According to records, the construction of the performance venue began in the Han Dynasty, and it was a tent for watching a hundred plays in the corner and square, which should be the earliest tent for watching plays.
The building of the performance area began in the Tang Dynasty. Besides the music shed, there are also singing platforms and stage.
During the Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, with the development of commodity economy, urban commerce and handicrafts, professional artists and commercial performance groups gradually appeared. At the same time, a large number of performance platforms for various geisha artists have appeared, which are called "terraces". The stage in the Song Dynasty is a place where "all kinds of arts work together to compete for novelty and beauty". "Colored railing" around the terrace ("railing" means railing). Later, the Washe Goulan rose, and terraces became an important part of Goulan. The tradition of setting railings around the performance stage began in the Tang Dynasty and lasted until the modern times and the Song Dynasty.
According to the needs of the performance, the performance stage of Goulan was changed from the original balcony to the auditorium with F on three sides, with one side as the background and upper and lower doors at both ends for actors to enter and exit. This is the key to the evolution from the general performance stage to the stage. This structural form lasted for about 800 years, which is closely related to the formation and development of some artistic features of China traditional operas.
Stage architecture situation
In recent years, in Pingyang (now Linfen, Shanxi Province), the remains and relics of the ancient stage in the Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasties have been discovered. These ancient stages are traditional wooden structures in China, and some of them have a history of thousands of years. Some ancient stage itself is a part of the temple architecture, so it is also called "temple stage". Most of the temples in the countryside are made of bricks, wood and oranges, which are stronger than the goulan stage in the city, and some are quite magnificent. At that time, the traditional Chinese opera performances on these stages played a dual role in appreciating the gods and entertaining people.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, China opera not only had a large number of temporary and semi-temporary stages, but also the fixed theater buildings were greatly improved. The fixed theater in Ming and Qing Dynasties can be generally divided into temple theater, private house theater, court theater and commercial theater.
In the Qing Dynasty, various local operas generally rose, and a large number of professional theatrical troupes of commercial nature increased. Therefore, the stage architecture has become large-scale and its form has become more refined. During the reign of Kanggan, the stage set up in various places was obviously commercial. At that time, the commercial forces in Shanxi and Shaanxi expanded outward, and the Yellow River Basin and the Yangtze River Basin moved eastward. Shanshan Guild Hall has established guilds all over the country. Guandi Temple is built on the main road, and there are many stages attached to Guandi Temple. With the establishment of these stages, Bangzi Opera, which has sprung up everywhere in Shaanxi, has also been staged. At the same time, salt merchants in Jiangsu and Anhui also extended northward with Suzhou and Yangzhou as the center. Salt merchants attach importance to Kunshan dialect. As the base camp of Kunshan Opera, Suzhou Laolang Temple once became a national opera center recognized by the government, and was called "Liyuan General Administration".
In the Qing Dynasty, many officials and businessmen brought their own music. Generally, they could play it with a red bamboo (carpet) before the banquet in the hall. However, some people also built private stages. The teahouse was originally a private stage for tea makers in the Ming Dynasty. It became a commercial theater only after the Qing Dynasty. Teahouse is one of the famous theatres in Qing Dynasty. In the forty-five years of Qing Qianlong (1780), it was burned down and rebuilt soon, and it was called Guanghe Tea House. A new theater that was converted into a frame stage in the 1950s. For nearly 400 years, the original site has not moved. As a city theater, it has such a long history that it is rare in the history of China opera.
In the south of the Yangtze River, many physical objects are still preserved in the private stage in the quadrangle. The most luxurious private stage is the Palace Theatre. The special development of the palace stage is to build a three-story stage.
When performing in the palace, heaven, earth and people are often intertwined, and ghosts and gods are mixed, which is very lively. Shoutai is the main performance of the play, and Fu and Lu Tai are of little use because they extend the performance area too high and can not meet the normal visual requirements of the audience. Opposite Yin Changting is the reading building, with two floors, where the concubines of Empress Dowager Cixi watched the play. There are 13 corner rooms and cloisters on the east and west sides, which are connected with the costume building and are places for ministers to watch plays. The whole square courtyard has become a complete architectural pattern.
Goulan, which once rose in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, gradually declined after entering the Ming Dynasty, and was replaced by a city commercial theater called tavern and tea garden. In some pubs and tea gardens in the middle of Qing dynasty, a ceiling was added between the stage and the audience, which became a large indoor theater.
The appearance of indoor theater changed the lighting of traditional opera performances. In the past, operas were usually performed on an open-air stage under natural light. With the indoor theater, it provides conditions for artificial lighting. Under the light, the performance is more attractive and artistic.
New opera house
In modern times, the commercial theater in the city has evolved from the old tea garden into a new traditional opera theater. Shanghai New Stage 1908. Later, other big cities also built this new opera house. The gradual elimination of the old tea garden and the emergence of a new stage is a revolution in the history of China drama. Compared with the old tea garden, this new type of traditional Chinese opera theater has an important difference, that is, it has turned the stage open on three sides into a framed stage. However, the frame stage retains some characteristics of the traditional extended stage. The lips of the platform are relatively large and half-moon-shaped.
Since the mid-20th century, theater architecture has made great progress. In addition to the transformation and reconstruction of early new theaters, many new theaters have been built. Such as Beijing People's Theatre, Shanghai Shaw Stage and Beijing Chang 'an Grand Theatre. These new theaters make full use of modern technology, not only performing traditional dramas in China, but also performing dramas, operas, dance dramas and screening movies. Compared with the early theaters, these newly-built theaters have made great progress, which is conducive to the further innovation of China's traditional opera art and let a hundred flowers blossom.