Chinese Opera：Singing with a Squeaky Voice

Chinese Opera: Singing with a Squeaky Voice

中国戏曲:尖声唱戏

What art form is nine hundred years old and includes acrobatics, martial arts, and squeaky singing? If you guessed the Chinese opera, you’re right! If you’re wondering what the Chinese opera is like, and why the singers have squeaky voices, keep reading! If you were to attend the Chinese opera, this is what it would be like. First you would see an empty stage. The actors want people in the audience to use their imagination, so they use only a few stage decorations.

什么艺术形式有九百年的历史，包括杂技、武术和尖声的歌唱？ 如果你猜到了中国戏曲，你是对的！ 如果你想知道中国的戏曲是什么样的，以及为什么戏子的声音很尖，请继续阅读！ 如果你要去看中国戏曲，这就是它的样子。 首先你会看到一个空的舞台。 演员们希望观众发挥他们的想象力，所以他们只使用了一些舞台装饰。

The performers also need a lot of room on stage for their acrobatics and martial arts. Next you might see a mini orchestra. The orchestra is usually made up of string instruments like guitars, wind instruments like flutes, drums, and wooden clappers. These are used to make music as well as sound effects, like a horse galloping or a rooster crowing. Then you will see the actors come on stage.

表演者在舞台上也需要很大的空间来表演杂技和武术。 接下来你可能会看到一个小型管弦乐队。 管弦乐队通常由弦乐器组成如吉他、管乐器如长笛、鼓和木板。 它们被用来制作音乐和声音效果，如马奔驰或公鸡啼叫。 然后你会看到演员们上台。

There are four groups of characters: Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou. Sheng are the men in the opera, such as an uncle or a little boy. Unlike the other three groups, they don’t paint their faces. Dan are the women in the play, and they are the ones who sing with the squeaky voices. Jing are the warriors or demons. And Chou are the clowns. They wear white makeup on their noses and their job is to keep the audience laughing. So why do the Dan sing with squeaky voices?

有四组角色：生、旦、净和丑。 生是戏曲中的男人，如叔叔或小男孩。 与其他三组不同，他们不涂脸。 旦是剧中的女性，她们唱歌时声音尖细。 净是武士或恶魔。 丑是小丑。他们鼻子上化着白色的妆，他们的工作是让观众开怀大笑。 那么为什么旦唱歌时声音尖细呢？

Even though the Dan are women, the actors playing them are almost always men. When a man pretends to have a woman’s voice, it often sounds squeaky. Nine hundred years ago, the Chinese opera was performed outside, so the actors had to sing loudly. Their voices weren’t supposed to sound pretty, just loud. It takes a lifetime of studying to be an actor in the Chinese opera. Historically, children were sold to the opera to begin training when they were young.

尽管旦是女性，但扮演他们的演员几乎都是男性。 当一个男性假装成女性的声音时，往往会发出尖细的声音。 九百年前，中国戏曲是在外面表演的，所以演员们必须唱的很大声。 他们的声音听起来不好听，只是大声。 成为一名中国戏曲演员需要一生的学习。 历史上，孩子们在很小的时候就被卖到戏院开始训练。

Parents knew that the opera would give their children a good life. Even though the children were young, they would get up early every morning to begin their exercises, and they would practice all day long. One actor remembers having to do handstands on a chair for hours and practicing five thousand kicks and punches in one day. The children were forced to work very hard, but it made their bodies some of the strongest in China.

父母知道戏曲会给他们的孩子一个好的生活。 尽管孩子们很小，但他们每天早上都会早起开始他们训练，而且他们会练习一整天。 一位演员记得他不得不在椅子上倒立几个小时，并在一天内练习5000个踢腿和出拳。 孩子们被迫非常努力地工作，但这使他们的身体成为中国最强壮的人之一。