The Beijing Opera
Louise S. McGehee School
Emily and Victoria
English I
2005
(“More Imagery from Mongolia”)
Must-Know Facts
• The Beijing Opera is also known as the
Peking Opera to most Westerners.
• This is because Westerners used to know
Beijing itself, the biggest city in China, as
Peking when Great Britain tried to colonize
the large country.
• The Beijing Opera’s two main pieces are Xi Pi
and Er Huang, which originated in Anhui and
Hubei.
• The opera consists of singing, dialogue,
mime, acrobatics, and dancing to tell a story
and illustrate the characters’ feelings.
The Beginning of the Beijing Opera
• This elaborate form of
entertainment originated in the
small Chinese provinces of
Anhui and Hubei.
• It first began when the Four
Great Anhui Troupes came to
Beijing in 1790.
• Later on in the early 1800s, the
Hubei troupes came to Beijing
and the two operas would
occasionally do a joint
performance.
• At first these artistic
presentations were only
performed for the royal family,
but later on they were opened
to the public.
(“Visions of China: Interactive Map”)
Closed-Country Policy
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Throughout history the Chinese have chosen, like Japan, to have an
isolated form of government.
It used to be that a country had to send a representative to visit the
Chinese emperor if they wished to be part of China’s trade. Then the
emperor would decide if they were worthy.
Fairly recently, in 1912, the Forbidden City became open to all Chinese
Citizens, but people not of Chinese heritage were not allowed in. However,
in the last half of the 1900s, the Forbidden City became the Palace
Museum, open to all public.
In 1906, the Empress of China decided to westernize their government
somewhat, but this reform would take over 40 years.
After this reform, China still had limits on who entered their country. In
1971 the first American group, a table tennis team, entered China for the
first time since 1971. Soon after, President Nixon arrived in China to form
small ties with the country.
The Beijing Opera has been an excellent way to form a bridge from China
to other western countries that their isolation forbid them to cross, so that
now, the rest of the world can experience the Chinese culture that the
Beijing Opera displays so perfectly.
The Influential Opera
• Mei Lanfang (picture above) was the grandmaster of the Peking
Opera in the early 1900s.
• He helped the Peking Opera and China come out to the world since
their times of isolation.
• Since then, the opera has been invited to perform in the United
States, England, France, Germany, Italy, and many other countries.
(“Introduction of Peking Opera”)
The Intricate Roles
• Sheng: main male role
• Dan: young and
beautiful female
DAN
• Jing: painted faced
male
• Chou: clown, male or
female
(“Chinese Opera Experience”)
CHOU
(“Beijing Opera”)
(“China pictorial”)
Behind the Scenes
• Intricate costumes with bright colors and detailed
patterns
• Face painting is a very important aspect of the opera.
– The makeup artists spend hours perfecting the
shapes and lines on the performers’ faces.
• The breathtaking dance moves captivate the audience.
– They use props and makeup to help portray their
stories to the audience.
(“Beijing Opera”)
(“Taiwan Normal University”)
Works Cited
Beck, Roger B., et al. Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, Il: McDougal Littell, 2003.
“Beijing Opera.” Living in China- Beijing. China Pictorial. 2002-2003.
January 2005. <http://www.china-pictorial.com>
“The Beijing Opera.” Taiwan Normal University. 5 January 2005. <http://www.mtc.ntnu.edu>
“Beijing Opera.” Travel China Guide.Com. 1998. 5 January 2005.
<http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/arts/beijing_
opera/facial.htm>
“Chinese Opera Experience.” Travel in Taiwan Experience. 2005. Vision International Publishing Co. 5 January 2005.
<http://www.sinica.edu.tw/tit/culture/0895_cu2.html>
“Introduction of Peking Opera.” Chinapage. Ming L. Pei. 1995. 4 January 2005.
<http://www.chinapage.com/opera/intro.html>
Works Cited
“Introduction of Peking Opera.” Chinapage. Ming L. Pei. 1995. 4 January 2005.
<http://www.chinapage.com/opera/intro.html>
“More Beijing Opera.” More Imagery from Mongolia and Beijing. 5January 2005.
<http://www.209.238.235.134/mongolia/opera2.jpg>
Pei, Ming. “Beijing Opera.” Intro of Peking (Beijing) Opera. 1995-2005. China the Beautiful. 5 January 2005.
<http://www.chinapage.com/opera/intro.html>
“Visions of China: Interactive Map.” CNN. 5 January 2005.
<http://www.cnn.com/interactive/libraries/
maps/content2000.html>
Wang, Xu-Ming. “Beijing Opera.” Chinapage. Ming L. Pei. 1995. 3
January 2005. <http://www.chinapage.com/xwang/index0.html.>