A Brief Introduction of Beijing Opera

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One of China’s most famous art forms is the 200-year-old Jingxi（Beiing Opera）.Other regions have also developed distinctive operatic style.

With its roots in musical forms dating from the Ming Dynasty，Beiling Opera offers an intricate display of song，pantomime，dance，and acrobatics.The action swirls around four traditional characters and the many twists and turns of the plot are tunefuly sung.

The Origin of Beijing Opera

Although it is called Being opera，its origins are not in Beiling but in the Chinese provinces of Anhui and Hubei. Being opera got its two main melodies，Xipi and Erhuang，from Anhui and Hubei operas. Much dialogue is also carried out in an archaic dialect originating par-tially from those regions.It also absorbed music and arias from other operas and musical arts such as the historic Qinqiang as well as being very strongly influenced by Kunqu，the form that preceded it as court art.It is regarded that Beijing opera was born when the Four Great Anhui Troupes came to Being in 1790.Beiling opera was originally staged for the court and came into the public later.In 1828，some famous Hubei troupes came to Beijing.They often jointly performed in the stage with Anhui troupes.The combination gradually formed Beijing operas main melodies.

The Roles Classification in Beijing Opera

The roles of Beijing Opera are strictly classified.There were altogether ten types of roles in the beginning，which were sheng，dan，jing，chou，mo，fu，wai，wu，za，and liu.Later，they were reclassified into four major roles，namely sheng（male），dan（female），iing（painted face），chou（clown）.And each role was further divided.With Beiling Opera becomingbetter and approaching perfection day by day，there have appeared many outstanding performers regarding each type of role.

Yu shuyan，Yan Jupeng，Ma Lianliang，Tan Fuying，Zhou Xinfang，Gao Qingkui，and Li Shaochun are famous laosheng（old men）players；Yang Xiaolou，Shang Heyu，Gai Jiaotian wusheng（young warriors）players；Mei Lanfang，Cheng Yanqiu，Shang Xiaoyun，Xun Huisheng，Zhang Junqiu，Yan Huizhu and Guan Sushuang dan（female）players；Gong Yunpu and Li Duokui lao dan（old women）players；Jin Shaoshan，Hao Shouchen，Hou Xirui，Qiu Shengrong，Fang Rongxiang，and Yuan Shihai ing（painted face）Players；Wang Changlin，Xiao Changhua and Ye Shengzhang chou（clown）players.All of them have a style of their own，playing an important role in the development of Beiling Opera，serving as a link between past and future，and have developed a school of their own.There are many schools of Beijing Opera，with distinctly different styles，each having its own merits.