Afternoon Tea at the Beijing Opera

"On the Beijing opera stage, every human sound uttered is song, and every movement is dance; realism is taboo and real-life objects are banned." In fascinating detail, jingju aficionado Chengbei Xu, examines the cultural and artistic themes of Beijing Opera. Xu's expert eye unveils the mystery through a dizzying array of observations that only an experienced opera-goer can spot: themes and stories, characters, movement, makeup, props, action, voice, and music. Filled with color performance photos, this is an indispensable reference and definitive guide to perhaps the pinnacle of Chinese performance art.Chengbei Xu is the author of 'Afternoon Tea at the Beijing Opera', published 2006 under ISBN 9781592650576 and ISBN 1592650570.