Global Influence of Peking Opera

Peking Opera and Its Influence
Peking Opera is a form of conventional Chinese theatre whose origin can be traced back to the late 18th Century.  In comparison to the other kinds of Chinese theatre that existed at that time, Peking Opera was a relatively new style of drama.  This theatre involved the combination of music, dance, and acrobatics that was presented in a lively and colorful way (Gao par, 1).  During this ancient times, dancers would perform Peking Opera at religious ceremonies and feudal lords’ festivals.  While Peking Opera emerged in the late 18th Century, it became completely developed and recognized by mid-19th Century.  Since its inception, Peking Opera has played a crucial role in sharing the Chinese culture across the globe.  Peking Opera conveys a national spiritual essence that is accompanied with elegance and beauty.  Peking Opera has developed to become a tool of transnationalism and acculturation through conveying a unique national spirit throughout the world.
Purpose of this Study
This study seeks to examine the development of Peking Opera and its global influence, particularly its social impact.  The researcher seeks to determine the social impact of Peking Opera on numerous foreigners who speak little Chinese and come from various cultural backgrounds.  Additionally, this study will help to highlight how Peking Opera is utilized as a tool to promote social, cultural, and psychological change between the Chinese culture and other cultures from across the world.  This evaluation is carried out on the premise that this unique form of traditional Chinese theatre continues to attract many foreign nationals at a time when young Chinese do not care about it.  In essence, the study will help in understanding the unique aspects of Peking Opera, which makes it attractive to foreigners and contributes to its global impact of transnationalism and acculturation.
Research Question
To achieve the purpose of this study, the researcher has developed a research question that will guide the research process.  The research question to be answered in this study is, “What is the social impact of Peking Opera throughout the world in relation to culture and/or identity?”
Research Design
This study primarily relies on exploration of existing literature, articles, and publications on this issue.  Exploration of existing literature is considered as a suitable method to help answer the research question and achieve the purpose of the study because the research issue is exploratory in nature.  Since Peking Opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre that has existed for centuries, it has attracted significant attention and been the subject of numerous studies and publication.  The issue has received considerable attention in publications/literature relating to culture, art, and music.  Therefore, a comprehensive review of existing studies and literature would help in determining its social impact and global influence as well as answering the research question.
Brief History of Peking Opera
Peking Opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre whose origin can be traced back to the late 18th Century (Gao par, 1).  Peking Opera, which is also known as Beijing Opera, emerged in 1790, the eighth birthday of the Qianlong Emperor.  Prior to the emergence of this form of Chinese theatre, the elite nobility preferred Kunqu Opera, which was renowned for its fine language and elegant music.  On the other hand, Chinese commoners enjoyed various regional popular theatre styles, which were dismissed by the elite.  The preference of Kunqu Opera by the Chinese elite and nobility changed in 1790 following the introduction of Peking Opera or Beijing Opera.  The new form of traditional Chinese theatre was introduced when four seasoned drama troupes from Anhui province visited the capital and performed in celebration of Qianlong’s birthday in the imperial court.  Following their performance, Peking Opera was birthed and the four troupes later became known as the four great Anhui companies.  These troupes dominated this traditional form of Chinese theatre for the next century.
During the initial years of Peking Opera, all actors were men while the roles of women were played by young boys (Gao par, 4).  Women were not allowed to participate in Peking Opera performances during the initial years because of the view that interactions between sexes would result in immoral behavior (Chinavine par, 11).  During this period, women were prohibited from attending Chinese opera as well as participating in them in order to prevent the emergence of immoral behavior.  Ironically, most of the stories in Peking Opera fell into two major categories including wen, or civil theatre, which was centered on love, marriage, and other issues affecting the public.  The second category was known as wu, or military theatre, which was centered on themes of war that were characterized by thrilling acrobatic performances.
A significant turning point in the history of Peking Opera took place in 1900 when all great theatres in Beijing were burned down.  These theatres were burned down during the Boxer Rebellion, which was an uprising that had significant impact on Chinese art.  Following this calamitous period, the four great Anhui companies and others dissolved and provided a platform for individual artists to create their own performances.  Individual artists started to experiment with various styles including combination of traditional Peking Opera with Western drama influences.  Moreover, the new form of Peking Opera started to address contemporary issues in China including politics as well as advocating for social reform.  Since then Peking Opera has adopted more contemporary themes and styles and become a tool of unique national spiritual essence that is characterized by elegance and beauty.
Overseas Dissemination of Peking Opera
As Peking Opera has adopted more contemporary themes and styles in the past few decades, a significant number of foreign nationals has become interested in this form of traditional Chinese theatre (Min par, 1).  According to Liu, the significant interest on Peking Opera by an increasing number of foreigners is attributable to the fact that this form of traditional Chinese theatre has evolved from primitive religious rituals to a well developed form of artistic drama (p.2).  The modern Peking Opera is characterized by dramatic performance comprising symbolic gestures, poetic dialogues, dance-like body movements, signing, and dancing in coherence with music and rhythm (Liu, p.2).  Through this process, Peking Opera has developed to become a tool that highlights social and cultural differences between the Chinese and the world through the use of dramatic aesthetics and theatrical practices.
The overseas dissemination of Peking Opera can be traced back to more than eight decades ago when this form of traditional Chinese theatre was introduced to the world by Mei Lanfang who unveiled this mysterious oriental drama.  Since then, various individual artists have developed Peking Opera and introduced it to various parts of the globe.  For instance, in 2009, a full-length original Peking Opera Chibi appeared on several screens in Times Square, New York (Min par, 1).  This provided New Yorkers and other visitors to the city a chance to see and enjoy the beauty of Chinese culture.  Therefore, the introduction of Peking Opera to the world was not only a means of sharing the Chinese culture, but also provided artists with an opportunity to display Chinese excellence to the world.
Following the introduction of Peking Opera to the world, an increasing number of foreigners have become interested in this traditional form of Chinese theatre.  Foreigners are fascinated with the Chinese culture and excellence shown in Peking Opera, which makes them become more attracted to it.  Many foreigners are getting attracted to and interested in the Peking Opera at a time when many young Chinese people do not really care about it.  For individual artists and others, the Peking Opera is a symbol of national spiritual essence that is expressed using beauty and elegance. The unique national essence and cultural component in turn becomes the basis for the overseas dissemination of the Peking or Beijing Opera.
The overseas dissemination of Peking Opera has in turn provided the basis of its social impact and global influence.  As this form of traditional Chinese theatre is shared worldwide, it becomes a tool of acculturation and transnationalism because foreigners are attracted to it.  This form of traditional Chinese theatre not only showcases thousands years of the history of China and its people, but also expresses that attributes and lifestyles of Chinese people.  These character traits and lifestyles are in turn adopted by foreigners who speak little to no Chinese because of their fascination with the Peking Opera.
The other factor contributing to the overseas dissemination of the Peking Opera and its global influence and social impact is the increased modernization and Westernization of China. This has contributed to the integration of contemporary themes and styles in the Peking Opera in order to make it modern and attractive to foreigners or people with limited knowledge regarding the Chinese culture.  While Peking Opera has retained the core traditional Chinese culture, it has adopted more contemporary styles and themes in the recent past.  The modernization of Peking Opera has enabled foreigners to easily understand this form of traditional Chinese theatre and the Chinese culture.  However, the increased modernization and Westernization of China has decreased the popularity of Peking Opera among the younger Chinese generation while foreigners are increasingly attracted to it (Li, p.1).
Global Influence of Peking Opera
While Peking Opera is rooted in the traditional Chinese culture, it has developed to have significant global impacts because of its overseas dissemination.  The decision by Chinese individual artists and others to share this traditional form of art with the world has provided a premise for its impact on various cultures across the globe.  The global influence or social impact of Peking Opera is classified into two major categories i.e. acculturation and transnationalism.  This is primarily because this form of traditional Chinese theatre is an embodiment of the traditional Chinese culture and has recently adopted contemporary themes and styles to express the Chinese culture.  Therefore, Peking Opera has significant influences intercultural communications and interactions between Chinese people and foreigners from different cultural backgrounds across the world.
Acculturation
Acculturation is basically the process of generating social, cultural, and psychological change through combination of cultures.  One of the social impacts and global influences of the Peking Opera is acculturation, which has involved blending the Chinese culture with different cultures worldwide.  Acculturation has emerged because of the incorporation of contemporary themes and styles in modern Peking Opera.  This process has provided a means through which the Western culture, which is the dominant contemporary culture, is integrated into Peking Opera in order to enhance its attractiveness to foreigners.  Through this process, Chinese music and culture has been globalized in Chinese ways following the adoption of contemporary themes and styles (Lam, p.33).  
Siqing, Shu & Xiang contend that Peking Opera has contributed acculturation as one of its major global influences or social impacts (p.1). In this case, Peking Opera is actively disseminated overseas as a contemporary and effective means to introduce Chinese cultural elements to the world.  Since this form of traditional Chinese theatre is based on core traditional Chinese culture, its overseas dissemination helps in promoting the Chinese culture across the globe.  Through this process, some foreigners have learned various elements of the Chinese culture from Peking Opera.  The acculturation impact of Peking Opera is evident in how it has significantly affected the world of arts across globe.  Through this overseas dissemination, components of the Chinese culture are now blended with elements of other different cultures to create plays and music performances that showcases different cultures across the globe.  For instance, some American artists and performers have adopted these Chinese cultural elements and incorporated them in their art performances. In 2008, an American contestant was involved in performing Peking Opera in a Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students (Min par, 20). 
Additionally, Peking Opera has contributed to acculturation through promoting cross-cultural exchanges and interactions.  These cross-cultural exchanges and interactions are not only centered on learning the Chinese culture, but also focus on enhancing intercultural communications.  For instance, foreign college students who are learning Chinese utilize Peking Opera as a tool to understand the various elements of the Chinese culture and enhance their cross-cultural exchanges and interactions.  Peking Opera provides a suitable mechanism for such students to learn Chinese and understand the culture of the Chinese people since these cultural elements are expressed through unique artistic charm and flare.  Therefore, Peking Opera has made it easy for foreigners to learn and integrate Chinese culture into their own cultures, which has in turn contributed to acculturation.  
According to Cifuentes, Peking Opera has proven to be a permanent form of art for international artists.  This form of art has been utilized to strengthen Westernized hybrids and other regional mutations in the world of arts.  These combinations have in turn provided numerous opportunities for artistic expression.  Through combining Chinese culture and other cultures across the globe, Peking Opera has enabled international artists to push the artistic and narrative elements of this form of traditional Chinese art.  This has in turn acted as a reflection of the significant and visible impact of Peking Opera in promoting acculturation across the globe.
Transnationalism
The second social impact and global influence of Peking Opera is transnationalism, which refers to the social, political, and/or economic processes that extend beyond the borders of nation-states.  According to Thorpe, Peking Opera is the most significant and iconic Chinese traditional theatre, which is regarded as a symbol of Chinese theatre and national identity (p.33).  Peking Opera has contributed to transnationalism by generating political and social processes that extend beyond China to other parts of the world.  For example, performance of Peking Opera in the United Kingdom has entailed incorporating a mix of ethnicity in the performance to reflect a mix of cultures and social processes that extend beyond the boundaries of China (Thorpe, p.33).  Through Peking Opera, some foreigners have found it easy to interact with Chinese people because of improved understanding of their culture and lifestyle as a result of exposure to this traditional form of art.  
Peking Opera’ performances in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world reflect transnationalism since ethnic white performers are included as a means of showcasing diasporic identities.  Therefore, Peking Opera is not only a global symbol of authentic traditional Chinese theatre, but also a reflection of transnationalism through expansion of social processes beyond the boundaries of China.
On the other hand, Peking Opera has also provided a premise for the globalization of the Chinese culture.  This is primarily because of the Westernization and modernization of this form of traditional Chinese theatre to reflect a global and contemporary appeal.  The Chinese local culture has been influenced transnationally through the incorporation of contemporary themes and style in Peking Opera.  As previously indicated, young people in China have become disinterested in Peking Opera because of its increased modernization and Westernization (Min par, 20).  Through this process, Peking Opera has influenced local Chinese culture to an extent that its sometimes not considered as a global symbol of authentic traditional Chinese art.
Nonetheless, Peking Opera has acted as a tool for pushing the social aspects of the Chinese culture beyond the boundaries of the country.  Artists and Performers are continually using form of art as a tool to educate foreign audiences on the Chinese culture and help them understand the Chinese way of life (Hui-qian, Zhi-xiang & Yu-xin, p.1035).  An understanding of the Chinese culture and way of life in turn provides a premise for expansion of social processes beyond China’s borders.  When pushing the artistic and narrative domains of Peking Opera, artists and performers not only focus on making foreigners enjoy the music, but also focus on pushing social and cultural processes.
In conclusion, Peking Opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre whose origin can be traced back to the late 18th Century.  This form of art emerged to replace Kunqu-Opera, which was the preferred form of traditional Chinese theatre by the elite and noble Chinese.  Since its emergence, Peking Opera has developed to an extent that it’s currently characterized by integration of contemporary themes and styles.  Following its overseas dissemination, Peking Opera has had significant global influence and social impact. Peking Opera has become a tool of transnationalism and acculturation through conveying a unique national spirit across the globe.
Works Cited
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