| Abstract |
Tan Hsin-Pei (1846-1917) was a master of Peking Opera who created the Tan’s school featured by his unique performance. As summoned to service the court since 1980, he had stared a large repertoire that had led the fashion in the entertainer circle. The Tan’s singing style for the character of old man was characterized by the pensive and gentle voice of flute-like quality. He was skillful at ornaments and variation of rhythm to create a graceful effect. He modified the way of narratives, adjusted the meter and designed postures. In addition to the character of weak old man, he was also adroit in action. He created new categories for the character of old man. For example, the weak old man that played in “Wu-Long Yard” and “Emperor’s Feast for the Candidates” emphasized singing as well as performance. The old man that played in “Mt. Ting-Chun”, “Selling Horse”, and “A Fisherman’s Revenge” emphasized performance as well as action. The weak old man that played in “Stone Tablet of Li-Ling ” emphasized singing as well as action. The well-known repertoires such as “The War in Taiping”, “Nan-Yang Passage”, “Eight Great Hammers”, “The Bandit’s Stronghold in Ju-Lien” etc., some of them featured by fighting action, some by the unique performance of the painted face, and some by skillful singing, had been re-organized by Mr. Tan and had become models for the character of old man. In summary, his performance had combined with different character categories, embraced the essence of local operas, and incorporated the property of artistic skills in other fields. |
