![]() Another huqin player named Li Si ( Li the Fourth, whose real name was Li Chunquan ) was the pioneer in the use of the hard-bowed huqin, which was easier to manipulate and gave a better effect. The huqin initiated by Wang Xiaoshao was a soft-bowed fiddle. Anyway, their use became rare, so they had no regular players, but were looked after by huqin and yueqin players. ![]() The new mode of accompaniment was well appreciated.Īlthough the dizi were replaced by the huqin, they were still of use of when melodious and elegant qupai (tunes) were needed to accompany such stage acts as dress-changing, sweeping and banquet table-setting. A period of practice allowed actors of the troupe to feel that, supported by the huqin, the singing became full of vigor and more harmonious. Later, a musician named Wang Xiaoshao in the Sixi Troupe proposed using the Huqin as a substitute for the Shuangshoudi. ![]() With such simple accompaniment, the opera actors felt the singing was rather strenuous and lacked flexibility, though the music for voices was then also quite simple, without much florid ornamentation. When Peking Opera began taking shape, its singing was accompanied by two flutes only, known as Shuangshoudi (dual flutes)-the chief Dizi and the assistant Dizi. That is why the Peking Opera orchestra has traditionally been known as Changmian which means stage set-up. That table, together with musicians, occupied a part of the facade of the stage and could be seen by the audience. In front of the curtain, stood a table on which were laid various musical instruments to be used for the performance, and musicians were seated nearby. An embroidered curtain known as a shoujiu was hung over the platform, which was thus divided into two parts: the back stage and the stage. In the latter case, performances could be watched from the back also. In the past, stages in most Chinese theaters were square platforms exposed to the audience on three sides, even all sides sometimes.
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