The Moon Opera

Glossary

Chou — the clown role in Chinese opera

Dan — the major female role in Chinese opera

east wind — a key element in Chinese lore

Egg (Dan) Nest — ‘Dan’, with one character, means ‘egg’; another character, with the same pronunciation, is the opera role

Erlang — nephew of the mythical Jade Emperor, a deity with a third, true-seeing eye

bodhisattva — in the West, a patron, an “angel”

consciousness — class consciousness; a Cultural Revolution slogan

great man — alludes ironically to historical figures, in particular Mao Zedong, who were referred to as “great”

Hualian — another name for a Jing, the male role with a painted face

Jing — the male role with a painted face in Chinese opera

Mo — the secondary male role in Chinese opera

Sheng — the major male role in Chinese opera

water sleeves — long, loose sleeves on opera singers that highlight stylized gestures

Xipi, Erhuang — tunes in the operatic repertoire are all named; the lyrics are added