The Girl From Peking

[Kerrie Gingrich]

Theroles in Beijing Opera (Peking Opera) had seven categories during its early age, divided according to characters in the opera. They were Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mou, Chou, Wuhang, and Longtao. With the development of Beijing opera, it was divided into four main roles. They were Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou, based on the gender, age, evil or kind-hearted nature, handsomeness or uglinessy of the characters played.

Laosheng actors are required to attain the dignity of bearing and gentle, polished manners of the middle-aged mandarin official or scholar. Laosheng roles included generals or high-ranking officers of the military, but they had a more cultivated disposition than those of real life.

The most famous performer of Laosheng role was Tan Xinpei. He opened a new world of opera performance for Laosheng roles. Many Laosheng actors imitated his way of performing. Yan Jupeng, Ma Lianliang, Zhou Xinfang were also well-known performers of Laosheng role after Tan Xinpei.

Xiaosheng is a handsome young male with no beard in Peking Opera roles. The roles sings in a high-pitched and shrill voice, with sudden breaks from his high-pitched voice to represent the voice changing period of adolescence.

Xiaosheng can be division into Wen Xiaosheng (a young scholar) and Wu Xiaosheng (a young warrior). Depending on the role'sposition in society, the costume of the Xiaosheng may be either elaborate or simple. The feature of a young warrior is his long pheasant feathers, which rise in sweeping curves from his hat.

Wusheng actors must be good at martial arts roles. The actor performs with swords and spears wielded deftly and quickly without the attacker actually touching his opponent. There are Changkao Wusheng and Duanda Wusheng. The features of Changkao Wusheng are wearing a helmet, heavy-bottomed boots and the use of long-handled weapons. The features of Duanda Wusheng are wearing short and simple clothes and the use of short-handled weapons. Although Wusheng roles requirea highly standard of acrobatics, they must also have a natural voice when singing.

Dan is the term for female roles in Peking Opera. The roles can be divided into six subtypes based on characters played. There is Zhengdan (Qingyi), Gui mendan, Wudan (acrobat), Laodan (old women), Huadan, and Daomadan (a stronger, more forceful character). Four examples of famous Dans are Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Shang Xiaoyun, and Xun Huisheng.

Qingyi is the main woman roles in traditional Chinese drama. Qingyi is the most important role in Peking Opera and plays dignified, serious, and decent characters, which are mostly wives or mothers. The roles dress in yellow clothes and feature a small range of motion, and singingwith a pure and high-pitched quality.

Guimendan is an unmarried and young girl role. Her immaturity is clearly shown in her reactions. Though naughty and slightly mischievous. T, the characteristics of the role are mostly are introverted and shy.

Daomadan is a female warrior role in Peking Opera. Like the male role of Wusheng, Daomadan actors train mainly for action, singing, and performing skillfully. The features of the role are the head-dress and military weapons. The most famous Daomadan role is Mu Guiying, who is a heroine in Chinese history, famed for her military prowess.

Huadan is the vivacious and unmarried woman role inPeking Opera. Compared to a Qingyi, a Huadan is not of such a high social class, and she will take the attention of the audience with her coy, coquettish, and quicker movements. Her costume is vivid in design and color, consisting of a jacket and trousers, and usually carrying a red handkerchief in her hand. The voice of Huadan has a gayer and stronger quality.

Chou is a comedy role in Peking Opera. It can be divided into two types: Wenchou, a civilian role such as a merchant or jailer; and Wuchou, a military role, skilled in acrobatics. The characteristic of this type of painted face role is a small patch of white chalk around the nose.

I would assume that Peking Duck House provides the best version of Peking Duck in Manhattan's Chinatown. As for all of New York City, the best of any Chinese food tends to come from Flushing. Which is over there (points). I'm usually too lazy to go there, but if you have a burning Peking Duck recommendation for me in Flushing, let it out.

A waiter presented us with our whole roast duck before taking it to the central cutting table where a skilled chef (skilled, I assumed, because he was wearing a big, foofy hat) effortlessly sliced it into even chunks with a long, slender knife.

We offset the duckiness with Chinese broccoli, one of my favorite Chinese vegetable dishes. Granted, I like pretty much any Chinese vegetable dish (mm, oyster sauce!), but I find chomping on the thick broccoli stalks rather satisfying, if they're at the right stage of tenderness: cooked through, still crunchy, not jaw-achingly fibrous. Chinese restaurants always seem to do this right. When I do it at home, I either overcook or undercook. My Chinese heritage does nothing for my cooking skills.

After our happy and fattened bodies hobbling out of Peking Duck House, we headed to Teariffic to satiate Olivia's bubble tea craving, which she gets at least once a day. It's not a craving as much as a extra meal her body has become accustomed to expecting.

Olivia fulfilled her bubble tea requirement while I got the wimpiest coconut and peanut butter toast ever. Toast at a Chinese teahouse is supposed to be a monstrously block of wheat, not something you'd make a sandwich out of. This was more like Wonderbread. For a fat, substantial toast, go to Green Tea Cafe down the street.

Alice ordered pineapple cakes, which apparently no one orders as the waiter didn't even know they were on the menu. Thankfully the pineapple cakes didn't taste neglected, but like like normal, tender shortbread-like rectangular blocks filled with sweet pineapple goo. (If you're thinking, "That cake doesn't really look like a cake," I'd say, "...Yeah." I grew up eating loads of pineapple cakes so it rarely occurs to me that they look nothing like what you'd expect something with "cake" in the name to look like. Now you know. I can't think of a better name that's as simple. Pineapple block? Meh.)

Not enough people in America appreciate the glory of a whole roasted duck. Even a simple thing like the beads of fat rolling down carcass, creating a wondrous natural marinade as it hisses against the fire, makes my mouth water. It would bring a tear to my eye if I weren't already so fixated on eating it.

the peking duck i grew up with was where they would only slice the crispy skin off, which you would then eat with the hoisin, scallion and the thin pancake. the meat was then cut up and stir fried into a noodle dish that would surface at some point. just eating skin alone is heaven :D

The peking duck served in Indonesia is also like the one mentioned by Louanne. Only the crispy skin is eaten with hoisin sauce, scallion and cucumber stick, wrapped in thin pancake. The meat is not cooked with noodle, though. It's usually cooked with either bean sprout and green chillies or with black pepper sauce. Hmmm, yumm... My mouth is watering while writing this.

What a terrific meal! I love your mouthwatering photography. A friend told me that Peking Duck is supposed to be fatty. When I make it at home, I use Marcella Hazan's technique of parboiling the duck and then taking it out and going over it with a hairdryer, wiping off the beads of fat as they appear. My family is very entertained by this. However, it does result in a crispy skin and less fat.

Hell yeah! Whole roast duck Peking style for the MASSIVE win. It is so many times superior to crispy aromatic duck. I wish I knew of a speciality Peking duck restaurant, although it might lead to coronary heart disease it would be a risk I'm willing to take. I'm salivating just at the thought of that juicy duck meat with the no.1 best tasting fat dripping off of it.

Duck along with Dim Sum is my favorite meal - That looks so great and sadly here in Mayberry there is not a place within 50 miles to enjoy this type of kick ass meal.

So pretty much these pictures are killing me - Thanks!! :)

Cheers

Cathy

www.wheresmydamnanswer.com

Robyn, hell yeah! Peking Duck is one of my favorite things to eat, and thank goodness we have a place near me in Maryland where they do it up right! My favorite part definitely has to be the crispy skin....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Peking duck over here gets served 2 ways (skin and meat, then they take the bones away for frying with chilli and salt - great with beer!) or 3 ways (skin/meat, fried bones, and a soup made out of whatevers left I think! Duck soup, yum). I took some American friends who had never had peking duck before out for a duck dinner; they loved every morsel from the pancakes to the soup (3way - oooo heehee).

Argh your kaya toast looks sad :( you must try some pandan flavored kaya (a weird green colored jam, but tasty). Then add a block of the pineapple cake on it!!! The ones from Taipei are lovely, crumbly pastry with lots of pineapple inside. Ok, now I must have breakfast or my stomach rumblings will take over my brain.

NY Noodletown is awesome, I go there late at night pretty often. They never have any roast baby pig left late at night, but they always have roast duck still hanging, so I always order it. It's always delicious. Let's meet sometime! I'm right across the river in Jersey City.

My family always ignored the "accessories" and just gorged on the fowl -- usually with plain white rice and perhaps a few "extras" like your order of gui-lan (speaking of which, my mom makes an exact clone of the texture of that chinese broccoli and oyster sauce). The only problem I've ever had with these sorts of chinese meals is the inclusion of the head on the platter. When I was very, very young, one of my aunties used to torment me with it. And the heads of the lobsters. And the chicken feet.

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