What is Peking Opera?

Peking Opera is a classic form of Chinese performance art combining music, singing, miming, dancing, and history. It emerged in the late 18th century, gained popularity in the 19th century, and is now considered a Chinese cultural treasure.

There are four main character roles: Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou. Each has a different age, gender, and social status. Sheng is the main male role. Dan is a female character, historically played by young male performers until 1912. Jing, meaning 'clean' in Mandarin but used contradictorily, refers to painted-face characters. Chou, meaning 'ugly,' are clown-like characters often marked with a white dot on their noses.

Masks represent different characteristics. Red signifies prosperity, intelligence, and bravery. Purple suggests justice and sophistication. Black is neutral, while green and yellow masks represent negative traits like violence and cruelty, respectively. Contrary to Western symbolism, a white mask stands for evil.

Actors train from early childhood, mastering singing, dancing, acting, and martial arts. The training was historically rigorous; pupils lived in special schools, indebted to their trainers, with exhausting daily schedules from 5 AM until evening.

Peking Opera uses symbolic actions to convey a different reality. For example, an actor walking in circles symbolizes traveling long distances, and using a whip indicates galloping on horseback.