Features of Beijing: courtyard houses, hutongs, Peking Opera and comedy.
The siheyuan is a traditional form of residence in Beijing, which was first formed in the Liao Dynasty, and was gradually perfected through the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, eventually becoming the most characteristic form of residence in Beijing. The so-called siheyuan, "si" refers to the four sides of the east, west, south and north, "hui" that is, the four sides of the house surrounded together, forming a "mouth" shape. After hundreds of years of construction, the Beijing courtyard houses have formed a unique Beijing style from the plan layout to the internal structure and detailed decoration.
Peking Opera, once known as Ping Opera, is one of China's five major operatic genres. It is mainly composed of xi pi and er huang, accompanied by huqin and gongs and drums, and is regarded as China's national treasure, and the top of China's three "tops" in the Chinese Opera category.
Hui Opera is the predecessor of Beijing Opera. Since the Qing Dynasty Qianlong 55 years (1790), the original performance in the south of the three Qing, four happy, Chuntai, and spring, the four Huiban one after another into Beijing, they and the Han tune artists from Hubei, and at the same time accepted the Kunqu, Qinqiao part of the repertoire, tunes and performance methods, folk tunes, through continuous exchanges, fusion and ultimately the formation of the Beijing Opera. After the formation of Peking Opera began to develop rapidly within the court of the Qing Dynasty, until **** the country to get unprecedented prosperity.
Peking Opera traveled all over the world and became an important medium for introducing and spreading traditional Chinese art and culture. The place of distribution is centered on Beijing and spreads all over China. On November 16, 2010, Peking Opera was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Chinese comedy, as a kind of folk opera, originated in northern China and flourished during the Ming Dynasty. Today, there are three major birthplaces of Chinese comedy: Tianqiao in Beijing, Guanyechang in Tianjin and Fuzimiao in Nanjing.
Unlike other humorous performances, xiangsheng emphasizes rapping, which is in the same lineage as the Eight Banners culture, and Lian Kuo Ru once said, "The art of xiangsheng was born from the 'Eight Banners Drums'.
Expanded Information
(Siheyuan), an inner courtyard-style residence formed by enclosing houses on the east, west, south and north. As the main architectural form in which old Beijingers have lived for generations, the Beijing siheyuan is famous and known all over the world. First of all, it has a very long history. Since the Yuan Dynasty, when the capital of Beijing was formally established and large-scale planning and construction of the capital city began, the courtyard has appeared at the same time as the palaces, government offices, neighborhoods, alleys and hutongs of Beijing.
According to the late Yuan dynasty Xiong Mengxiang's "analysis of the Jin Zhi": "Metropolis street system, from the south to the north of the so-called warp, from the east to the west of the so-called latitude. Main Street twenty-four steps wide, three hundred and eighty-four long alley, twenty-nine alleys through." Secondly, the composition of the courtyard is unique. Its courtyard is spacious and sparse, the four sides of the houses are independent, and there are corridors connecting each other, living is very convenient; closed homes so that the courtyard has a strong sense of privacy, close the door to its own world; courtyard, four sides of the door are open to the courtyard, the family and the beauty of the family, and happy; spacious courtyard can also plant trees and flowers, feed birds and fish, stacked rocks and landscape, the occupants of the beauty of nature.
In addition, although the courtyard is a residential building, it contains profound cultural connotations and is a carrier of traditional Chinese culture. The construction of the courtyard is very concerned about feng shui, feng shui doctrine, is actually the ancient Chinese building environment science, is an important part of the theory of traditional Chinese architecture; courtyard decorations, carvings, paintings are also everywhere reflecting the folklore and traditional culture, showing the pursuit of happiness, beauty, affluence, good fortune, such as bats, longevity patterns, meaning "good fortune and longevity"; to vase inside the vase to enjoy the beauty of nature, the Chinese traditional culture. "The pattern of moonflower in a vase implies "four seasons of peace"; the auspicious words embedded in door hairpins and door heads, the couplets attached to the pillars, as well as the masterpieces of calligraphy and paintings hanging indoors are a collection of ancient teachings of sages and philosophers, and famous lines from ancient and modern times. The calligraphy and paintings hanging in the room are a collection of ancient teachings of sages and philosophers, and quotations from the past and present, either celebrating the beauty of mountains and rivers, or inscribing the learning of the world, or chanting the will of the great swan.