A pledge to protect Peking Opera

Actors from "Enter The Forbidden City" imitate an opera show at the film's premiere in Beijing on Monday, May 6, 2019. [Photo: China Plus]

Veteran Chinese director Hu Mei's newest film "Enter the Forbidden City" will begin screening in cinemas in China on Friday. The film tells the story of an 18th century opera troupe from Anhui that visits Beijing to celebrate Emperor Qianlong's 80th birthday. The Emperor invited the troupe to stay in the city, where they helped to develop the art form known today as Peking opera.

Ahead of its release, the film has grabbed a lot of international attention and won a number of awards, including the prize for best picture at the Golden Seagull Awards, a top honor at the first Shanghai Cooperation Organization Film Festival. And Wang Ziwen won the best supporting actress award at last year's Macau International Movie Festival for her performance.

Despite being one of the best-known Chinese art forms, the popularity of Peking opera is declining. Seeing this decline made the veteran director determined to contribute to its revitalization.

Research and interviews are integral to making a good historically-accurate film, which is why the director and her team toured the mountainous Huaining County in Anhui Province.

"We walked through a long stretch of reeds and finally arrived before the Golden Rooster tablet, which was honored as the god of opera in China," Hu told China Radio International. "When I held it in reverence, our tour guide told me that behind me there used to be an ancient dock where huge groups of opera artists in Anhui gathered to travel to Yangzhou. The wealthy salt merchants of Yangzhou would provide them with financial assistance for training before sending them to perform in Beijing… At that moment, it seemed the ancient bustling scenes became alive in front of me."

Hu spent five years doing her research in Anhui, which included a tour to a small village in Qianshan City.

"Local senior villagers guided us to their ancestral temple, which housed upstairs more than 20 big boxes made of camphorwood and covered with layers of dust, which had remained unopened for centuries. Fortunately, I got the chance to take a look at what's inside: They are all handmade, glittering opera costumes. The collar of each of them bears a short text that records who donated them to the temple, and when. There are costumes that are more than 200 centuries old; it surprised me how intact and well-protected they were." The local villagers, Hu said, grew up accompanied by opera culture, which made them feel obliged to protect these treasures.

Viewing these early costumes helped to ensure the wardrobe that featured in the film was historically accurate. But more than that, Hu Mei hopes that more people can recognize and value the efforts of the villagers in Anhui to protect these beautiful cultural artifacts.

Director Hu Mei (center) poses with two actors from her film "Enter The Forbidden City" at its premiere in Beijing on Monday, May 6, 2019. [Photo: China Plus]

Before its cinema release, "Enter the Forbidden City" premiered at the New York Film Academy.

"The local audiences gave a thunderous of applause after watching the film. The audiences are actors, cinema photographers, and directors in Hollywood. They well understand each detail in my film. And afterwards, they asked me a few questions, like how it was dubbed. I was astonished by how carefully they watched the film. It also proves that they are interested in China's Peking opera," Hu said proudly.

Hu would like to see more done to ensure Peking opera continues to maintain its popularity. "I hope that more television and film works help revitalize this cultural heritage, and help Chinese people to build self-confidence about their culture. After all, China's Peking opera enjoys a high reputation, even overseas."

"I'll do more than just the film "Enter the Forbidden City", that's my pledge," she said.