周可

Peking opera is one of the five major traditional operas in China. Its vocal tones are mainly composed of xipi and erhuang， to the music played by such instruments as huqin， gong， and drum.

京劇是中國(guó)五大傳統(tǒng)戲曲之一。它的音調(diào)主要由西皮和二黃組成，由胡琴、鑼、鼓等樂器伴奏。

1. Origin

起源

Peking opera grew out of Huiju opera， a folk opera originallypopular in the regions around the south of the lower reaches of theYangtze River in the early Qing Dynasty.

京劇由徽劇發(fā)展而來，徽劇是清代早期流行于長(zhǎng)江下游以南地區(qū)的一種民間戲曲。

In 1790， to celebrate the eightieth birthday of the Qianlong Emperor， the Four Great Anhui Troupes brought Huiju opera to Beijing to join the celebration. Their performances soon found an audience， marking the beginning of the more than 200 years of history of Peking opera.

1790年，為慶祝乾隆皇帝八十大壽，四大徽班將徽劇帶到北京參加慶?；顒?dòng)。他們的表演很快吸引了觀眾，這標(biāo)志著京劇200多年歷史的開始。

From 1840 to 1860， Peking opera congealed as a mixture of elements of Qinqiang opera， Hanju opera， certain strengths of Kunqu opera， and local tunes of Beijing. The new form then began to create its own innovations. For example， melodies were simplified， and were played with different traditional instruments than those used in earlier forms.

從1840年到1860年，京劇融合了秦腔、漢劇、昆曲和北京地方曲調(diào)的多種元素，然后開始創(chuàng)生出新的形式。例如，旋律被簡(jiǎn)化了，并使用與早期演奏形式不同的傳統(tǒng)樂器。

2. Roles

腳色

Peking opera was originally an exclusively male pursuit. Theappearance of women on the stage began unofficially duringthe 1870s， when female performers began to play male roles anddeclared equality with men. The characters staged in Pekingopera are not based on the appearance of people in daily life. Ingeneral， the roles on the stage are divided into four categories：Sheng （male）， Dan （female）， Jing （male， painted-face characters）and Chou （male， clowns）.

京劇最初僅是男性的專利。女性在京劇舞臺(tái)上的出現(xiàn)始于19世紀(jì)70 年代，此時(shí)女性開始扮演男性角色，并宣布與男性平等。京劇中的人物并不是以人們?cè)谌粘Ｉ钪械耐獗頌榛A(chǔ)的。一般來說，舞臺(tái)上的腳色分為四類：生（男性）、旦（女性）、凈（男性，畫臉角色）和丑（男性，小丑）。

3. Costume and makeup

服裝和化妝

In Peking opera， lower-level of f icials usually wear orchids，while only the emperor could wear yellow. The costumes ofPeking opera can be divided into six main categories.

在京劇中，下級(jí)官員通常佩戴蘭花，只有皇帝才能佩戴黃色飾物。京劇的服裝可以分為六大類。

Peking opera uses exaggerated expressions and methods?to build different types of figures and characters from facial features， hairstyles， headwear and artificial whiskers. Facial make-up can help cover defects to make the character better fit the plot.

京劇使用夸張的表情和方法，從面部特征、發(fā)型、頭飾和人造胡須等方面塑造不同類型的人物。面部化妝可以幫助彌補(bǔ)缺陷，使腳色更符合情節(jié)。

4. Musical Instruments

樂器

Erhu： The erhu is one of main musical instruments of Peking opera.

二胡：二胡是京劇的主要樂器之一。

Drum： Percussion instruments of different shapes and sizes are used in Peking opera to describe battles， court trials， executions， and similar scenes.

鼓：京劇中使用不同形狀和大小不一的打擊樂器來描述戰(zhàn)斗、衙門審案、處決和類似的場(chǎng)景。

Gong： Players take the gongs rope with their left hand and beat the edge of the gong with their right. Its used in scenes where military of f icers enter the stage or at highly emotional moments.

鑼：演奏者用左手握住鑼的繩子，用右手敲擊鑼的邊緣。它用于官兵上臺(tái)的場(chǎng)景或情緒激動(dòng)的時(shí)刻。

Yueqin： It enriches the voice in Peking opera so that the voice?can be smoothly conveyed and increases the sense of rhythm. So singers can better express their emotions.

月琴：它豐富了京劇的聲音，使聲音能夠順利傳達(dá)，增加了節(jié)奏感。因此，演唱者能夠更好地表達(dá)他們的情感。

Sanxian： It has the widest range and richest timbre among the major musical instruments of Peking opera.

三弦：在京劇的主要樂器中，三弦音域最廣，音色最豐富。

5. Mei Lanfang

梅蘭芳

Mei Lanfang is regarded as one of the greatest Peking operaartists. He was born in Beijing in 1894. His father died， when hewas only 4 years old. Supported by his uncle， at the age of 8， hebegan to learn Peking opera. He studied very hard and made greatachievements.

梅蘭芳被認(rèn)為是最偉大的京劇藝術(shù)家之一。他1894 年出生于北京。4 歲時(shí)，他父親就去世了。在叔叔的支持下，他8 歲開始學(xué)習(xí)京劇。他學(xué)習(xí)很努力，取得了很大的成就。

Mei Lanfang loved motherland verymuch. During the period of the ChinesePeoples War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression， herefused to act for the Japanese invaders.

梅蘭芳非常愛國(guó)。在抗日戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)期間，他拒絕為日本侵略者表演。

Mei Lanfang passed away in 1961. However， the name Mei Lanfang is still popular among Chinese today.

梅蘭芳于1961年去世。然而，梅蘭芳這個(gè)名字在今天的中國(guó)仍然家喻戶曉。

Notes：

vocal tones 音調(diào)

instrument n. 樂器

folk adj. 民間的

originally adv. 原始；最初

region n. 地區(qū)；區(qū)域

troupe n. 流派

audience n. 觀眾

mark v. 標(biāo)志

congeal v. 凝結(jié)

element n. 元素

strength n. 優(yōu)勢(shì)，長(zhǎng)處

local tunes 地方曲調(diào)

create v. 創(chuàng)造

innovation n. 創(chuàng)新

melody n. 旋律

simplified adj. 被簡(jiǎn)化了的

appearance n. 特征

stage n. 舞臺(tái)

unofficially adv. 民間的

declare v. 宣布

equality n. 平等

category n. 類型；類別

orchid n. 蘭花

exaggerated adj. 夸張的

method n. 經(jīng)驗(yàn)；做法

facial features 面部表情

hairstyle n. 發(fā)型

headwear n. 頭飾

artificial whisker 人造胡須

defect n. 缺點(diǎn)；缺陷

plot n. 情節(jié)

percussion n. 打擊樂器

battle n. 戰(zhàn)斗；打仗

court trial 法庭審判

execution n. 處決

scene n. 場(chǎng)景

beat v. 打擊；敲打

military adj. 軍事的

emotional adj. 情緒化的

convey v. 傳達(dá)

rhythm n. 節(jié)奏

emotion n. 情緒；情感

range n. 范圍

timbre n. 音色

pass away 去世