A Taste of Chuanju (Sichuan Opera)

This short video offers a taste of chuanju (Sichuan opera). Chuanju is a sub-genre of xiqu, which refers to traditional Chinese song-and-dance-lead theatre. Chuanju is particularly popular in Sichuan province, as well as parts of Yunnan and Guizhou. When tracing the history of opera in China, it is generally agreed upon that were 5 distinct styles, each with differing musical systems. These styles were kunqiang, gaoqiang, huqin, tanxi and dengxi. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, practitioners of what is now chuanju began to bring these 5 traditional styles together, giving birth to a style of its own, within which lies the history of opera in China. Today, chuanju shows are typically composed using one of the 5 classical music systems of Chinese opera whilst incorporating elements of the others. (Description information from the University of Leeds Digital Library of Chinese Theatre: )