The Difficulties of Acting Peking Oprea

Chen Zhiming

Chen has devoted himself to the collection and investigation of the historical materials of Peking Opera since 1980 and has published more than 40 articles in relevant professional newspapers and journals. He has participated in designing A Series of Historical Materials of Peking and Kunqu Opera in the Republic of China.

Wang Weixian

After graduating from Beijing Agricultural University， Wang has been engaged in the research and promotion of agricultural science and technology and the compilation of agricultural history for a long time. He has a passion for Kunqu and Peking Opera and is devoted to collecting and researching opera books and audio-visual materials in his spare time. He was invited to participate in the writing of The Complete Handbook of Cheng Yanqiu. He has participated in the design of A Series of Historical Materials of Peking and Kunqu Opera in the Republic of China.

First published in November 1939， Three-Six-Nine Pictorial was a comprehensive and authentic record of the stage performance of Peking Opera and the actions and speeches of famous actors in the 1930s and 1940s. This book is a selection of articles in Peking Opera from Three-Six-Nine Pictorial， containing more than 1，000 writings of about 2.1 million words and 130 pictures， including opera commentaries， reminiscences of the past， reviews of artists， art reports， and anecdotal stories， as well as the serialization of valuable writings such as Listening and Recording of Peking Opera， The Living Opera， and The Art of Facial Makeup， which provide rich and reliable historical materials for Peking Opera research while restoring the atmosphere of the opera performance at that time.

Selected Materials on Peking Opera from Three-Six-Nine Pictorial

Chen Zhiming， Wang Weixian

Academy Press

September 2021

980.00 (CNY)

Performing Peking Opera is a very difficult thing. As the saying goes， you need to possess “destiny， fortune， feng shui， merit and knowledge” to be a good performer， which is certainly true. A performer has to be destined and fortunate， and also have a considerable amount of knowledge to get the chance to be famous. There is also an old saying， “live and learn，” which is the truest and most noble wording of wisdom. I have been performing opera all my life， but until now， I dare not say I’m “accomplished” but can only describe myself as a guy who can perform. I can take my personal performing life as an example to prove this statement.

My formal opera training began in the year I was admitted to Xiliancheng when I was nine years old. After I came home from Mr. Fan’s house， it was too difficult to get a famous tutor， so I was introduced by Mr. Zhang Ziqian --Mr. Zhang， known in the opera class as the drooping-eyed town god --and sent to Xiliancheng.

It was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month when I first joined Xiliancheng， and Mr. Zhang took me with him that day to meet the “master.” By the time we arrived at Dashilan from home， it was almost six or seven o’clock， and Xiliancheng was still performing at Guangde House at that time， so Mr. Zhang took me into the backstage of Guangde House where I was introduced to the master， Mr. Ye Chunshan. The master scrutinized me for a long time and said， “This child has a gift!” So， with this word from the master， I was officially enrolled. At eight o’clock that night， I joined the Xiliancheng class. Yet it was eight in the evening， and I had not eaten anything for dinner. Being a stranger there and away from home， I felt very sad and more or less desolate. In the end， I just got some cabbage soup to eat hastily. One night passed， and the next day， I idled around with nothing to do， just looking at others gathered in groups， talking and laughing. I was simply a little shy and a little scared.

It was only on the third day that my master let me sing and perform a section， which was probably the test for admission. I sang a part of “listen to the drum tower， the clapper was beaten four times when the moon rose from the east” and then was told to start practicing martial skills together with the group.

From then on， I started to learn Peking Opera formally. During my professional training， there happened one thing that I’d remember for the rest of my life and also confirmed the saying “destiny， fortune and feng shui.” I had practiced with others every day since I joined Xiliancheng. One day， not long after my enrollment， I suddenly felt a wave of dizziness while practicing. Then not knowing what was going on， I foamed at the mouth and trembled all over before falling to the ground unconscious. At that time， it was only nine o’clock in the morning， our master --Mr. Ye hastened to call a doctor surnamed Cao， who， seeing that the situation was very critical， told my master that I was bound to die and not going to make it past noon， and they could do nothing to save me.

My master was very anxious then because he was going to be responsible for my death. For one thing， he felt he had failed my parents， and for another， he was afraid of getting into trouble. And by that time， my father had already gotten the message and come. Seeing this situation， my father comforted my master， saying， “It doesn’t matter. Now that things have come to such a pass， if he should die， that’s my family’s business and will have nothing to do with you. If he can survive， then he will still be your student， and please carry on his training!” With that， he bowed and took me home. After arriving home， a doctor was called to treat me， and my condition was severe. I was delirious for more than seven days， unable to recognize anyone， and only slowly came to my senses on the eighth day. It took more than a month of recovery for me to recover fully.