1. The Beijing Opera Louise S. McGehee School Emily and Victoria English I 2005 (“More Imagery from Mongolia”)

2. Must-Know Facts The Beijing Opera is also known as the Peking Opera to most Westerners. This is because Westerners used to know Beijing itself, the biggest city in China, as Peking when Great Britain tried to colonize the large country. The Beijing Opera’s two main pieces are Xi Pi and Er Huang, which originated in Anhui and Hubei. The opera consists of singing, dialogue, mime, acrobatics, and dancing to tell a story and illustrate the characters’ feelings.

3. The Beginning of the Beijing Opera This elaborate form of entertainment originated in the small Chinese provinces of Anhui and Hubei. It first began when the Four Great Anhui Troupes came to Beijing in 1790. Later on in the early 1800s, the Hubei troupes came to Beijing and the two operas would occasionally do a joint performance. At first these artistic presentations were only performed for the royal family, but later on they were opened to the public. (“Visions of China: Interactive Map”)

4. Closed-Country Policy Throughout history the Chinese have chosen, like Japan, to have an isolated form of government. It used to be that a country had to send a representative to visit the Chinese emperor if they wished to be part of China’s trade. Then the emperor would decide if they were worthy. Fairly recently, in 1912, the Forbidden City became open to all Chinese Citizens, but people not of Chinese heritage were not allowed in. However, in the last half of the 1900s, the Forbidden City became the Palace Museum, open to all public. In 1906, the Empress of China decided to westernize their government somewhat, but this reform would take over 40 years. After this reform, China still had limits on who entered their country. In 1971 the first American group, a table tennis team, entered China for the first time since 1971. Soon after, President Nixon arrived in China to form small ties with the country. The Beijing Opera has been an excellent way to form a bridge from China to other western countries that their isolation forbid them to cross, so that now, the rest of the world can experience the Chinese culture that the Beijing Opera displays so perfectly.

5. The Influential Opera Mei Lanfang (picture above) was the grandmaster of the Peking Opera in the early 1900s. He helped the Peking Opera and China come out to the world since their times of isolation. Since then, the opera has been invited to perform in the United States, England, France, Germany, Italy, and many other countries. (“Introduction of Peking Opera”)

6. The Intricate Roles Sheng : main male role Dan : young and beautiful female Jing : painted faced male Chou : clown, male or female DAN CHOU (“Chinese Opera Experience”) (“Beijing Opera”)

7. Behind the Scenes Intricate costumes with bright colors and detailed patterns Face painting is a very important aspect of the opera. –The makeup artists spend hours perfecting the shapes and lines on the performers’ faces. The breathtaking dance moves captivate the audience. –They use props and makeup to help portray their stories to the audience. (“Taiwan Normal University”)(“Beijing Opera”) (“China pictorial”)

8. Works Cited Beck, Roger B., et al. Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, Il: McDougal Littell, 2003. “Beijing Opera.” Living in China- Beijing. China Pictorial. 2002-2003. January 2005. “The Beijing Opera.” Taiwan Normal University. 5 January 2005. “Beijing Opera.” Travel China Guide.Com. 1998. 5 January 2005. <http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/arts/beijing_ opera/facial.htm> “Chinese Opera Experience.” Travel in Taiwan Experience. 2005. Vision International Publishing Co. 5 January 2005. “Introduction of Peking Opera.” Chinapage. Ming L. Pei. 1995. 4 January 2005.

9. Works Cited “Introduction of Peking Opera.” Chinapage. Ming L. Pei. 1995. 4 January 2005. “More Beijing Opera.” More Imagery from Mongolia and Beijing. 5January 2005. Pei, Ming. “Beijing Opera.” Intro of Peking (Beijing) Opera. 1995-2005. China the Beautiful. 5 January 2005. “Visions of China: Interactive Map.” CNN. 5 January 2005. <http://www.cnn.com/interactive/libraries/ maps/content2000.html> Wang, Xu-Ming. “Beijing Opera.” Chinapage. Ming L. Pei. 1995. 3 January 2005.