The four national quintessences refer to Chinese martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, Peking opera, and calligraphy.
1. Chinese Martial Arts
Chinese Martial Arts was created and developed by the Chinese nation. It has the functions of fitness, body protection, defense against enemies and victory. It is one of the four national quintessences of China.
2. Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine is an important part of our country’s splendid culture and one of China’s four national quintessences. It has an increasingly important influence in the world and is deeply influenced by China. Love and welcome from the people and the people of the world. Over the past fifty years, traditional Chinese medicine has made great achievements in all aspects.
3. Peking Opera
Chinese Peking Opera is China’s “national quintessence” and has a history of 200 years. The name of Peking Opera first appeared in "Shen Shen" in the second year of Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty. Historically, it has been called Pihuang, Erhuang, Huangqiang, Beijing Diao, Peking Opera, Ping Opera, and Chinese Opera.
After the four major Anhui troupes came to Beijing in the 55th year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1790), they integrated with Kunqu, Han Opera, Yiyang, Luantan and other operas in the Beijing theater circle and evolved over the past 50 to 60 years. Peking Opera is the largest type of opera in China. The richness of its repertoire, the number of performing artists, the number of theater groups, the number of audiences, and the depth of its influence are all the highest in the country. Peking Opera is a comprehensive performing art.
4. Calligraphy
Calligraphy is the art of writing Chinese characters. In the long history of evolution and development of Chinese characters, it stands tall in the world of art. On the one hand, it plays an important social role in the exchange of ideas and cultural inheritance. On the other hand, it forms a unique plastic art in itself. Although the art of calligraphy did not become self-conscious until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the art of calligraphy was at the same time as the emergence of Chinese characters. The earliest ancient Chinese character materials in my country recognized by academic circles are oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions from the middle and late Shang Dynasty (approximately 14th to 11th century BC).
Examined from the perspective of calligraphy, these earliest Chinese characters already possess many factors of the formal beauty of calligraphy, such as the beauty of lines, the symmetry and change of single character shapes, and the beauty of composition and style.
The inheritance value of Peking Opera
The stage art of Peking Opera has formed a world through the long-term stage practice of countless artists in various aspects such as literature, performance, music, singing, gongs and drums, makeup, facial makeup, etc. A set of metrical and standardized programs that restrict and complement each other. As an artistic means of creating stage images, it is very rich, and its usage is very strict. If we cannot master these programs, we will not be able to complete the creation of Peking Opera stage art. Since Peking Opera entered the court when it was first formed, its development was different from that of local operas.
It requires a wider range of life to be expressed, more types of characters to be created, stricter requirements for the comprehensiveness and integrity of its skills, and more stringent aesthetic requirements for the stage image it creates. higher. Of course, at the same time, its folk and rustic flavor is correspondingly weakened, and its simple and rough style characteristics are relatively weak. Therefore, its performance art tends to be a combination of virtual and real expression techniques, which transcends the limitations of stage space and time to the greatest extent, in order to achieve the artistic realm of "conveying spirit through form, and combining form and spirit".
The performance is required to be exquisite and delicate, and every aspect is in the drama; the singing is required to be melodious and euphemistic, with both voice and emotion; martial arts is not won by fiery and bravery, but by "martial arts, literary singing".