Chinese idiom · 成语
梨园弟子
Meaning
Pear Garden disciples; actors or opera performers.
Character by character
Origin and story
historicalThe New Book of Tang (新唐书), in its treatise on ritual and music, describes Emperor Xuanzong's enthusiasm for music, especially faqu. He selected three hundred performers from the seated musical ensemble for instruction at the Pear Garden. The text says he detected and corrected errors in their music, and they were called the emperor's Pear Garden disciples. It also records several hundred palace women as Pear Garden disciples.
The name subsequently extended beyond those particular court musicians to theatrical performers more generally, especially actors in traditional Chinese theatre. This later theatrical association should not make the Tang training group identical to a modern opera company: the passage documents court musical instruction, not the single invention of Chinese opera.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
这些年轻的梨园弟子每天练功，希望把传统戏曲带给更多观众。
These young traditional-theatre performers practice every day, hoping to bring their art to more audiences.
A literary collective name for theatrical performers, especially in traditional Chinese theatre.