Four Great Characteristic Melodies

Four Great Characteristic Melodies in Chinese opera are Bangziqiang, Huangpiqiang, Kunqiang and Gaoqiang.

Bangziqiang

Qinqiang, Yuju, , Hebei Bangzi, Sixianqiang in Dianju, Tanxi in Chuanju, etc.

Huangpiqiang

Huiju, Hanju, Beijing opera, Cantonese opera, Xiangju, , Dianju, etc.

Kunqiang

Kunqiang, also known as Kunshanqiang, or Kunqu was listed as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001.

Gaoqiang

Chuanju, Xiangju, , Dianju, Chenhexi, Diaoqiang, etc.

Hong Took Tong Chinese Dramatic Company

The Hong Took Tong Chinese Dramatic Company was a San Francisco, California-based Chinese opera company who became the first major Asian American theatrical company in the country, inaugurating the first phase of the history of Chinese opera in the United States. A performance in 1852 was the first Cantonese opera ever shown in the country.

Jiangsu Province Kunqu Theatre

Jiangsu Province Kun Opera is a professional company, based in Nanjing, engaged in Kunqu research, production and performance.

Six members of the opera have won the Plum Blossom Prize: Zhang Jiqing, Shi Xiaomei, Hu Jinfang, Huang Xiaowu and Zhang Jidie. Performers graduated in three generations from the Jiangsu Opera School.

The Opera presents two kinds of performances: selections from classical operas, which are performed every week; and full operas adapted for one-, two-, or three-evening performances, which are produced several times a year, since the original scripts are too long for the modern stage. Recent full operas have included ''The Peony Pavilion'' and ''The White Silk Shirt'', which won the national prize for Best New Opera.

Lisa Lu

Lisa Lu born December 5, 1927 in Beijing, China) is a Chinese-American actress and documentary producer.

Biography

Beginning in her teens, Lu was active in Chinese opera, or Kunqu, before emigrating to the United States. Beginning in the 1950s, she enjoyed a long career in , though the only roles she found were stereotypical roles.

During the 1958-1959 television season, Lisa had the recurring role on the cult western show ''Yancy Derringer'' as Miss Mandarin. Miss Mandarin was an old love interest of Yancy's and close friend. She is the proprietor of his favorite place to dine, the Sazarack Restaurant. Set in New Orleans in 1868.

In 1961, she had a recurring role as Hey Girl on the television series ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' . Lisa also made numerous other appearances on television, with guest starring roles on ''The Big Valley'', ''The Richard Boone Show'', '''', ''Hawaiian Eye'', ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' and many more until her film career began to take off.

Her film career began to take off in the 1970s, with supporting roles in films like ''Demon Seed'' and Peter Bogdanovich's ''Saint Jack''. During this time, she also received three for Best Actress for her films ''The Arch'', ''The Empress Dowager'', and ''The Fourteen Amazons''. For the remainder of her career, Lu alternated between theater and film. Today, she is best remembered by audiences for her roles in the critically acclaimed films ''The Last Emperor'' and '''' . In addition to her work in film, theater, and television, she is known for narrating and producing a number of documentaries.

Selected filmography

Pear Garden

The Pear Garden or Liyuan , the first known royal acting and musical academy in China. It was founded during the Tang Dynasty by Emperor Xuanzong . It may be the first institutional Academy of Music in the world.

In later dynasties the phrase "Pear Garden" was used to allude to the world of Chinese opera in general.

Qu (poetry)

In Chinese literature, qu , or yuanqu consists of ''sanqu'' and ''zaqu'' . Along with '''' and '''', the former comprises Chinese poetry. The latter is a form of Chinese opera.

''Qu'' became popular during the late Southern Song Dynasty, and reached its highest popularity in Yuan Dynasty, therefore it is often called ''yuanqu''. Both ''sanqu'' and ''ci'' are lyrics written to fit a particular melody, but ''sanqu'' differs from ''ci'' in that it is more colloquial, and is allowed to contain ''chenzi'' . ''Sanqu'' can be further divided into ''xiaoling'' and ''santao'' , with the latter comprising of more than one melody.

Yunbai

Yunbai is a form of heightened speech used in Beijing opera and Kunqu. It utilizes a local dialect typical of central China, with a sing-song and rhythmic quality.