With a history spanning more than two centuries, Peking Opera is regarded as the jewel in the crown of Chinese culture. Born in Beijing in the mid-19th century, it absorbed facets of a variety of performing arts from different provinces including Anhui, Hubei, Shaanxi, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Hebei.
In 2000, Zhang Shu, an acclaimed Lao-sheng (middle-aged or elderly male character with a trademark long, fake beard and whiskers) performer at the Beijing Peking Opera Theater, was invited by the Peking Opera Society of Philadelphia to perform in the U.S. and give lectures. Inspired by what they saw, his American fans and opera lovers begged him to stay and teach them. At first, Zhang hesitated, but he was deeply moved by their enthusiasm and so decided to have a try at staying in the U.S., leaving his beloved Chinese audience behind.
Peking Opera has faced mounting challenges from the increasingly commercialized culture market despite its reinvention in the name of innovation. Yet, a group of overseas Chinese amateur opera performers and fans living in North America, most of them descendants of noble families and great clans, have kept the spirit of Peking Opera alive by disseminating Chinese traditional culture to the Western world. To these people, Peking Opera is not just a form of entertainment; it’s also a spiritual feast.
In the U.S. Zhang soon found the perfect platform to showcase his expertise and experience among the Chinese communities there. He actively helped the local opera society with rehearsals and performances. However, he found it a tricky task. “My effort alone was not enough to get the whole message across to these learners,” he said.
Meanwhile, the New York-based Qi Shufang Peking Opera Company invited him to perform in the city, an offer Zhang was delighted to accept. Qi Shufang played the renowned Dan character in Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, a smash hit in the 1970s, and gained fame throughout China. In the 1980s, Qi established an opera troupe in the U.S., hoping to spread Chinese traditional culture abroad and make it accessible to Americans. New York had a much bigger Chinese community than Philadelphia and 200-300 Peking Opera performers serving a huge market.
Zhang came to play a pivotal role in Qi’s troupe, not just as an actor, but as a director, too. He thus got to know Chinese and Americans from all walks of life living in New York with one common passion – Peking Opera. These enthusiasts were keen to learn specific techniques from Zhang, such as the acrobatic stage fighting and the typical body gestures and facial expressions associated with the three types of Rankou (fake beards and whiskers made of different materials and in different colors that symbolize the age of the characters wearing them).
In 2011, Zhang brought his troupe to participate in the Peking Opera Festival in Hubei Province, alongside several foreign students. Their performance of Shiyuzhuo (Picking up the Jade Bracelet) and Sanchakou (At the Junction of Three Roads) left a brand new impression of Peking Opera on Chinese audiences.
Lighting up Broadway
In 2003, Zhang and his opera troupe performed on New York’s iconic theater strip, Broadway.
A lifelong dream for all in the theater world, including Zhang, this was a glorious achievement. Home to layer upon layer of theaters and performance spaces, Broadway is a huge attraction and large-scale productions vie for a precious spot on its billboards. Only those with supreme skills get the green light.
After careful consideration, Qi decided that she would commission the troupe to perform a full length production of Women Generals of the Yang Family, with Zhang in the role of Kou Zhun, a highly esteemed chancellor. The four main character types in Peking Opera, Sheng (male), Dan (female), Jing (painted-face male role) and Chou (clown), would be fully presented in this play. “The best of Peking Opera performers from all around the U.S. were gathered together to rehearse,” recalled Zhang. The then 62-year-old Qi gave the performance of her life.
In the 70 years since the renowned master Mei Lanfang appeared on Broadway no other Peking Opera troupe had performed there, so Qi and her company caused a sensation. Owing to the extent of the opera, actors were on a strict rehearsal schedule that lasted five months. All the opera’s costumes, props and sets were made in China and shipped to the U.S.
Strong support from Chinese living in America contributed to Peking Opera’s popularity there. Amateur performances popped up all over the major cities, and Chinatowns throughout the U.S. resonated with clashing gongs and peppery drums. Performances were held in Chinese communities every year, from the East Coast of New York and Washington D.C. to the West Coast of Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as in Toronto and Vancouver in Canada.
Aware of the huge expense of the show, many members of the Chinese community gave donations. Ms. Sophie Luo from Taiwan, an apprentice of Xue Yaping, one of the eight famous Dan actors in Peking Opera, said that she would pay anything to witness Peking Opera on Broadway.
Impressed by the passion of the Chinese community, Broadway offered a discount on the usual US $70,000 site fee per performance that the opera troupe had to pay. “Three performances cost us only US $10,000 in total and each night was packed out,” recalled Zhang.
Gaining Popularity Overseas
In 2004, Zhang was invited by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to cooperate on a production of Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy featuring an all-foreign cast. The only Chinese member was the conductor.
“It was a huge task for the non-native performers to learn the play since they found it hard to understand the rhythm, and to play with the correct accents and strengths. But within 10 days, they began to better understand the performance styles.”
Zhang explained that the singing proved the hardest challenge for Western learners of Peking Opera since the parts of the chest, throat and nasal cavity used in Peking Opera singing are vastly different from those used for Western singing.
In bringing Peking Opera to foreigners, Zhang has also been instrumental in helping his compatriots abroad gain better access to Peking Opera. Bai Zhenghua was once Zhang’s star pupil and went on to become president of the NYJPW Chinese American Arts & Culture Association. After completing her studies with Zhang, Ms. Bai gave successful performances in Beijing, including one in support of the Chinese capital’s bid for the Olympic Games. The performance of Orphan of the House of Tcho by the NYJPW Chinese American Arts & Culture Association at the New Victory Theater in 2003 will go down in history.
In his years of overseas experience, Zhang has encountered many Peking Opera enthusiasts hailing from Taiwan. They are eager to learn, but professional teachers are scarce. “This is where my team can help,” Zhang said. He and his U.S. group have had over 20 Taiwanese apprentices. He spent his time traveling between several eastern cities, including New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Boston, three times a week, to teach.
Back on the Home Stage
In 2004, Zhang invited his prestigious masters Ma Changli and Tan Xiaozeng to the U.S. to perform.
Zhang had always had a good rapport with his masters. Ma treated Zhang as his own son and they lived together for five years while Zhang was learning the art of Peking Opera.
When Zhang decided to pursue his opera dream abroad, Ma couldn’t quite understand why. But when he saw how hard his apprentice worked to practice and perform on foreign soil, he came to realize the importance of Zhang’s move. Nevertheless, Zhang admitted that the biggest challenge for him as a folk Chinese opera artist was that he could not make a living on performance alone. The question to stay or not to stay played on his mind and heart.
“I was eager to introduce Peking Opera to Americans to enhance cultural exchanges between China and the U.S., but it’s easier said than done. There is no regular audience and, therefore, no profitable market as there is in China’s mainland.”
While living in New York, Zhang’s favorite TV channel was CCTV11. Whenever Zhang watched recordings of plays by the Beijing Peking Opera Theater, he felt stirrings in his heart. “I was once one of them.”
Zhang achieved fame in the U.S., but it was a transitory feeling for him. “Every year or so, I was involved in one big production. I relished the applause from the audience and would take several curtain calls. It was a thrill, but it was always over too soon and I’d have to wait such a long time for the next opportunity.”
In 2010, attracted by the increasingly matured Peking Opera market in China, Zhang decided to venture back on the home stage. He successfully passed the exam and returned to his beloved Beijing Peking Opera Theatre – a global brand then.
Soon, Zhang took the lead in several plays such as Orphan of the House of Tcho, The Dragon and the Phoenix, and Tongrentang. His masterpiece was as the main villain character Diao Deyi in the famous opera Shajiabang.
Today, aged 55, Zhang still performs vigorously on the stage and his fan base continues to grow. At the beginning of this year, Zhang returned to the U.S. on tour with his theater and was “welcomed home” by his fans in Los Angeles and Atlanta. “ Peking Opera enthusiasts are everywhere,” said Zhang proudly.
