地方之聲
Collection
Beyond Peking: Regional Voices
4 recordings, 1:18:35
Peking opera is only one of hundreds of Chinese theatre forms, each sung in its own dialect. This collection gathers what free archives hold of the rest.
It begins with a 1902 Edison cylinder of a Cantonese song, recorded in San Francisco when Chinatown theatres were among the busiest in America. Next comes a village opera stage on Pingtan island in Fujian, recorded in 2025.
It ends with two cassette sides recorded in Beijing in 1984 by an Indian delegation of Rajasthani folk musicians, who taped the Chinese folk music and drama they were shown. The programme isn't itemised; treat it as an exploration.
- The Nest in a ShoeChinese song, Edison cylinder 127652:18
- 東坤村戲台Dōngkūn cūn xìtái — Opera at the Dongkun village stage, Pingtan13:32
- 北京民間音樂與戲曲（1984年）第一面Chinese folk music and drama recorded in Beijing, 1984 — side A31:10
- 北京民間音樂與戲曲（1984年）第二面Chinese folk music and drama recorded in Beijing, 1984 — side B31:35