The scholars, who watched the “Pipa Record”, appreciated highly the Kunshan tune. Lu Tiancheng , an official critic , put South Drama in the first entry of his book “ Annals of Operas” , commending it as a “sacred scripture” , whereupon its “elegant sector” Kunqu (Kunshan Drama ) fulfilled its aristocratizing process . With its elegant diction, refined tune and wonderful charm, Kunqu became a fad, attracting big audiences. The staging of Liang Chenyu’s Kunqu “Washing Gauze in Stream” spread further the fame of Kunqu, making it a national opera.
However, the “fad opera” in the Ming Dynasty turned into a nonfad classic opera in the Qing Dynasty, when Beijing was made the capital of the country. The northerners inhabiting Beijing did not like the slow melodies of the South Drama. They liked rather the various local dramas with local folk traditions. The boorish local dramas taking the place of the elegant Kunqu belonged to the “miscellaneous operas” , that were sung in miscellaneous , mostly rustic tunes : Li Dou in the Qing Dynasty proclaimed in his book “Records at Yang Zhou Pleasure-Boat” ; “The miscellaneous operas consist of Beijing tune, Shanxi tune , Yiyang tune , Luoluo tune and Erhuang tune , called collectively luantan (miscellaneous tunes)”.
“The miscellaneous operas” shifted their focus on script literature to stage art. They were easy to understand. Their even-character or ten-character couplets substituted the traditional verses. They employed different musical beats to fit in with the different situations and emotions, viz. the quick beat, the slow beat, the flowing beat and the loose beat. Arias might be sung or not depending on the different situations. Different acts or scenes might be handled as singing show, an acting show or a martial arts show. Obviously, such beats and handing facilitated the free and flexible combination of singing, reciting, acting and martial arts, contributing greatly to the Chinese stage performing art.
Hence, miscellaneous operas flourished all over China, with over 360 local operas known as “three hundred tunes” competing with each other. The advent of Beijing Opera meant the final blending of the folk spirit and the palatial interest and of the southern flavor and the northern flavor, ending the contest between the elegant and the miscellaneous operas.
More than a hundred years had elapsed from the arrival in Beijing of the Anhui Opera Troupe in the 55th year of the reign of Emperor Qian Long to the prime of Beijing opera during the reigns of Emperors Tongzhi and Guangxu. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, Beijing opera was still on the rise. Many amateur clubs were organized. The whole Beijing seemed to be a giant theatre. People of all walks of life and of all trades, whether rich or poor, mostly could hum some arias of Beijing opera. If Kunqu had provided the audience with leisurely comfort, then Beijing opera brought to the audience a real pleasure. The participation of the amateurs caused Beijing opera to advance further on. The actors of various types of roles improved their acting. Many schools of actors arose after the 1911 Revolution, radiating artistic splendor. Even today, the art of Beijing opera continues to draw our appreciation.
