Chinese Peking Opera

Synopsis

Peking Opera is a quintessential Chinese art form with a history of over 200 years, integrating the four skills of singing, reciting, acting, and martial arts, along with the four role types of sheng, dan, jing, and chou. In 2010, it was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and its facial mask art is renowned worldwide. The performance system established by Mei Lanfang is recognized as one of the world’s three major performance systems, alongside those of Stanislavski and others.

Overview

Peking Opera is the most representative traditional Chinese opera genre, acclaimed as the quintessence of Chinese culture and the national opera. It took shape during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty and has a history of over 200 years. It integrates four performance techniques: singing, speaking, acting, and acrobatic fighting. Based on the four main role types—Sheng (male roles), Dan (female roles), Jing (painted-face roles), and Chou (comic roles)—it narrates historical stories and character destinies through exquisite costumes, distinctive facial makeup, stylized performances, and resonant singing. In 2010, Peking Opera was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It is not only the pinnacle of traditional Chinese performing arts but also, through the dissemination by masters like Mei Lanfang, a vital window for the world to understand Chinese culture.

The origins of Peking Opera can be traced back to the 55th year of Qianlong's reign (1790), when the Four Great Anhui Troupes entered Beijing to perform for Emperor Qianlong's birthday celebrations. In Beijing, Anhui opera gradually merged with Han opera, Kunqu opera, Qinqiang opera, and other forms, forming the prototype of Peking Opera. After further development during the Daoguang and Xianfeng eras, Peking Opera reached its peak in the late Qing and early Republican periods, becoming the most popular opera form in Beijing and across the nation.

The Four Main Role Types

Each role type has its own unique performance conventions and singing styles. Laosheng is one of the most important role types in Peking Opera, excelling in singing and portraying upright, steady male characters. Among Dan roles, the Qingyi style established by Mei Lanfang's Mei School is the most famous, exquisitely expressing feminine grace and dignity. Jing roles are marked by painted facial makeup, using different colors and patterns to represent character traits—red for loyalty and righteousness (e.g., Guan Yu), white for treachery and cunning (e.g., Cao Cao), and black for integrity and sternness (e.g., Bao Zheng). Although Chou roles are supporting characters, they are often the most entertaining in a play, serving to lighten the mood and advance the plot.

Peking Opera Facial Makeup

Facial makeup is the most recognizable visual element of Peking Opera and an iconic symbol of Chinese opera art. It involves painting bold colors and intricate patterns on the performer's face, with different colors and designs representing different character personalities:

The application of facial makeup is a highly specialized skill. A complete facial makeup design requires meticulous painting on the actor's face with various pigments, often taking over half an hour. The pattern designs follow strict conventional norms; every stroke has a specific meaning and cannot be altered arbitrarily. Peking Opera facial makeup has been included in China's National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Mei Lanfang and Peking Opera Art

Mei Lanfang (1894-1961) is the greatest performing artist in the history of Peking Opera and the first to introduce Chinese opera to the world. The Mei School art he founded is renowned for its elegance, refinement, and majestic grace, reaching the pinnacle of Dan role performance. Mei Lanfang performed abroad three times—visiting Japan in 1919 and 1924, the United States in 1930, and the Soviet Union in 1935—causing a sensation wherever he went and allowing the Western world to appreciate the unique charm of Chinese opera for the first time.

The Mei Lanfang Performance System, named after him, is regarded by the international theater community as representative of Eastern theatrical performance systems. It is ranked alongside the Russian Stanislavsky System and the German Brecht System as one of the world's three major performance systems. The Mei Lanfang System emphasizes conveying spirit through form and combining the abstract with the concrete, using stylized performance movements to express the inner world of characters. This aesthetic concept has profoundly influenced world theater.

Classic Plays

Peking Opera boasts an extremely rich repertoire, with over a thousand traditional plays. The most frequently performed classics include: Farewell My Concubine, The Drunken Beauty, The Jewelry Pouch, The Ruse of the Empty City, Silang Visits His Mother, The Case of Executing Chen Shimei, and others. Among these, Farewell My Concubine is one of Mei Lanfang's representative works. It tells the tragic story of Xiang Yu, the Conqueror of Chu, bidding farewell to his concubine Yu Ji during the Battle of Gaixia, with Yu Ji's suicide scene being particularly poignant and moving.

Modern Inheritance

In contemporary society, Peking Opera faces common challenges of inheritance shared by traditional arts. Young audiences have increasingly diverse entertainment choices, and the rhythm and aesthetic style of Peking Opera can feel somewhat distant from modern life. However, in recent years, through initiatives like introducing Peking Opera into schools, popularization performances, and opera-themed variety shows, Peking Opera is attracting more and more young audiences. Renowned Peking Opera artists such as Zhang Huoding, Yu Kuizhi, and Li Shengsu, while adhering to tradition, actively explore innovation, injecting new vitality into Peking Opera.

References

1. China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network: https://www.ihchina.cn/project_details/13202.html
2. Baidu Baike: https://baike.baidu.com/item/京剧
3. Wikipedia: https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/京剧
4. Mei Lanfang Memorial Hall: https://www.meilanfang.com