CHING-HSI

(Chinese"opera of the capital") A ching-hsi (Peking Opera) troupe performing a scene from The Real and the Fake Sun 1/4 English Peking opera popular Chinese theatrical form that developed in the mid-19th century. It incorporated elements of k'un-ch, the traditional opera that had predominated since the 14th century. Sung in Mandarin, the dialect of Peking and of the traditional elite, the ching-hsi musical verse plays came to be performed throughout China, although most provinces and many major cities developed their own operatic variants using local dialect. Ching-hsi is highly conventionalized. The attitudes of individual characters are encoded in traditional steps, postures, and arm movements. Acrobatic movements are frequently used to suggest violent action. Accompaniment is provided by a small orchestra of stringed and wind instruments, wooden clappers, and a small drum. Interludes of spoken narration permit singers to rest periodically during the characteristically lengthy performances. Since the 1970s, several ching-hsi troupes have performed in the West.