Sheng
is the male role in Beijing Opera. Sheng, according
to the age, personality and status of the characters,
is subdivided into laosheng, xiaosheng, wensheng
and wusheng. Laosheng, also known as xusheng,
is a bearded middle-aged or old man who is in
most cases a positive character. Xiaosheng is
a handsome young man, who can either be a scholar
or a military general. Those who specialize in
singing and reciting are termed wensheng, while
those who are skilled in stage-fighting, are called
wusheng.
Dan
is a general term in Beijing Opera for all female
roles. In the feudal society of old China, as
men and women were forbidden to perform on the
same stage, all the female roles were played by
men. Today, however, there are very few female
impersonators. According to the age, status, personality
of the character and the style in acting, dan
is further divided into zhengdan , huadan , caidan
, wudan and laodan . Zhengdan is also called qingyi
because she always wears a qingyi (black costume)
. Zhengdan is the type representing the gentle
and virtuous young and middle-aged woman. In this
type of roles much stress is given in singing.
Huadan is the role for a maiden or a young woman,
who is either vivacious or shrewdish in character.
Emphasis is placed on acting and recitation in
this type. Caidan, also called choudan, is the
role for a woman of comical or crafty character.
A caidan uses heavy make-up of rouge with a patch
of white powder covering her nose while her acting
is basically the same as that of a chou (clown)
. Wudan is the role for a woman of the military
type who excels in riding and archery as well
as in martial arts. Like wusheng, a wudan does
a lot of stage-fighting. Laodan is the role for
an old woman. In singing laodan uses the natural
voice which is similar to laosheng. In both singing
and acting the performer must try to indicate
the special characteristics of an old woman.
Jing
is also known as hualian, a role with a painted
face, who is a man of special character, features
and personality. Jing is further divided into
wenjing (civilian type) and wujing (warrior type)
. Wenjing must lay particular emphasis on singing
and wujing on acrobatic fighting. The face of
a jing role is painted with a variety of coloured
patterns which are not only an artistic exaggeration
but also an indication of the personality of the
character.
Chou
(clown) is also called xiaohualian , or sanhualian
. A chou may be a kind-hearted, humorous and funny
fellow. However, he may also be very wicked or
treacherous . Chou is also divided into wenchou
( civilian type ) , and wuchou ( a clown with
martial arts ) . A female chou is normally called
caidan or choudan. A chou always paints his nose
powder-white and wears an upturned moustache so
as to give a comic effect.