Peking Opera

Peking Opera is not the indigenous opera of Beijing, but a new opera that formed by absorbing several operas that were in Beijing, with a history of over 2 centuries till now. Rooted in the rich soil of Eastern culture, Peking Opera is fundamentally different from Western dramas. For modern people who watch Peking Opera for this first time, they may feel hard to understand. However, after knowing the artistic characteristics and cultural connotation of it, you will find it very interesting. Maybe some morning you will suddenly find yourself in love with Peking Opera.

Seeing a Peking Opera performance for the first time, a foreigner wouldwonder: why are faces of actors painted red, white, black, yellow or green? Are they masks?  But masks are separate from the face. Facial make-upsin Peking Opera are different from masks. Intrigued, many foreign touristswould go backstage to see actors and actresses remove stage makeupand costume. Next time, they would go there before a performance startsto see how performers do their makeup. Luciano Pararotti, the great tenorof international fame, once had a Peking Opera actor paint on his face themakeup of Xiang Yu, a valiant ancient warrior portrayed in numerous Peking Opera plays.

(Cultural China Series)