开台锣鼓

開臺鑼鼓

kāitáiluógǔ

noun

Meanings

1 the opening gong-and-drum percussion of a Chinese opera performance
2 curtain-raiser, kickoff overture

Characters

stage, platform

Examples

开台锣鼓一响，观众都安静下来了。

Kāitáiluógǔ yī xiǎng, guānzhòng dōu ānjìng xiàlái le.

The moment the opening gong-and-drum sounded, the audience fell silent.

这场政策辩论可以说是新一届人大的开台锣鼓。

Zhè chǎng zhèngcè biànlùn kěyǐ shuōshì xīn yī jiè Réndà de kāitáiluógǔ.

This policy debate could be called the opening overture of the new National People's Congress session.

Tips

culture

In traditional Chinese opera (Peking opera 京剧, etc.), the percussion ensemble 武场 plays a fixed pattern before the curtain rises to settle the audience and signal that the show is starting. The figurative sense - kickoff, opening salvo - is now more common in news writing than the literal one.

Stroke Order

开 kāi

台 tái

锣 luó

鼓 gǔ