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An Unexpected Natural at Beijing Opera 天生京剧好手

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Who says you have to speak Chinese or grow up in the Far East to sing Beijing opera? Nine-year-old Tyler Thompson, an African-American boy from Oakland, California, is moving audiences to tears, and then to their feet, with his magical, melodic performances of this classic Chinese art form.

谁说非得会说中文或是在远东地区长大才会唱京剧?来自加州奥克兰的九岁非裔美籍男童泰勒汤普森，以他迷人悦耳的旋律演出这项传统的中国艺术，让所有观众感动落泪并起立为他喝采。

Artistically, Beijing-style opera is perhaps the most refined style of opera in the world. It combines dancing, acting, acrobatics, and of course, singing. “It normally takes six to eight years to train a performer in Beijing opera,” says William Hu, an expert in the field. But Tyler embraced it so quickly that stage and television performances soon followed. Tyler, who doesn’t speak Chinese, memorizes the sounds of the songs’ words. And, when he sings, he exhibits an uncanny ear for the diction and pitch of what is widely regarded as the highest expression of Chinese culture.

就艺术上而言，京剧或许是世界上最精致的歌剧形式了。他结合了舞蹈、表演、特技，当然还有唱歌。京剧专家胡威廉说:「一般来说，训练一位京剧表演者需要六到八年的时间」。然而泰勒却很快就上手了，而且紧接着就是在舞台与电视上演出。不会说中文的泰勒将歌词的音背下来。京剧的唱腔被普遍认为是中华文化最极致的表现，当泰勒唱戏时，他在这方面展露出超乎常人的音感。

Tyler studies with music teacher Sherlyn Chew. Most of his classmates are Asian, but students of all backgrounds are welcome to learn to sing and play traditional Chinese music. Chew first recognized Tyler’s “angelic” voice when he was in kindergarten. “He knows the meaning of the songs,” she says. “He knows what he’s trying to convey to the audience,” and native speakers of Mandarin agree. Tyler’s success reminds us that in the modern world, art and culture are things to be shared, for as the world gets smaller, art and culture, will have fewer and fewer boundaries.

泰勒跟着音乐老师赵雪琳学习，他大部分的同学都是亚裔人，但是不管什么背景的学生要学习如何演唱及演奏传统的中国音乐都是很受欢迎的。赵老师在泰勒就读幼儿园时就注意到他「天使般」的声音。她说:「他能够理解歌曲的含义。」她也说:「他知道他要试着向观众传达什么。」以中文为母语的人士也对这点表示同意。泰勒的成功提醒我们在现今世界，艺术与文化是可以共享的，因为随着世界越变越小，艺术与文化的界限也会越来越小。

－By Laara Hinnegan

Vocabulary

natural [ˋnætʃərəl] adj. 天生的；天赋的

melodic [məˋlɑdɪk] adj. 音调优美的

refined [rɪˋfaɪnd] adj. 精炼的，精致的

embrace [ɪmˋbres] v. 欣然接受

pitch [pɪtʃ] n. 音调; 音高

angelic [ænˋdʒɛlɪk] adj. 天使般的

boundary [ˋbaʊndrɪ] n. 界限

More Information

move somebody to tears 感动...流下眼泪,感激涕零

to one's feet: 站起 standing up

acrobatics [͵ækrəˋbætɪks] n. 杂技；杂技表演

exhibit an ear for 展现对...的鉴赏力

uncanny [ʌnˋkænɪ] adj. 神奇的，不可思議的

diction [ˋdɪkʃən] n. 发音；发音法

regard [rɪˋgɑrd] v. 把……看作，把……认为

convey [kənˋve] v. 传达，传递，表达[（+to）][+（that）][+wh-]

Reading Questions

1. What does the article tell us about Beijing opera?

A. It involves singing, and the singers usually stand still when they perform.

B. Generally speaking, long periods of training are required to master this art form.

C. Although the art form is very old, only recently has it become popular with Mandarin speakers.

D. Foreign students are usually not allowed to learn Beijing opera because it requires a solid knowledge of Mandarin.

2. What can we learn from Tyler’s story?

A. A natural doesn’t need help from teachers, and Tyler is no exception.

B. The younger a person is, the most easily he or she will learn to be a good performer.

C. Nowadays, a person from one culture has more chances than ever to learn about other cultures.

D. In the future, people who are gifted will be better prepared to accept and understand unfamiliar cultures.

3. According to the article, which of the following sentence is TRUE?

A. Besides being able to sing in Mandarin, Tyler Thompson also speaks it fluently.

B. Tyler Thompson is the only person in his class who is not of Asian descent.

C. When Tyler Thompson sings in Mandarin, he conveys the meanings of the songs very well.

D. Tyler Thompson learned to read and write Chinese so he could remember Mandarin lyrics more easily.

Reference

First Person: Unlikely Chinese Opera Star