Posted 2018/6/8
Before coming to Beijing, Anhui performance troupes absorbed the characters of “Er Huang” and “Xi Pi” (Meledy in West China): “Er Huang” featured flat and deep melodies with stable tempos, which is suitable to express the emotions such as deep thinking, sorrow, sigh and grief. It is often used in tragedy stories; “Xi Pi” has lively, forceful and buoyant melodies, which can express happy and firm emotions. The two melodies are the core sounds used in Peking Opera.
In 1790 (the 55th year in the reign of Emperor Qianlong), the Sanqing Troupe headed by Gao Langting (1774 - ?) came to Beijing to attend the celebration of the 80th birthday of Emperor Qianlong (in power from 1736 to 1795). After that, many other Anhui Troupes entered Beijing and performed for the common people. After 50 - 60 years of evolution, the art form took lessons and examples from other operas and became a unique opera – Peking Opera.
After 1860, thanks to the business exchanges and tour performances of troupes, Peking Opera spread to various regions across China. Tianjin and surrounding Hebei and Shandong provinces were the some of the first places where Peking Opera made gains in popularity. Meanwhile, Anhui, Hubei and the three provinces in northeast China were also places with a thriving Peking Opera scene.
In 1867, Peking Opera reached Shanghai. Some renowned Peking Opera performers went to Shanghai, making the city another Peking Opera center similar to Beijing. After Peking Opera was performed in Shanghai, it absorbed new characters. Later Peking Opera was divided into a Beijing Sect and Shanghai Sect.
In 1919, Mei Lanfang (1894 – 1961) led a troupe to Japan to perform Peking Opera. It was the first time Peking Opera was performed abroad.
Today, Peking Opera is China’s largest opera. It ranks No.1 among all operas in China in terms of repertoire, number of performers, number of troupes, audience attendance and influence.