Peking Opera: China's Greatest Gender-Fluid Spectacle | Century Masters

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In China, the 20th Century was marked by dramatic social and political changes. It saw the end of the Qing Dynasty, the emergence of regional warlord governments, a Japanese military occupation, the Chinese Civil War and the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It was equally eventful in the fields of music, painting, drama and literature. Behind this transformation was a group of remarkable individuals, men who persevered despite national and personal tragedies. A new ten-part documentary series explores their contributions and legacies.
Perspective is KZbin's home for the arts. Come here to get your fill of great music, theatre, art and much, much more!
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[@DelightLovesMovies]

I love Peking Opera. I've only seen it on video but I came away convinced people could fly. Their acrobats are sublime.

[@tinyred9710]

surprised the genshin wave hasn't hit this video yet

[@SleepyShilohZzz]

I'm here hehe

[@cloudretainer4033]

I'm here hehe

[@Binsas]

I’m here hehe

[@hanniesung3595]

I'm here hehe

[@harper7181]

already liked chinese opera beforeand, but yes, can confirm play genshin :)

[@mrpmikc2505]

I’m Scottish, I’m going to see Beijing Opera in Beijing next month, October. Lived here for 4 years. Love the place and my Chinese friends. Thank you to Chinese people for treating this waigoren very well. 🙏🙏🙏

[@n.e.g4865]

well done comrade, 1000 social credit points to you. please report to your nearest education centre to collect your social credit points.

[@flexaeterna]

Lucky you!!

[@AirAddict]

+1000000 social credits

[@hiimryan2388]

​@@n.e.g4865 you are so funny you should try out for clown school

[@mecchamina]

@@n.e.g4865 Pure cringe

[@dreamlife2351]

What excellent history and information. I was curious about Chinese Opera when attending Chinese New Year Celebrations in Hawai’i. Wonderful video 🌺

[@ssballs]

Fantastic. The Peking opera visited The Netherlands in the early seventies as a cultural exchange. It's nice to finally get a good glimpse into the history.

[@tracyjamieson362]

Thank you for this gift of beauty.

[@omittapir5986]

Wow.... Omg! What great history! More people should see it.

[@juantheimperial]

Yun Jin sent me here

[@4kassis]

i can hardly have been a surprise that a boy's voice would break eventually

[@roughw5120]

5:04 can someone give me the link of this complete performance. 35:41 12:15

[@alisonbarlow7836]

love the costumes

[@bajoobiecuzican]

Definitely an acquired taste. Whew!

[@arthurbanksforbeijingopera3091]

The only matter is in Qing Dynasty no actress was allowed to perform in formal occasions. So there were actresses but they only did in informal or entertaining occasions.

[@miaomiaochan]

Thank you for this peek into a fascinating and sadly somewhat obscure bit of Chinese (and LGBT) history.

[@jivvyjack7723]

Why do you associate a high art-form with LGBT?

[@aritra5197]

​@@jivvyjack7723 Was this comment necessary? You must know that there have been numerous Nán Dàn (男旦) or Female-impersonating male actors. Historical chronicles provide evidence of romantic relationships involving Nán Dàns and their admirers. One must understand that Chinese Opera is extremely different from Western Abrahamic Opera (rooted in Abrahamic worldview). The East has always celebrated the divinity of human beings and the beauty of all existence. As the Bodhisattva of Wisdom Mañjuśrī proclaimed in his Sūtra,"O mendicant you must absorb the essence of reality manifest in all beings, upon which you shall achieve union with all sentient beings. The blissful land awaits all those who practice compassion and loving-kindness. All conformations arise from emptiness and dissolve unto emptiness. The Dharma-bearer hence should revere all beings arising from different-different conformations, as what appears to be non-natural is indeed natural. The mendicant who realises this truth escapes sorrow (Duḥkha) and the cycle of Saṃsāra". Namo Avalokitēśvarāya 🙏🏼☸️🙏🏼 卍☸️南無如來佛陀☸️卍

[@jivvyjack7723]

@@aritra5197 If you know It is an art -from, then the person you should ask is the OP, where he or she associated Chinese opera with LGBT. Was that comment necessary? Chinese opera is no more a bed-rock of promoting LGBT activities than ballet is to LGBT. Leave the art-form alone. Leave the religion alone. Leave individual's interests to themselves.

[@arthurbanksforbeijingopera3091]

He and other men who performed girls were all men, not LGBT. They certainly could and did act as men in some occasions because it was a job. A job is not LGBT. Those girls who performe men do the same affairs. It's only a job to performe and no gender is considered. In their private lives they are naturally men or girls. They all have sons and daughters. No LGBT was famous in opera stages.

[@Danceswithwolves79]

Why is there no translation for people who don't speak anything but english

[@LameesTheCelestialPrincess]

I’m Lulu The Numberblocks and Ask The StoryBots loving Sailor mouth ❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉

[@LameesTheCelestialPrincess]

Also known as The Dessert Stoner and RockerFive

[@VictorHugo-kf8px]

Genshin

[@cloudretainer4033]

Jenshin

[@mokbowen37]

Jenshen

[@magnuscritikaleak5045]

Gaeshin Shitpact

[@6Euphoria6]

Oh gods, such a pleasant sounding name like Cheng YanQiu got ruined just like that.

[@JCO2002]

Each to their own, but Cheng Yanqiu's "singing" is one of the most annoying things I've heard in years. And what are they using for strings on the instruments, rubber bands?

[@kof3017]

1st

[@sebastianmelmoth685]

Almost destroyed by the CCP. Glad it survived. Notice how no one is allowed to mention what Mao's cultural revolution did to this art form and many, many others - some of which have been lost forever. They just breeze over the fact by saying "Many operas were banned." Laughable bit of propaganda designed to fool non historians into the false narrative of the CCP. I am nonetheless glad that sanity finally prevailed amidst those in the party who understood the importance of this heritage.

[@05350]

Is this episode partially funded by the Chinese government?

[@sebastianmelmoth685]

@@05350 Filming and interviews would certainly not have been permitted had the funding not been - at least partly - funded by the CCP. No doubt.

[@Weeping-Angel]

That was during the cultural revolution. That’s why there are so little surviving art forms in China, mainly because they all had to be destroyed.

[@VisualdelightPro]

The party is run by smallnheaters

[@patricaoreilly2143]

What is gender fluid?

[@SleepyShilohZzz]

Gender fluid is a gender identity where your gender change over time (one day you feel like a woman and the other like a man etc)

[@orionfernandes4587]

@@SleepyShilohZzz What

[@SleepyShilohZzz]

@@orionfernandes4587 What didn't you understand?

[@orionfernandes4587]

@@SleepyShilohZzz That gender changing part depending on feelings I wouldn’t want to offend anyone. But I believe I cannot properly comprehend such a thing. I must be too old fashioned to live in such a rapidly changing world

[@darkbielz]

@@orionfernandes4587 The thing is, it's not a rapidly changing world, it's just that now society is becoming more aware that not everyone fits only in a boy/girl box. Gender fluid was always part of society in some way or another and the old black and white footage of this doc shows just that! But unfortunately people who identify themselves as gender fluid, or other forms of non-heteronormative identities are commonly marginalized and are not always portrayed in a positive way, quite the opposite. Fortunately we live in the internet age, and there's plenty of information available about such matters, you just need to be willing to learn and let go of preconceptions. It's not a easy task, but it's certainly a way to a more empathic way of living. :)

[@cynthiawood4201]

We definitely live in Hell.

[@JustJosephh]

praise satan

[@purplehayes5718]

No, even hell has standards above this!

[@purplehayes5718]

Wow! That is just plain horrible noise, both voices, and instruments. I thought my ears were going to start bleeding.

[@tasy456]

Let's hear you next, buddy

[@JustJosephh]

join me in a prayer, Dear lord, grant us the strength and allow us to move forward, please make this insightful person's ears bleed and become useless as to not ever hear such a "horrible" noise again. amen

[@AtlasBTM]

Peking Opera is traditional folk opera, it takes years of skill that you could never even come close to their skill. you're honestly just showing your plain racism and had no place to comment this.

[@purplehayes5718]

@@AtlasBTM I do pray I will never come close to their "skill" ! And here we go again using the race card when all else failed. This has nothing to do with race or gender it plants or animals, this has to do with bad "music". Peking Opera is traditional folk opera, that has nothing to do with it being good it only has to do with tradition. The headhunters had a tradition of shrinking heads, did that make it good?

[@purplehayes5718]

@@JustJosephh I guess the Lord did hear your prayer I listened to it again and I could still hear it, I guess the Lord thought that was a much greater punishment than making me deaf. And it was!