Two senses worth knowing. (1) General: the opening section of an essay, novel, or speech — modern, neutral. (2) Specific: a tradition in Suzhou pingtan
评弹 storytelling and Yue/Hu opera, where a stand-alone sung piece (
越剧开篇,
沪剧开篇) precedes the main story as a warm-up — it can also be performed independently as its own concert piece.
