Im so deeply saddened to read the comments of those of you whom bad mouth something youve never truly experienced. If you dont like it, that is on you. But show some respect. This is a type of art. Whether you like it or not. Peoples blood, sweat, and tears went into this piece. Show them some sort of descent respect.
I was actually thrilled when I stumbled across this clip as I have actually read Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and seeing both Cao Cao and Guan Yu being portrayed in this opera made my day. Chinese culture has always fascinated me.
When I was 12 or 13 I was watching IFC and Raise the Red Lantern came on. I loved the movie and the Third Mistress's singing introduced me to Chinese Opera. Since then I've really been interested in the art form low these couple of years later. XD
im doing a project on chinese opera for university, and i was a unsure on what to do, but after watching this my head is filled with ideas. great stuff
even as a chinese, i cant understand what they re saying and doing, but it does not stop me from watching- im just enjoying the atmosphere. i remember at my youth, i always dash to see chinese opera in rural village when there were shows. i understand no thing but just enjoying. a touching memory...
I agree. What attracted me instantly to Chinese theatre was that I could find San guo characters within Chinese xiqu and watch tons of plays about the san guo yan yi in xiqu style. If I'm not mistaken this whole clip is taken from a Jingju production of Hua Rong Dao "The Hua Rong Path" where Cao Cao is fleeing the Chibi fight and Guan Yu corners him only to let him go due to his past debts to Cao.
Well said. "San Guo Yi Yin" is one of the greatest books I've ever read and I'm not even Chinese. The only other epic that has had as much of an impact on me has been one from my own heritage "The Epic of Sundjiata", the founder of the Malian empire. Both stories weave symbolism and historical accounts masterfully to give a rich timeless narrative of politics and society. And both epics form the foundation of their respective cultures. Though Sundjiata is difficult to find outside Africa.
I'm Chinese myself, I don't understand a word of what's going on, but I've got a lot of respect for these performers because I love the...I don't know. I just find something fulfilling about it. They've certainly got a ton of control...maneuvering like that in those costumes is certainly difficult. And yes, the gong is a little clamorous, but that's all part of it.
I went to see the Peking Opera in Beijing this Spring. And I have the deepest respect for ALL cultures. And i love that everyone in the world is sooo different. But this made me want to rip my ears off and never hear anything ever again. I went for a school trip and of those who weren't passed out from jet lag were holding their hands over their ears. Even young Chinese people find it hard to take. Its a matte of taste, and it just wasn't to my taste. I did love the acrobatic show we went to :-)
You don't have to think too deep...the music is just a way to build up the climax of the fight...and allow the transition from one part of the story to another, of course every drum hit, bamboo hit sound and so on is in alignment with the movements of the actors...
This is truly fascinating. I confess that I still have to get my ears used to the musicality of most of these Beijing Jingju plays. Regional traditions tend to rely heavily on acquired taste. But it's definitely worth giving it a shot! China has got so much beautiful culture to offer.
In China, gongs and drums were used as battle signals, so it's unsurprising that a seemingly random crashing of gongs would be playing during a fight scene.
China as a great civilization prevailing on this planet for thousands years will never lose its precious culture treasure such as Jingju due to 'western arts'. If you are fan of any genuine art, you will appieciate the great art, Jingju, i.e. Beijing Opera.
You don't have to. Every time an act will begin, you have a small explanation about where and who they are (characters), and then on begins the play. Even though you don't speak chinese (trust me, I don't), once you see it you kind of realize what this is all about, but you have to see it to know what I'm talking about. In a book, you imagine the scenery and the characters; in the opera, you kind of imagine what they are talking, although in some theaters may come with subtitles the play.
When I was a kid I used to laugh at this, now that I am older, I understand Peking Opera to be one of the bedrocks of Chinese artforms and high culture. Also, This is a very good performance amongst all the ones you find here on TH-cam.
George Bernard Shaw asked Mei Lan Fang that same question, Mei's answer was that in the old days Chinese Xiju used to be performed for the masses so, they would make sure that the music reached the back rows of these masses.
One thing that makes Jingju special is that it was created as an amalgam of many different styles. It draws from Suzhou Kunqu, Anhui Huiju, Qinqiang, Hebei Bangzi etc. I think you may be reasonable in saying it is "overrated," (and that overrating probably comes a large part from a century imperial sponsorship and a high profile existence in the capital city).
That's very good thing. I'm only fifteen myself but I'm really interested in different cultures and the arts. This young generation needs something more than just rap to fill their interests. ;)
The sound quality of the video doesn't help, in real life it's not quite so jarring. But the drum making that "noise", like much of the music of the opera, comes from the Taoist traditions. On my first visit to China I was fortunate to see the opera and also be in attendance at a Taoist ceremony in Hangzhou. We were hiking through the mountains when a music that reminded us instantly of West African religious music drew us to an old temple. The opera and music of the Tao are the same.
@JamesSchirmer I watched this clip. This was my first exposure to Chinese "opera." I was certainly surprised not to hear any singing. To me, the word "opera" implies singing. This was more like dancing, I would say. Or marching.
Dude in gold is talking. Dudes in blue and white run in and fight. Then hench blue dude fights with gold dude. Then some other dudes wander in and I get lost and give up trying.
It's true there's such a disconnect between the finer points of Chinese culture and people who spawned it. The drumming is actually from the Taoist tradition, anyone who's seen a Taoist ceremony knows what I'm talking about, and unfortunately today many Chinese have no knowledge of the Tao. I'm not Chinese, my heritage lies is Africa and we have much the same problem, so many of our proud traditions are lost on this current generation.
0:00 - Demons: "Happy retirement, boss!" 0:02 - Demon General" "Thanks guys! You know, what's the best thing about being a newly retired Demon General? Not having to put up with fighting the forces of Heaven!" 0:24 - Heavenly General: "We heard you were retiring, so we thought we'd crash your party and give you a special going away present!!!" 0:28 - Demon General: "FML!!!"
Thanks. but which opera company ? Jingju is probably well-like only in northern China. In the south, there are other more tuneful and equally well spread and loved operas. And many think that Chaoju is the King of Chinese opera, becos every show's arias are unique & are not repeated unlike other operas where there are a limited number of tunes and only the lyrics are changed.
For future making of Chinese Xiju videos I'd liek to know if anyone else agrees with using Xiju (theatrical performance), in place of opera. I say this because opera is an artform developed in the west and Chinese theatre was not inspired by opera but was developed in different areas of China. Instead of BeiJing opera, use Jingju. What are people's opinions on that topic?
If you peeps like this then you should read up on China's history. I'm sure you peeps know that they are our hero warriors turn god. So it's kinda fun watching them tell story like that. Knowing the story and watching them makes it easier to understand... =p
could someone please explain to me the reason why everything is underlayed with this "noise"? whats the meaning of that? are there parts in the opera which have a melody and music and singing? or is it all like the shown scenes here?
While this is True, if you use bother terms then people may start picking up on it. If you say something like "This is a clip of a Traditional Jingju (Beijing Opera)..." then we can start to try to phase the term out of use and replace it with the proper term. I mean...We call it Kabuki, not Japanese Commedia or some silly thing like that. On the topic of music...If you sit down and watch a few Jingju, you might learn to like it. I did...
It is still possible to appreciate a culture, yet acknowledge when its music is painful to listen to. I would not be deeply offended if a Chinese commented pointed out the terribleness of Justin Beiber.
I love Chinese Opera. So glad China is reclaiming its heritage from mayhem of Cultural Revolution. China will enrich our world, expand our horizons. Wish there were move Confucian schools throughout the world...
It feel so weird. I don't get it, and I want to, but I just cant. I may sound impolite, but even if this is an important part of chinese, I don't understand nothing about the video.
I do understand the Chinese of Jingju; it is the falsetto voice (of both the huadan and some xiaosheng) that I find jarring after a while.I am OK with laodan and laosheng voice.
But, I don't think it is meaningful to rate operas on any sort of objective way (that 1 is necessarily "better" than the other). It's not surprising to hear that Jingju is something that is difficult to listen to; I think different operatic styles play to a different array of sensibilities. I've never heard Chaoju, can you link me?
@whelljack yes, and you had buggers on your nose, shit on your hands, food in your teeth ... but chinese opera have that wonderfull make up on, their beautiful costumes, great skills as actors and martial art tecniques... singers..they're great!
Excellent and very well done. Which opera co is this? As a southerner, I think Jingju is the most over-rated. It is jarring and for me cannot be listened to for more than 15 mins. I think Yueju (Shanghai) is the most tuneful, Yueju(Cantonese) is easiest to hum along musically, Gezaixi has the most sorrowful tune, and Chaoju is the most exotic.
Dear turtaleater, You may love or loathe this music, but there's no need to be rude. Try broadening your horizons, so that you can respect other cultures. And in the process you might as well improve your spelling skills in English. Have a nice day.
@yusifabdalbarr87 you just shown that u knew nothing abt chinese and japanese culture and history,better refer wikipedia or others books b4 u make any comment
Im so deeply saddened to read the comments of those of you whom bad mouth something youve never truly experienced. If you dont like it, that is on you. But show some respect. This is a type of art. Whether you like it or not. Peoples blood, sweat, and tears went into this piece. Show them some sort of descent respect.
I was actually thrilled when I stumbled across this clip as I have actually read Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and seeing both Cao Cao and Guan Yu being portrayed in this opera made my day. Chinese culture has always fascinated me.
When I was 12 or 13 I was watching IFC and Raise the Red Lantern came on. I loved the movie and the Third Mistress's singing introduced me to Chinese Opera. Since then I've really been interested in the art form low these couple of years later. XD
im doing a project on chinese opera for university, and i was a unsure on what to do, but after watching this my head is filled with ideas.
great stuff
Love their costume, so colorful and dramatic...especially the flags on their back XD...and their painted face, too.
even as a chinese, i cant understand what they re saying and doing, but it does not stop me from watching- im just enjoying the atmosphere. i remember at my youth, i always dash to see chinese opera in rural village when there were shows. i understand no thing but just enjoying. a touching memory...
I agree. What attracted me instantly to Chinese theatre was that I could find San guo characters within Chinese xiqu and watch tons of plays about the san guo yan yi in xiqu style. If I'm not mistaken this whole clip is taken from a Jingju production of Hua Rong Dao "The Hua Rong Path" where Cao Cao is fleeing the Chibi fight and Guan Yu corners him only to let him go due to his past debts to Cao.
Well said. "San Guo Yi Yin" is one of the greatest books I've ever read and I'm not even Chinese. The only other epic that has had as much of an impact on me has been one from my own heritage "The Epic of Sundjiata", the founder of the Malian empire. Both stories weave symbolism and historical accounts masterfully to give a rich timeless narrative of politics and society. And both epics form the foundation of their respective cultures. Though Sundjiata is difficult to find outside Africa.
I don't know what style of opera he practiced but opera was where Jackie Chan got his start.
Peking Opera as well as Cantonese Opera forms were studied by Jackie Chan
abuba1
Resemblence of Pride, Style, Skill, Courage and honor. That is Chinese Opera!
Can't lie, it takes a long time to acquire the taste for chinese opera. One swing won't do it.
9pplĺ
The most unique blast beats ever!
I love it! THIS is the art! Would love to see the orchestra!
I'm Chinese myself, I don't understand a word of what's going on, but I've got a lot of respect for these performers because I love the...I don't know. I just find something fulfilling about it. They've certainly got a ton of control...maneuvering like that in those costumes is certainly difficult.
And yes, the gong is a little clamorous, but that's all part of it.
I went to see the Peking Opera in Beijing this Spring. And I have the deepest respect for ALL cultures. And i love that everyone in the world is sooo different. But this made me want to rip my ears off and never hear anything ever again. I went for a school trip and of those who weren't passed out from jet lag were holding their hands over their ears. Even young Chinese people find it hard to take. Its a matte of taste, and it just wasn't to my taste. I did love the acrobatic show we went to :-)
man i always this was dumb, but then i realized this is a very valuable part of my own culture after i grew up, lol
You don't have to think too deep...the music is just a way to build up the climax of the fight...and allow the transition from one part of the story to another, of course every drum hit, bamboo hit sound and so on is in alignment with the movements of the actors...
This is truly fascinating. I confess that I still have to get my ears used to the musicality of most of these Beijing Jingju plays. Regional traditions tend to rely heavily on acquired taste. But it's definitely worth giving it a shot! China has got so much beautiful culture to offer.
galleriapangea & Beijing Opera, good job! :) :)
The Guan Yu's character is amazing! I love his performance! He has a very strong presence at the stage.
In China, gongs and drums were used as battle signals, so it's unsurprising that a seemingly random crashing of gongs would be playing during a fight scene.
China as a great civilization prevailing on this planet for thousands years will never lose its precious culture treasure such as Jingju due to 'western arts'. If you are fan of any genuine art, you will appieciate the great art, Jingju, i.e. Beijing Opera.
You don't have to. Every time an act will begin, you have a small explanation about where and who they are (characters), and then on begins the play. Even though you don't speak chinese (trust me, I don't), once you see it you kind of realize what this is all about, but you have to see it to know what I'm talking about. In a book, you imagine the scenery and the characters; in the opera, you kind of imagine what they are talking, although in some theaters may come with subtitles the play.
When I was a kid I used to laugh at this, now that I am older, I understand Peking Opera to be one of the bedrocks of Chinese artforms and high culture.
Also, This is a very good performance amongst all the ones you find here on TH-cam.
George Bernard Shaw asked Mei Lan Fang that same question, Mei's answer was that in the old days Chinese Xiju used to be performed for the masses so, they would make sure that the music reached the back rows of these masses.
I've seen it live and it's far more extreme to me than harsh noise/power electronics/lo-fi metal.
One thing that makes Jingju special is that it was created as an amalgam of many different styles. It draws from Suzhou Kunqu, Anhui Huiju, Qinqiang, Hebei Bangzi etc. I think you may be reasonable in saying it is "overrated," (and that overrating probably comes a large part from a century imperial sponsorship and a high profile existence in the capital city).
That's very good thing. I'm only fifteen myself but I'm really interested in different cultures and the arts. This young generation needs something more than just rap to fill their interests. ;)
and totally respect that sick ass backflip especially with allthat shit he has on
and.....Chaozhou music (which is what you hear in Chaoju) was the first genre of Chinese music explored by Liu Dehai in his "Action One Project"
Chinese opera is an acquired taste. You may not like it but it is an important part of Chinese culture.
The sound quality of the video doesn't help, in real life it's not quite so jarring. But the drum making that "noise", like much of the music of the opera, comes from the Taoist traditions. On my first visit to China I was fortunate to see the opera and also be in attendance at a Taoist ceremony in Hangzhou. We were hiking through the mountains when a music that reminded us instantly of West African religious music drew us to an old temple. The opera and music of the Tao are the same.
@JamesSchirmer I watched this clip. This was my first exposure to Chinese "opera." I was certainly surprised not to hear any singing. To me, the word "opera" implies singing. This was more like dancing, I would say. Or marching.
I love those outfits.
Mute it, overlay with John Williams music and light saber sound effects.
I don't know whether I should laugh at the acting or be wowed by the art...
Dude in gold is talking. Dudes in blue and white run in and fight. Then hench blue dude fights with gold dude. Then some other dudes wander in and I get lost and give up trying.
It's true there's such a disconnect between the finer points of Chinese culture and people who spawned it. The drumming is actually from the Taoist tradition, anyone who's seen a Taoist ceremony knows what I'm talking about, and unfortunately today many Chinese have no knowledge of the Tao. I'm not Chinese, my heritage lies is Africa and we have much the same problem, so many of our proud traditions are lost on this current generation.
awesome!
does anyone know what kind of instruments they use to make those fight scenes so intense?
They used Chinese instruments like the gong, drums, erhu etc
Awesome.
Chaoju is opera of the Chaozhou (aka Teochew)region of southeast Guangdong.
It has something mezmerizing about it...
Ur here because of the modules right hehe
ok forget the question about melody and msuic. found loads of other examples of the chinese opera...but still: whats the meaning behind this noise?
no. the story is about caocao lost the CHIBI campaign in 208 AD, and on his way of retreat.
i'm a fan just wish there was subs 4 the rest of us folks u know
my favorite
0:00 - Demons: "Happy retirement, boss!"
0:02 - Demon General" "Thanks guys! You know, what's the best thing about being a newly retired Demon General? Not having to put up with fighting the forces of Heaven!"
0:24 - Heavenly General: "We heard you were retiring, so we thought we'd crash your party and give you a special going away present!!!"
0:28 - Demon General: "FML!!!"
why do they wear costumes that are so wide at the hips? And the make up is very extravagant.
Thanks. but which opera company ?
Jingju is probably well-like only in northern China. In the south, there are other more tuneful and equally well spread and loved operas. And many think that Chaoju is the King of Chinese opera, becos every show's arias are unique & are not repeated unlike other operas where there are a limited number of tunes and only the lyrics are changed.
@straightarrow372 This scene doesn't have any dialogues that's why.
Seriously, AGGRAVATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who needs those fucking power ranger's when you can have a lot fun with...whoever they are, they're great.
@straightarrow372 cause this is just one part form the full vision u watched ,it is not complete
For future making of Chinese Xiju videos I'd liek to know if anyone else agrees with using Xiju (theatrical performance), in place of opera. I say this because opera is an artform developed in the west and Chinese theatre was not inspired by opera but was developed in different areas of China. Instead of BeiJing opera, use Jingju. What are people's opinions on that topic?
does any1 no where i can download chinese opera coz my grandma likes 2 listen to it but i dont no where 2 get songs from
This is really interesting. Especially watching Beijing Opera while my girlfriend acts like a crazy woman.
why is this in an how it's made playlist Oo
If you peeps like this then you should read up on China's history. I'm sure you peeps know that they are our hero warriors turn god. So it's kinda fun watching them tell story like that. Knowing the story and watching them makes it easier to understand... =p
@2008NND yup you know even Sakyamuni is Korean =_=
could someone please explain to me the reason why everything is underlayed with this "noise"? whats the meaning of that? are there parts in the opera which have a melody and music and singing? or is it all like the shown scenes here?
Peking opera (Jingju) has two types, martial and civil. The latter is much more tuneful. The scene here is of a battle, so . . .
Yuan Shihai is the best "hualian" actor
interesting. greetings from serbia!
Can someone point out the characters i can only recognize cao cao
While this is True, if you use bother terms then people may start picking up on it. If you say something like "This is a clip of a Traditional Jingju (Beijing Opera)..." then we can start to try to phase the term out of use and replace it with the proper term.
I mean...We call it Kabuki, not Japanese Commedia or some silly thing like that.
On the topic of music...If you sit down and watch a few Jingju, you might learn to like it. I did...
It is still possible to appreciate a culture, yet acknowledge when its music is painful to listen to. I would not be deeply offended if a Chinese commented pointed out the terribleness of Justin Beiber.
yeah
I love Chinese Opera. So glad China is reclaiming its heritage from mayhem of Cultural Revolution. China will enrich our world, expand our horizons. Wish there were move Confucian schools throughout the world...
这段太经典了
is this lu bu vs the 3 brothers?
It feel so weird. I don't get it, and I want to, but I just cant. I may sound impolite, but even if this is an important part of chinese, I don't understand nothing about the video.
I do understand the Chinese of Jingju; it is the falsetto voice (of both the huadan and some xiaosheng) that I find jarring after a while.I am OK with laodan and laosheng voice.
it may be the origin of western metal songs.
@ahHao1988 Dynasty Warriors?
Gong much? But still that was quite something!
for some very off reason.. .
i find this intresting..:D
even though im only a teen. :D
How are you doing now ? Mr adult?
Its haku and melotah!
I think the cowbell player must have forearms the size of small children. 2:19 he switches arms...
But, I don't think it is meaningful to rate operas on any sort of objective way (that 1 is necessarily "better" than the other). It's not surprising to hear that Jingju is something that is difficult to listen to; I think different operatic styles play to a different array of sensibilities.
I've never heard Chaoju, can you link me?
这曹操，活灵活现的。。好段子，打的真漂亮。不愧国粹！
Groovy
@whelljack yes, and you had buggers on your nose, shit on your hands, food in your teeth ... but chinese opera have that wonderfull make up on, their beautiful costumes, great skills as actors and martial art tecniques... singers..they're great!
经典啊。。
Even though this is amazing, this tradition has been dying in a few countries like singapore
Excellent and very well done. Which opera co is this?
As a southerner, I think Jingju is the most over-rated. It is jarring and for me cannot be listened to for more than 15 mins. I think Yueju (Shanghai) is the most tuneful, Yueju(Cantonese) is easiest to hum along musically, Gezaixi has the most sorrowful tune, and Chaoju is the most exotic.
MIGRAINE!
@FalseProphet501 Same...
Dear turtaleater,
You may love or loathe this music, but there's no need to be rude. Try broadening your horizons, so that you can respect other cultures. And in the process you might as well improve your spelling skills in English.
Have a nice day.
在中国，京剧武戏不如唱戏地位高。外国人听不懂，只会看。不然京剧早走出国门了。
Or Jurchen, or Manchurian. All of which are Northern Asians.
anybody ever watch this while f**ked up?
Why do they wear those flags on their backs?
Seal of authority to command the army 令旗
Shakespeare wasn't written for microphones. It didn't make his plays suck.
Why is this so loud XD It's like pots and pans falling down the 6th floor Jesus.....
It actually 三国无双
@yusifabdalbarr87 you just shown that u knew nothing abt chinese and japanese culture and history,better refer
wikipedia or others books b4 u make any comment
@2008NND
YOU BEEETHRAY KOREA!!!!!
I see Guan Yu/
Ore ha typing desu