Traditional Chinese opera(4)

Yu Opera

Kun Qu Opera

豫劇 Yu Opera (yù jù )

Yu Opera originated from central China's Henan Province about 400 years ago, and has extended its popularity to other regions along the Yellow River in northern China.

It is famous for its loud voices, strong rhythms, and intensive use of spoken language. With unsophisticated performances, Yu Opera vividly depicts the nature of the Henan people: outspoken, straightforward, with a down-to-earth attitude and a good sense of humor.

昆曲 Kun Qu Opera (kūn qǔ )

Kun Qu Opera, literally also known as Kun Qiang, is an opera art system of Kunshan of Suzhou in China, which was originated during the end of the Yuan and beginning of the Ming dynasties (in mid 14th century). Kun Qu Opera is China' s oldest and most influential traditional opera. Many types of Chinese local dramas were developed on the basis of this opera, therefore, it has long been nicknamed as the "Mother of Chinese operas". Kun Qu Opera is also the type of opera that enjoys the most complete performance system in Chinese opera history. Having a profound basis and rich heritage, Kun Qu Opera has been a product of China' s highly developed culture and arts, and occupies a very significant position in the history of Chinese literature, opera, music and dance. Kun Qu Opera is a blend of the arts of singing, reciting, acting, performance martial arts and dancing. It uses drums and boards to control its rhythm, and includes zigzag flute, three-stringed Chinese violin and other instruments as its main accompaniment. The opera mainly uses Suzhou-dialect styled Mandarin as its singing and talking language. In 2001, Kun Qu Opera was officially included in UNESCO' s "oral and intangible cultural heritage list". Moreover, Kun Qu Opera, together with three other sister operas that originated in Haiyan and Yuyao in Zhejiang province, and Yiyang of Jiangxi province, were known as the "Four Most Famous Operas in the Ming Dynasty", which all belong to China' s southern opera genre.

(Source: china.com)