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Peking Opera

Anhui troupes came to Beijing

Introduction

A nationwide form born in Beijing from Anhui and Hubei troupes, sung to xipi and erhuang

Peking opera, also called jingxi or pingju, took shape in Beijing. From 1790, the 55th year of the Qianlong reign, the four great Anhui troupes (Sanqing, Sixi, Chuntai and Hechun) came to the capital, worked with Han-tune performers from Hubei and absorbed Kunqu, Qinqiang and folk tunes, and by the mid-19th century the new form had matured. It is sung mainly to the xipi and erhuang tunes with jinghu fiddle and percussion, uses the sheng, dan, jing and chou role types, and combines singing, recitation, acting and martial arts with set movements and painted faces. Its traditional repertoire counts over 1,300 plays, and it is performed across China, centred on Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.

Representative works

  1. The Drunken ConcubineGrown from a Qianlong-era local play and polished by Mei Lanfang into a signature work of the Mei school
  2. Yu Tang ChunA story first told by Feng Menglong in the late Ming; its earliest recorded staging dates from 1802
  3. The Hegemon-King Bids His Concubine FarewellPeking opera staged by Mei Lanfang and Yang Xiaolou in 1922, best known for Consort Yu's sword dance
  4. The Unicorn PurseWritten by Weng Ouhong at Cheng Yanqiu's request and first staged at the Golden Theatre in Shanghai in 1940
  5. The Empty City StratagemFrom chapter 95 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Zhuge Liang plays the zither on the wall and an army turns back
  6. Silang Visits His MotherFifteen years after his capture, Yang Silang slips back one night to see his mother; a play built on singing

Timeline

Qianlong reign of the Qing to present
1790 · Origin1790: the four great Anhui troupes come to Beijing for Qianlong's 80th birthday1828 · EvolutionHubei troupes join the Anhui troupes in Beijing and the xipi-erhuang tunes merge1845 · EvolutionBy the mid-19th century the form is mature, led by performers such as Cheng Changgeng
  1. 1790Origin1790: the four great Anhui troupes come to Beijing for Qianlong's 80th birthday
  2. 1828EvolutionHubei troupes join the Anhui troupes in Beijing and the xipi-erhuang tunes merge
  3. 1845EvolutionBy the mid-19th century the form is mature, led by performers such as Cheng Changgeng

Heritage Listings

  1. 2006National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Chinafirst batch · traditional drama · Ⅳ-28
  2. 2010UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity