Beijing Opera

This week, I went to see Beijing Opera, renowned for its history and symbolic movements.

First becoming immensely popular during the late 18th century Qing Dynasty, Beijing Opera

boasts more than 200 years of history and tradition. Some of my friends have already warned me not to expect to understand a word the actors are saying; not only do the actors speak with high-pitched voices, but they also tend to extend the sound of words, making it incredibly difficult to understand.

One extra unexpected bonus to seeing Beijing Opera is that you get to watch the actors

put on their make-up, for this part of the back stage is open to public. Beijing Opera Style of Face Painting, or Jingju Lianpu in Chinese, is characterized by its exaggerated features and different colors to symbolize the personality traits of the character. For instance, red and black painted faces both represent loyalty, uprightness, and intrepidity of character's personality. Yellow, on the other hand, symbolizes brutality and inhumanity.

Even though I definitely appreciated actors' graceful and controlled movements, Beijing Opera was not my cup of tea to be completely honest. I don't think I quite understood why it took

an hour just to act out a nun getting on to a boat. The story went something like this.

1) A nun appears saying that she has fallen in love with someone and laments her situation

2) Apparently her love has taken a boat to some other city

3) The nun decides to follow her love and looks for a boat

4) The boatman is a eighty year old man who's crazy and thinks he is eighteen because he can "throw" his age to the river

5) the rest of the story is basically the nun being afraid to get on the boat because she has never ridden a boat before, and the boatman assuring her that the boat is safe

6) the kicker is the nun's lover doesn't make one appearance, and the audience actually never even see them reunite.

But still, Beijing Opera's unique interpretation of the world around us was enough to

keep me in awe for the evening.

I just hope that Beijing Opera will soon find a way to revive the reclining interest of the public and bring about a new evolution to this ancient art.