A Brief History of Peking Opera京劇簡史

高薩麗（音譯）/文　張祺/譯

Peking Opera is a form of traditional Chinese theater that originated in Beijing in the late 18th century. Compared to other types of Chinese theater， it is a relatively new style of drama， combining music， song， dance and acrobatics in a lively and colorful display.

京劇起源于18世紀末的北京，是中國傳統(tǒng)戲劇的一種。相較于中國其他劇種，它集音樂、歌曲、舞蹈和雜技于一體，表演生動活潑、豐富多彩，屬于一種相對較新的戲劇藝術表現(xiàn)形式。

The birth year of Peking Opera is commonly set at 1790， the year of the eightieth birthday of the Qianlong Emperor. Up until that point in the early Qing dynasty （1616–1911）， the educated nobility favored Kunqu Opera， which was known for its elegant music and fine language. On the other hand， various styles of regional popular theater enjoyed by commoners were dismissed by the Chinese elite.

通說認為京劇誕生于1790年，即乾隆皇帝八十大壽那一年。在此之前，清朝（1616—1911）初年，受過良好教育的皇室貴族都偏好以行腔婉轉、曲詞典雅著稱的昆曲。相反，廣受平民百姓追捧的風格各異的地方流行劇卻受到名門望族排斥。

That changed in 1790， when four seasoned drama troupes from Anhui province entered the capital to perform for the imperial court in celebration of Qianlongs birthday. The occasion marked the first time regional popular theater was performed in Beijing. The four troupes later came to be known as the ‘four great Anhui companies， and together dominated Peking Opera for the next century.

這種局面自1790年起逐漸扭轉。當時，來自安徽省的四個經(jīng)驗豐富的戲班為慶祝乾隆帝的生日，進京為朝廷演出。那是地方流行戲曲首次在北京演出。后來，這四個戲班被稱為“四大徽班”，并在接下來的一個世紀中共同主導了京劇的發(fā)展。

In the early years of Peking Opera， all the actors were men， with the roles of women played by young boys. The stories fell into two main categories—wen， or civil theater， which focused on love， marriage and other civilian concerns， and wu， or military theater， which revolved around the theme of war and was known for featuring thrilling acrobatic feats.

早期京劇僅有男性參演，劇中的女性角色由男孩扮演。京劇故事主要分為兩大類——文戲和武戲，前者側重于愛情、婚姻和其他民間生活中的問題，后者則主要圍繞戰(zhàn)爭主題，以驚險刺激的雜技表演著稱。

Peking Opera is a scenic art integrating music， performance， literature， aria， and face-painting. Certain rules are set up and regulations are standardized during many artists long practice on stage. Different from regional plays， it is stricter on the variety of the workmanship. The combination of virtual and reality—a special technique of expression， keeps it largely free from the restriction of time and space on stage performance. Peking Opera has had many interesting names since it came into being， such as Jinghuang， Daxi， Pingju， Jingxi.

京劇是集音樂、表演、文學、詠嘆調、臉譜于一體的舞臺藝術。在眾多藝術家長期的舞臺實踐中，已然形成一定的規(guī)則和規(guī)范。與地方戲不同，它對技藝的要求更為嚴格。虛實結合的特殊表現(xiàn)手法，使其在很大程度上擺脫了舞臺表演的時空限制。京劇自誕生以來就有許多有趣的名字，如京簧、大戲、平劇、京戲等。

In the 19th century， a theater district established itself in central Beijing， just south of the Imperial City. The playhouses also functioned as tea houses， and patrons were served food and tea as they enjoyed the shows. Notably， the powerful Empress Dowager Cixi （1835–1908） was an enthusiastic patron of Peking Opera. She had two stages built in the Summer Palace， as well as a smaller stage in her private quarters， and often summoned the citys most gifted artists to the royal palace to perform for her.

19 世紀，在紫禁城正南面的北京中心地帶形成了一個戲院區(qū)。這些戲院兼具茶館的功能，觀眾在欣賞演出的同時還能用膳品茗。值得一提的是，權傾朝野的慈禧太后（1835—1908）是京劇迷。她在頤和園搭建了兩個戲臺，并在自己的私人住所搭建了一個較小的戲臺，經(jīng)常召集京城最有才華的藝術家到皇宮為她演出。

1900， the year of the Boxer Rebellion， marked a calamitous turning point for Peking Opera. All of the capitals great theaters were burned down during the uprising， including two of the original ‘four great Anhui companies that had survived until that year.

1900年，義和團運動的爆發(fā)成為京劇一個災難性的轉折點。義和團起義期間，京城所有的大戲院都被燒毀，包括“四大徽班”中剩下的兩個。

In the aftermath of the catastrophe， with the old opera companies dissolved， individual veterans struck out on their own. Artists began to experiment with different styles， muddling traditional Peking Opera with influences from Western drama. The performances also began to take on contemporary political themes or advocate for social reform.

這場毀滅性災難過后的一段時間里，隨著老戲班的解散，個別老藝人開始自立門戶。他們逐步嘗試不同的風格，將部分西方戲劇的元素融入傳統(tǒng)京劇，演出主題也開始涉及當代政治、倡導社會改革。

In the first half of the twentieth century， the most famous actor of Peking Opera was Mei Lanfang. A maestro of the stage， Mei played a key role in popularizing Peking Opera and introducing Chinese theater to the West. He performed in the United States in 1930 and Europe in 1935， where he made a great impression on the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht， enough to influence Brechts concept of alienation. Mei also took the bold step of taking on female students， which was a highly risky and unconventional step at the time.

20世紀上半葉，最著名的京劇表演藝術家當屬梅蘭芳。作為舞臺藝術大師，梅蘭芳在推廣京劇和向西方介紹中國戲劇方面發(fā)揮了關鍵作用。他于1930年、1935年分別在美國和歐洲演出，給德國戲劇家貝托爾特·布萊希特留下了深刻印象，并影響了布萊希特的間離思想理論。此外，梅蘭芳打破常規(guī)做法，冒著巨大的風險招收女學徒，在京劇發(fā)展的道路上大膽地向前邁出了一步。

After the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949， Peking Opera performances that dealt with contemporary themes were encouraged， and the lively art form continues to be performed today.

1949年中華人民共和國成立后，國家鼓勵京劇演繹當代社會與生活。由此，這種生動活潑的藝術形式一直延續(xù)至今。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）