11/8/2022 0 Comments Peking opera mask female![]() Shaoxing opera started out with entirely male troupes, but by the time it reached its heyday in the mid-20th century, all-male and indeed mixed casts were disappearing. Similarly, nüxiaosheng - young male roles performed by women - are a product of Shaoxing opera, an eastern Chinese variant of the style. Nandan remain the most valorized roles in Peking opera. Indeed, a 1927 review by the Beijing-based newspaper Shuntian Times, gave male actors the top four rankings in a list of the country’s best performances of female roles. But the nandan tradition had sunk deep roots into Chinese theater by then, and cross-dressing culture continued to be tolerated across the country. ![]() With the decline and fall of the Qing Dynasty, strict gender segregation came to an end, and mixed casts once again took to stages across the country. ![]() Such actors became known as nandan, where nan means “male” and dan refers to traditionally female theatrical roles.Īlthough much Ming- and Qing-era art centered around the female ideal, in drama circles nandan culture came to be seen as the truest test of a male actor’s prowess. Consequently, all-male troupes needed to cast certain men as women. But even in plays with mostly male protagonists, for example, there were usually a handful of female roles, too. At the time, imperial government decrees prohibited women from participating in, and even watching, operatic productions. The Qing Dynasty, which lasted from 1644 to 1911, witnessed the rise of Peking opera, now considered a high watermark of Chinese culture. Because it was considered improper for a man to appear onstage with a woman, opera troupes commonly employed either all-male or all-female casts. During the Ming and Qing dynasties - two periods in which Chinese opera flourished - society controlled interactions between men and women much more strictly than today. Theatrical cross-dressing has roots in the restrictive gender norms of imperial Chinese society. ![]() Frequently, it also carries implications of same-sex romance. Dressing up as the opposite sex often serves as a metaphor for the loss of one’s identity or for gender dysphoria. In traditional Chinese opera, cross-dressing is common practice, with male actors performing female roles and vice versa. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |