peking opera mask Beijing Opera Facial Masks

Peking opera Origins

Peking opera was born when the ‘Four Great Anhui Troupes’ brought Anhui opera, or what is now called Huiju, to Beijing in 1790, for the birthday of the Qianlong Emperor. It was originally staged for the court and only made available to the public later. In 1828, several famous Hubei troupes arrived in Beijing and performed jointly with Anhui troupes. The combination gradually formed Peking opera’s melodies. Peking opera is generally regarded as having fully formed by 1845.[11] Although it is called Peking opera (Beijing theatre style), its origins are in the southern Anhui and eastern Hubei, which share the same dialect of Xiajiang Mandarin (Lower Yangtze Mandarin). Peking opera’s two main melodies, Xipi and Erhuang, were derived from Anhui opera after about 1750.[12] Xipi literally means ‘Skin Puppet Show’, referring to the puppet show that originated in Shaanxi province. Chinese puppet shows always involve singing. Much dialogue is also carried out in an archaic form of Mandarin Chinese, in which the Zhongyuan Mandarin dialects of Henan and Shaanxi are closest. This form of Mandarin is recorded in the book Zhongyuan Yinyun.

peking opera mask

peking opera mask5