Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1869-12-04
A Chinese Theater,


in my life, but have never seen anything
so strange and inexplicable as perform
ance at the Chinese Theater last night.
A party of us including two tourists from
Scotland, started early in the evening to
see the Chinese section of the city by
gas-iight, and finally brought up at half
past seven o'clock at the Chinese Thea
| ter. Ga inquiring at the door we ascer-
tanned that the price of admission was
fifty cents, and that we could have re-
served seats. When we entered, the per-
formance had commenced, and we we're
shown to kind of balcony box, which
was reserved for white visitors. 1t is an
old theater, capable of seating six or
seven hundred persons, and is in very
| dilapidated condition. 1t was we'll filled
with Chinese the women being separated
from the men, and we were the only Wis
itors rot from the Celestial Kingdo m.
The women were smoking cigarettes, t,Ht
were cleanly dressed, with their bls ck
and shining hair done up in the IN ost
curious shapes, that would puzzle our
ladies to initiate. 1t appeared 10 be ex-
tended over kind of framework, ma
king formation on the back of the
head like the prov of ship. Those sit
ting on the front bench had taken their
clumsy wooden shoes off, and had their
stockened feet up on the front rail, the
row of white feet protrudipg presenting
quite novel spectacle. The men also
mad their shoeless feet up in the same
way, and every foot was clad in pure
white stocking, indicating cleanliness
that is universal.
The performance bad commenced
when we entered, and at II o'clock, when
we left, after q sitting of four hours and
half, it appeared as far as ever from
having concluded. During all this time
there was no intermissiop, except for
about two minutes between the first and
second pieces, and we could only judge
that there we're two pieces from the
change of dresses, as all the actors ap-
peared in both pieces. The first piece
seemed to be an opera, and l imagined
the following to be the plot: The drG
mats persona were king, queen, her
two ladies' OF honor, high priest, a
prime minister and their attendants
The queen quarrels with the minister Of
State, and complains to the king of him.
The king takes sides against the queen
and kicks her in the stomach, and she
falls down into the arms of her maids.
She then goes to the high priest and
makes complaint against the king, He
is brought before the high-priest and is
reprimanded and ordered to bring the
offending minister before him, which is
done, be being brought in with his arms
pinioned and shorn of his robes. After
q great deal of singing and yelling and
caterwauling between the parties he is
psrdoned, but soon gets into another
row with the queen, in which all the
characters take part, and each party
knocks or rather kicks the other down
several times. After the king aud the
high-priest and all the other characters
get mixed up in the row, the queen and the
prime minister seem to make up their
difficulties and go of 10 good humor.
The acting was spirited and earnest, and
the audience appeared to be in rsptures,
occasionally expressing their grasihcs-
ton by general murmur of approval or
a broad laugh To a stranger it was a
medley of uncouth sounds and scream
ing, each sentence concluding with a
wall such as tomcsts occasionally indulge
in during their nocturnal perambula-
tions. The orchestra consisted of one
man who played sort of hurdygurdy,
which he would occasionally drop and
beat an immense pair of cymbals. Ar
other performer beat with stick upon a
small gong, and would once in q while
add to the horrible din by blowing on
- nh oh Ha ha
performance of novice on the clarion
ette. Another one beat with sticks on
three sounding instruments which were
arranged before him, changing from one
to the other as the melody required. Two
others kept up a constant beating on
metal instruments, the sound of which
very closely resembled that produced by
striking tin pan. During the whole
performance this novel orchestra accom-
panied the singers, at times almost
drowning their voices, and never ceasing
for moment
The second piece, which had not con-
cluded when we left, after two hours and
half without the slightest intermission,
seemed to be q comedy Of the variety
style, eclipsiug the Performance of Lydia
Thompson by long odds. Every ten
minutes the whole list of characters, at
least twenty in number, would get into
general row, male and female jump over
each Others heads, turn somersaults over
hbles and chairs, aud ceme down hato
their backs from hight of seven or eight
feet in q way that would break the bones
of most people. The women exhibited
as much agility in this high and lofty
tumbliug as the men, and whilst flying in
the air would come in collision, one
planting her feet in the breast of the 9th
er, and each coming down on their backs
with force that would have broken most
things, but il seemed to have no effect on
China. SO soon as tie contestants went
out one door, another set of characters
would come in another door, and the
singing and colloquiAl part OF the piece
would 20 on, the never-cessiug musicians
keeping up the mouotonous pounding
and blowing, sometimes With a vigor that
was almost deafening. We could make
polbing out Of the last piece, but The aa-