Storming The Fortress Of The Peking Opera

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Abstract
AMONG THE EARTH'S MANY FORMS OF THEATRICAL ART, the Chinese opera was considered to be one of the most artistically perfect expressions of a national culture on the world stage. It is difficult to date the origin of the art. The emperor Ming Huang of the T'ang dynasty established a school for actors on his palace grounds, and the students came to be known as "The Emperor's Pear Garden Pupils." However, the present form of dramatic production is often ascribed to the Sung dynasty (960-1279 A.D.). As the art evolved, actors were required to spend years mastering Chinese opera's special combination of mime, acrobatics, and singing. Interestingly enough, in 1777 the Manchu dynasty created a theatrical bureau in Yangchow which banished from the opera certain undesirable themes and encouraged works teaching obedience to parents, to authority, and to destiny.

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