Winter Begonia

In 1933, the city of Beiping was China’s busiest city, bustling with noise and excitement. However, its liveliness was unlike that of any other place: it came not from the wine-drinking and pleasure-seeking masses in brothels, nor from the ten-miles long markets filled to the brim with foreigners. Rather, it was a one of a kind type of noisiness, beautiful and elegant. The high-pitched singing of kunqu, jingju and qinqiang; the beating of the dagu and the clacking of the bangzi; the clear, loud voices of storytellers narrating the rise and fall of dynasties – each and every traditional art one can think of could be found here, mixed together to create the theatrical world’s most glorious sta...