The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-06-13

N r,tS.r therefore, Celestially SPEAKING
China. vi amusement In
! mad heard that women were forh,aao,,
o on .ne stage, IA believed for ethical rea'
me In his blandly despotic Manu. inns
ni.". 70 s suSn thing. the matter being n
peror. yn nn,n s State history. The En-
at the beS,nn,n nSh, M married an actress
sury, when women were allowed -, IN
ress Inc Emperor died, and the act
Tot ner son, the Prince kim a,,,a ny
ss...s,y her vanity this shrewd and NOS,
-. ,,... woman issued decree in the
stant S"a ,,pprpiading, under penalty OF in
TONER any member of her sex 10 snns.e-
W ,he Chlnese Btage. After me No - >, |
day no u Empress Dowager. and since her
80 ~ wV'hah within the reach of Chit !
U.s. law mas dared to test the strana,h
-, ner decree. although / am toid r.,
wU' n,s are quite common on the stages
the Hri,,sb 81 being a protectorate OF
nave great deal OF faith In Oman,
~ mandarin. n trifie more, perhaps than
nls countrymen (but who vas 49, nan
prophet In his own countrvT .seIa
20 pe Jealous OF him chiefly on sccount
ot nus learning, and also bacaus. 81 tn
cap There a ne sports on the top of his
70 the pinnacle of Celestial honor ond
.ne white button IL number four Ths
49, s.sl anu me golden button are respect
.s.y "u.nper nve and six in the honorary
seeN. some or these mandarins amass
great fortunes. ii Hung Chang. The
ported TO be worth about three bundred
III, ui.'on collars In real estate and treas
But Oman. the mandarin. has li,tIa tas,.
Tor finance and drops into historv on 80,
sry occasion. He tells me with n heavy
neart that Chinese acting has declined
have seen " Of Scs alss,s and from what
inclined to think that he is right He
sseltns that nothing has been written for
the stage Tor more than ten decades The
people prefer the classic repertoira - a,
mat could be the result OF literary EFFORT
gbe Inc PLAYS S mostly represent national
kn3sts ano devils of historic slRnifcance
and they sometimes 20 on for q 49,
| ~ unle. All the plays are graced by what
VIZ thlnese are pleased to call music
,annt ~ somewhat at variance with the
nusaIs OF our musicians. as IL generally
| assemblies the noise produced by a hotel
ulsh-WashirR machine and a buzz saw,
,t,t,e' ',yS WIN baggage smasher i'm ac-
uN,'y OF enterprise Whenever Mozart
ihd Beethoven have been tried i'm Shane
hal. the chinese listeners present have
gnd sou 'nelr ears with their fingers. They
lluu our music unbearable. III we would
youHne ourselves to treatment OF the
oig drum, and arrange fight between
~ " PIaytrs or stringed and the players
0t WIND instruments, noise of crasbins
uddles and banging trombones might he
produced that would be sure To- nlsa -
Shlnese ears; Oman, the mandarin surg.
| -. 4
20 any orchestra leader who wishes ~
capture Celestial audiences The E;uTooe
~ ~, musical alphabet has eight notes. ths
9lnese only seven. Meditation is con,
, suffered weakness, and is Accordingly nov.
~ useu long, continuous din Seems
To- 10 1r ne IDEAL. China is a very quiet
,aiu Nolu or the noises OF workshons o NJ
tsc tories, and doubtless the native rnnni
eians feel that their art should raI,aS,,
a. Az mohotony OF everyday life-which 4
, Every hamlet and settlement 4, ~,
Empire has its theater. which a air,os
aiMays exceedingly well patronized' Tn.
s,ahc settings are few and neaRer az th'
ludienc" II supposed 10 lima On, ,S &c wv
SuI. OF the scenery and surroundings b,
Th,,s tansibIe indications and ciews
80 susan pyramid Of stones is nIaca,
on the stage to represent "a moun.ais
> Mo men come out and fight TO the daat
: sppea p , merc, mountain" Two other mel
, 1890, march over the dead bodies 90 a.
nghters To the foot of the '.monn Va th
Mnnere tney raise "A shout of fierce tri,,an,,
/, H.. - when means, In the Chinese sensa
: captuped a,,y fortified place has beef
= ~ ,s..'er after unprecedented loss y
ne. me actors who performed Sor -
, Sr,r une FEAST OF the Taotai were imnorte
: Oham, the mandarin. They niat'a5 say
!. man I'VE one-act dramas while We us yes
n Ss rysralng with our cold soups and frgi
. anotbsr out as one act dove-tailed int
:, e 49, IKE continuous performanca
= srt Ss,.st ne curtain TO Indicate the clos
IA C'btn.s'. ,hi'ss VI tne acts, so, of coIrss
- '''nese theaters oTuit the curtain antis'
W. eNcept TO close the show ''lhs 81
y pi,te accompanied the dessert snd ai
h had gatisn n'NI n,y that. by some mistak,
y ma n0rny spirits were Contracted 90. ~ !,
10 ~, Ceiestial powers to eject the nonLa'
Is ing the ani.h hVe,y chase the monkey. Sc;
-. mhde jump from Eden into fbs 'e il',
IA f. ~ ptyond-that u.s. IL jumped from a be
6 nation ' a,,o OF water But Chinese imag
80 uise, ocean, and monkey. arc ban,,a,ta al
~ tlrely with disregard. The action A. :,
al ,od,i, thing, understand. and when ii
~ GENT Chinaman knows by Instinct that
10 mas heen turned out OF heaven
re Onam. the mandarin. tells me tn
m state-cratt IN China ~ very prodtaI
ye ana much respected profession THE
he are thousands OF actors In the Emni,
r. Ind inc good ones earn far more. promo
IN tionately. than our most SUGGEST M :
m lists A native actor OF the first rank 90
"a aarn upward Of 81 800 annually. and VIII
IL ms amount II small compared TO the
- come OF some Of our actors II will nr
IN cure comforts and advantages I'm chi
ir- which could not be had for nifty times I
Ice amount In our cities. There Is a Natio
no AZ Actors Club having 10000 life nembe
- and the Chinese temples HOUSE, n sncc
Ter actors god, who II supposed to look az
TO nom ~ respect To their spiritual welfa
nd Mhile ! was out in the entry to captt
in hind the scenes. The young men select
Of 20 play the feminine parts were busy
rus firing themselves In heavily embroide,
ne SILK dresses. They squeezed their feet
re 70 torturously small slippers, and N
,en daubed their faces thickly with a pa
IIe that shone like grease. They had acau
ar cd female ways and coquetry to an
md tonishing degree OF stimulation. When
th- the stage they acted with the petrified
led corum peculiar To the native women. 4
like"
me ~ Is not an easy matter to become
tail actor In the Chinese Empire. The pu-
4 IN must study three years as n super
one year IL spent In examining them !
or finishing them Off. During this period
rty apprenticeship they must learn some III
lith odd plays, and the rest OF their life
nm devoted to the acting of these plays wi
ar. out any effort being made to learn 7
old. | ones. An actor must never learn, WI
mat n only becoming to an apprentice, say
I ls stage. regulations. but an actor may c
am. descend to teach worthy pupils.
eat The dinner In at an end-the first
ira ner given by an Imperial Chinese Ta'
the TO the Prince OF Denmark. The TIA
WV Is toasting the Prince In long CHR
orr speech, which the Prince does not uni
nv stand, and the Prince retaliates IN
H. 49, krt..