Chinese Opera
Culture
The mask speaks: Unmasking the spirit of Sichuan opera [Eye on Sichuan series]
Face-changing or bian lian is commonly seen in Chinese opera, particularly Sichuan opera. A turn of the head or a swirl of a cape is all a performer needs to change their facial appearance in a sleight of hand that happens in the time it takes for the audience to blink. Sichuan academic Yan Pei explains more about this heritage art.
Yan Pei
28 May 2025
Society
[Big read] Venue closures and talent gaps: Cantonese opera’s battle for survival
With the closure of the iconic Sunbeam Theatre in Hong Kong, audiences have one less venue to watch Cantonese opera. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Tai Hing Shing speaks to Cantonese opera fans and academics to find out what the future might hold for the industry.
Tai Hing Shing
18 Mar 2025
Culture
Flowers in concrete: Keeping traditional Chinese opera alive in Singapore
To keep alive the art of traditional Chinese opera, Singapore opera troupes and theatre groups are working together to integrate their respective art forms on stage, to attract new young audiences and open up fresh perspectives. Zaobao correspondent Wang Yiming has in-depth conversations with practitioners, directors and audiences, to get a full picture.
Wang Yiming
16 Jun 2023
Culture
Cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai: The power of the individual during a pandemic
Like many of us experiencing pandemic days, cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai spent the last two years living quietly. When the virus was just starting to spread in Wuhan last year, he was in Shenzhen but managed to cross back to Hong Kong before the lockdowns. As he left the material life behind and got into the rhythm of staying at home, he sought solace in books, calligraphy and his beloved Kunqu opera. For all the things that are out of our hands, at least we have gained time for introspection, self-reflection and growth. That much is within our control.
Cheng Pei-kai
15 Oct 2021
Culture
Taiwanese art historian: My mother waited for her soldier husband to return from war, just like Wang Baochuan
In today's era, we get instant gratification through a swipe of the phone or a flick of the switch. Could we have done what Tang dynasty wife Wang Baochuan did and waited 18 long years - without phone, wifi or video apps - for her husband Xue Pinggui to return home? Taiwanese art historian Chiang Hsun knows his army wife mother could. It was she who taught him about "Baochuan vegetables": the stubborn weed of Taiwanese purslane that won't be stamped out; the pure love that asks for neither company nor reward.
Chiang Hsun
29 Jan 2021
Culture
In pursuit of ideals and love: The William Shakespeare of Chinese drama, Tang Xianzu
All his life, Ming dynasty playwright Tang Xianzu only wanted to stay true to himself, to do good and to make a mark. In his life as a government official, he sat on the sidelines and saw his ambitions erode with time. But he kept intact his passion for literary writing, gifting the world he left behind with classics such as The Peony Pavilion. Amid brokenness and deceit, he saw only beautiful things that were good and pure. Whether the world he created is a reality to be attained or a mirage...the dream lives on.
Cheng Pei-kai
02 Oct 2020
