Zhengyici： A Most Intriguing Opera Theatre

By Zoë Shen



Zhengyici： A Most Intriguing Opera Theatre

By Zoë Shen

Peking opera item Drunken Concubine staged at Zhengyici

The Zhengyici Peking Opera Theatre is less than one km from Qianmen and two km from Tian'anmen Square. Yet，you can hardly find this place without a tour guide. Over the past 300 years， as the only 100 percent wooden theater house in Beijing， Zhengyici has been well-preserved as a “living fossil of Chinese theater houses”. It tops the league table of “the most intriguing historical sites in Beijing”.

Qianmen Xiheyan is an inconspicuous Hutong traditional alleyway， where Zhengyici has remained secluded for more than 300 years.

What does Zhengyici mean in Chinese？In ancient China， Zhengyi refers to the God of Wealth named Zhao Gongming. Ci means shrine or altar. therefore， Zhengyici is a shrine dedicated to Zhao Gongming，the Gold of Wealth and the founder of Zhengyi Altar.

Later， a Zhejiang banker bought this house and transformed it into a Peking Opera theater in 1688. At that time， the popularity of Peking Opera was at its peak，and Peking Opera troupes were largely concentrated in the downtown area outside the Qianmen， an important gate in the inner city wall. The Zhejiang banker revamped the theater house and transformed it into a club for doing business and entertaining VIPs and dignitaries.

As Peking Opera evolved， the founders of Peking Opera including Cheng Changgeng and Lu Shengkui and some most prominent Peking Opera artists such as Tan Xinpei， Wang Yaoqing and Mei Lanfang appeared on stage， creating the golden age of the Zhengyici.

Peking Opera is regarded as top among the three major Chinese operas （Peking Opera， Kunqu opera and Huangmei opera）and widely viewed as the quintessence of Chinese culture. Peking Opera has a rich history dating to the 18th century， and was included in the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.

When it comes to Peking Opera， we cannot help but mention Mr. Mei Lanfang. Mei was the first artist who introduced Peking Opera to foreign countries. Mei's grandfather Mei Qiaoling， father Mei Zhufen， son Mei Baojiu and many of his followers used to appear on the Zhengyici stage. In 1881， the head of the Sixi Troupe Mei Qiaoling （Mei's grandfather） came to Beijing， and performed there. In 1919， Mei Lanfang himself appeared at Zhengyici when he was 25， launching his legendary career as the most prominent Peking Opera artist in history. Several generations of the family performed at Zhengyici， where to the accompaniment of the Huqin （a twostringed bowed instrument）， gongs and drums， they sang and danced and brought the house down. What a spectacle！

Peking Opera is not only the art of the performing artist， but also the art of the theater house. Gently pushing open two red gates in Xiheyan Hutong， reveals a simple and unsophisticated courtyard. The corridors on both sides lead to the theater house.there are a few rooms along the corridors，in one of which stands the waxwork of Mei Lanfang， who looks amiable and incredibly life-like. The peach blossom and Guqin （a kind of ancient musical instrument） in the courtyard echo each other， making you feel as if “the peach routinely blossoms as always even though the property owner is gone already”. The wooden theatre housestands in an area of more than 1，000 square meters with a north-facing stage.

Zhengyici， a theater which used to be a Mammon Temple

Zhengyici in a quiet alleyway in the old downtown of Beijing

The main body of the theater house consists of two floors. The arena is surrounded by the seating space on three sides，with hollowed-out gilded rails on the boxes of both sides. The pillars of the arena are hung with couplets reading：

To play a life of joy and sorrow， one can't be sure if the life today is a repetition of previous generations；

To watch blame and praise， you won't be sure if the characters in the opera are echoed among the viewers.

If the play is a fairy tale， the artists playing the fairies may descend from the heights. The arena sometimes present stage artistic design akin to Japanese Kabuki as required by the performance， extending a “flowery pathway” from the central stage to maximize the performing boundaries of the artists and bring them closer to the audience. To maintain the original flavor of Peking Opera， the artists are not allowed to use microphones.

There are boxes placed on the north，east and west sides， the room span is divided by three purlins with eaves added on the second level. The entire arena is in horse hoof shape with awnings atop that promote good acoustics. The wooden stairways on both sides lead the way to the second floor，which features swastika-shape rails with engraved timber eaves board. The indoor rathers are exposed outside. the theater can seat some 200， who can taste tea and snacks while watching the show.

With Mei Lanfang's historical connection with Zhengyici， the most popular Peking Opera there is Mei Lanfang Classics，based on “Mei's Comeback and Love Again”. the theatre has put on more than 400 shows within the past six years. Two show， lasting around two hours， consists of the Mei School's five Peking Opera classics，including Sylph Scattering Flowers， Taking Command of Troops， Drunken Concubine， Farewell to Princess Yu， and Legend of the Luo River Goddess.

The intermissions are linked with Mei Lanfang's sound recording accompanied by the live band， which blends seamlessly into the antique beauty of the theater house. Ms. Hu Xinyuan， a Peking Opera artist and Mei School Qingyi role， plays Yang Yuhuan in Drunken Concubine. Ms. Hu said each time when she comes to the Theater， the first thing she does is to pay homage to the statue of Mei Lanfang， then pay her tribute to the earliest founder of Peking Opera on stage.the latter is a traditional practice of Peking Opera. Now Zhengyici is the only theater house that enshrine the founder of Peking Opera within the arena， and the only one showing the audience the ritual of paying tribute to the earliest founder. “this is one of reasons that Zhengyici attracts me，” Hu said.

“On a summer day when Beijing had issued a red rainstorm alert last year， the artists， while making up backstage， were worried the attendance of the show might be significantly affected by the heavy rain.the artists were very moved when they saw the packed audience drenched by the rain in the auditorium.” Hu added.

I watched Peking Opera， Kunqu opera，dance drama， listened to the Guqin and chamber music in the theatre. Every time I come here， I feel as if I have lost myself. How can a theatre with more than 300-year riches of culture ever present a passé show？