A TALE OF CONTINUITY AND CREATIVITY
In the classic Peking Opera San Cha Kou (or The Crossway), two male roles battle each other fiercely yet quietly in the night. The stage characters pretend to be shrouded in darkness, lunging at one another by listening, smelling and touching, but never seeing. To Chao Fan, an actor with the China National Peking Opera Co., this type of performance, one without an actual physical setup, is the charm and essence of Peking Opera.
A male role in Peking Opera is called sheng. There are xiaosheng (younger male roles), laosheng (older male roles) and wusheng (martial arts male roles). In 2005, 11-year-old Chao was sent off to study martial arts. After a one-year training, his coach recommended him to participate in the tryouts for actors of Peking Opera, and ever since, wusheng has become part of Chao’s life.
At the mere mention of Peking Opera, this traditional Chinese opera with a history of over 200 years, different things spring to different minds, ranging from face makeup, dramatic costumes or unique tunes. Yet, truthfully
