格。梅兰芳和杨小楼、余叔岩并称"三大贤"，又与尚小云、程砚秋、荀慧生一起被誉为"四大名旦"。民间对其有"中国文化名片"之称。Mei Lanfang was born to a family of Peking Opera singers. He began studying Peking Opera at the age of 3. Then, three years later, he began to perform on stage. During the more than half a century's performance, he innovated and developed various aspects of female character type in Peking Opera such as melody, speaking manner, dancing, music, costumes and face-paintings, forming his unique art style of "Mei Style." Mei Lanfang, Yang Xiaolou and Yu Shuyan were honored the "three great performers;" meanwhile, he was one of the "four great female characters in Peking Opera" while the other three were Shang Xiaoyun, Cheng Yanqiu and Xun Huisheng. He was honored as "the name card of the Chinese culture" among the folk.
梅兰芳多次不为赢利地出国演戏，其目的就是要向海外宣扬中国的文化艺术。在他坚持不懈的努力下，国际文艺界逐步认识到中国戏曲的绚丽多彩，博大精深，从而对中国戏曲刮目相看。Mei Lanfang had non-profit performance abroad many times, aiming to promoting Chinese culture arts overseas. Thanks to his persistent efforts, the international art circle gradually recognized colorful Chinese operas with extensive and profound meanings and treated Chinese operas with increased respect.

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