Question

(1) What four skills are fundamental to the performance art of Beijing opera? How was opera important to culture both before and after the 1949 revolution?

(2) Why is the qin designed to be so soft in sound?

Answer 1

Ans) 1) The four fundamental skills in Beijing opera are signing, speech, acting, and fighting. Singing and speech embrace a range of modes of voice production , acting and fighting cover a gamut extending from facial expressions to posture, gestures, mime and choreographed fighting and acrobats.

2) The qin a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted by the quote "a gentleman does not part with his qin or se without good reason, as well as being associated with the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius. It is sometimes referred to by the Chinese as "the father of Chinese music" or "the instrument of the sages". The guqin is not to be confused with the guzheng, another Chinese long zither also without frets, but with moveable bridges under each string.