Originally a form of local theatre，Peking Opera spread all over the country and then became the national opera of China。About 200 years ago，the Qing Emperor Qianlong toured in southern China and developed an interest in the local operas。On his 80th birthday，he let local opera troupes come to Beijing to perform for him。Some remained in Beijing after the celebration。The ones from Anhui and Hubei were incorporated with the palace opera-Kunqu Opera，which formed the Peking Opera。Peking Opera combines stylized acting with singing，dancing，musical dialogues，martial arts，colorful facial make-up and fantastic costumes。
Male roles are“Sheng”，and clowns are“Chou”。Each role，according to their sex，age and disposition，is characterized by different designs of facial make-up，say，Jing representing a rough，frank character and Hua Face representing a cruel or sinister character。So the audience can easily tell what kind of character an actor is performing。Facial make-up，costumes and head-dresses are wonderful works of traditional art。
In the past，both Dan and Sheng roles were played by male actors，but now they also can be played by female。It is necessary to see Peking Opera while you are in China，just as seeing an opera while in Italy。There are also some other types of opera staged in China，such as Kunqu Opera，Pingju Opera and Hebei Bangzi as well as other operas from different places。
京剧本来是一种地方性的戏剧表演形式，由于它传遍中国大江南北，深受群众欢迎与喜爱，所以就慢慢演变成了代表中国艺术特色的全国性戏剧。大约在200多年前，清朝的乾隆皇帝在南巡时，对地方上的戏剧产生了浓厚的兴趣。于是，在他80岁生日的时候，下旨传召了很多地方上的戏剧表演团来京为他祝寿。部分戏剧表演者在表演结束后，就留在了北京。这些来自安徽与湖北的表演家将昆曲与宫廷戏剧相结合，逐步演变和发展成了后来享誉中国的“京剧”。京剧表演融合了唱、念、作、打等多种艺术表现形式，辅以五彩缤纷的服装道具以及化妆。
在京剧中，男性的角色被称作“生”，小丑被称作“丑”。每个角色都会依照他们的性别、年龄及个性，在脸上画不同的脸谱，比如说“净”代表的是一个凶神恶煞坦率直白的角色，而“花”脸则是邪恶与残酷的代表。这样，观众可以很容易地分清这些演员所扮演的角色是什么样的性格。化妆、服饰、行头—这些都是令人称奇的艺术品。
在过去，京剧中的角色只能由男性扮演，而现在，无论是男人还是女人，都可以登台演出了。当你来到中国的时候，一定要去看一场京剧，就像是你到了意大利一定要去听一场歌剧一样。当然，中国还有很多其它的戏剧，比如说“昆曲”、“评剧”、“河北邦子”等等。
Beijing opera or Peking opera is a kind of Chinese opera which arose in the mid-19th century and was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court。It is widely regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China。Beijing and Tianjin are respected as the base cities of Peking opera in the north while Shanghai is the base in the south。Although it is called Beijing opera，its origins are in the Chinese provinces of Anhui and Hubei。
Beijing opera's two main melodies：Xipi and Erhuang originated from Anhui and Hubei operas。Much dialogue is also carried out in an archaic dialect originating partially from those regions。It also absorbed music and arias from other operas and musical arts such as the historic Qinqiang as well as being very strongly influenced by Kunqu，the form that preceded it as court art。It is regarded that Beijing opera was born when the Four Great Anhui Troupes came to Beijing in 1790.Beijing opera was originally staged for the court and came into the public later。In 1828，some famous Hubei troupes came to Beijing。They often jointly performed in the stage with Anhui troupes。The combination gradually formed Beijing opera's main melodies。
京剧是中国式戏剧的一种，兴起于19世纪中期，到清朝达到全盛时期。它被看成是中国文化艺术的瑰宝。北京和天津被认为是京剧的北方根据地，而上海则是它的南方根据地。虽然它被称为京剧，但是它的起源地却是中国的安徽省和湖北省。
京剧有两种韵律，源于安徽和湖北的西皮和二黄。一些京剧段子就是从这些地方的古老方言中衍生出来的。它同样从其它戏曲和音乐艺术中吸取了音乐和唱腔，比如历史上著名的秦腔，同时也受了在宫廷艺术方面领先于它的昆曲的影响。京剧据说诞生于1790年四大安徽剧团入京表演的时候。京剧先是一种宫廷表演艺术，而后才慢慢普及到民间。1828年，一些著名的湖北剧团进京。他们经常和安徽剧团同台演出，然后渐渐演变为京剧的主旋律。
Peking opera is a synthesis of stylized action，singing，dialogue and mime，acrobatic fighting and dancing to represent a story or depict different characters and their feelings of gladness，anger，sorrow，happiness，surprise，fear and sadness。In Peking opera there are four main types of roles：sheng（male），dan（young female），jing（painted face，male），and chou（clown，male or female）。The characters may be loyal or treacherous，beautiful or ugly，good or bad，their images being vividly manifested。
The repertoire of Peking opera is mainly engaged in fairy tales of preceding dynasties，important historical events，emperors，ministers and generals，geniuses and great beauties，from the ancient times to Yao，Shun，Yu，the Spring and Autumn Period，the Warring States Period and the dynasties of Qin，Han，Sui，Tang，Song，Yuan，Ming，Qing。
The music of Peking opera is that of the“plate and cavity style”。Its melody with harmonious rhythms is graceful and pleasing to the ears。The performance is accompanied by a tune played on wind instruments，percussion instruments and stringed instruments，the chief musical instruments being jinghu，yueqin，Sanxian，suona horn，flute，drum，big-gong，cymbals，small-gong，etc。
The costumes in Peking opera are graceful，magnificent，elegant and brilliant，most of which are made in handicraft embroidery。As the traditional Chinese patterns are adopted，the costumes are of a high aesthetic value。
The types of facial make-ups in Peking opera are rich and various，depicting different characters and remarkable images，therefore they are highly appreciated。Moreover there are numerous fixed editions of facial make-up。
京剧集合动作、歌唱、对话和独白、杂技、舞蹈为一体，讲述一个故事或刻画不同人物并表现他们的情感，如开心、愤怒、伤心、喜悦、惊奇、害怕和悲痛。京剧里一般有四类角色：生（男子）、旦（青年女子）、净（花脸，男）、丑（小丑，男女皆有）。无论忠奸、美丑或是好坏，都能在京剧里得以生动地表现。
京剧的剧目多以前朝的民间故事、历史时间、历代皇帝大臣或才子佳人的故事为题材，从远古到尧、舜、禹，到春秋、战国时代，还有秦、汉、唐、宋、元、明、清各朝。
京剧的曲调基本上属于“板腔体”，音调和谐，悦耳动听。伴奏乐器包括管乐器、打击乐器和弦乐器，主要有京胡、月琴、三弦，还有唢呐、笛、鼓、大锣、铙钹、小锣等。
京剧的戏服色彩鲜艳，工艺精细，大多经过手工编制而成。在服饰设计开始采用中国传统模式之后，京剧的戏服也相对具有很高的欣赏价值。
京剧脸谱样式多样，表现丰富，刻画出性格各异的人物形象，因此受到高度的赞赏。另外，脸谱还有几个固定的表现模式，但是形式可以丰富多样。
Beijing opera mask
Facial makeup in Beijing opera，is a special feature of a national cosmetic。As each historical figure or a certain type of person has an approximate spectral type，like singing and playing music to the music，so called“types of facial makeup in operas”。On the sources of types of facial makeup in operas，the general view is from mask。
Types of Beijing opera facial makeup are based on certain personality，temperament or some special types of figures for the use of certain colors。Red has expressed his Warriors of strong types of facial makeup such as Guan Yu，Jiang Wei，Chang Yuchun；Black said the types of facial makeup refers to criticized people，integrity，bravery and even reckless，such as Bao Zheng and Zhang Fei，Li Kui；Yellow types of facial makeup represent vicious brutality，such as Yuwen Chengdu，and Dian Wei。Blue or green types of facial makeup refer to the figures represented irritable，such as Ambassador Dou，Ma Wu；General treacherous court official is represented by the white type of facial makeup，bad guys，such as Cao Cao，Zhao Gao。
In the past 200 years，numerous schools and celebrated performers have emerged。Many of them are emulated by modern-day actors and actresses。Peking Opera represents an important part of Chinese culture and has become a refined form of art as a result of the hard work of hundreds of artists over the past two centuries。
京剧脸谱
京剧脸谱，是具有民族特色的一种特殊的化妆方法。由于每个历史人物或某一种类型的人物都有一种大概的谱式，就像唱歌、奏乐都要按照乐谱一样，所以称为“脸谱”。关于脸谱的来源，一般的说法是来自假面具。
京剧脸谱，是根据某种性格、性情或某种特殊类型的人物采用某些色彩。红色脸谱表示忠勇士义烈，如关羽、姜维、常遇春；黑色的脸谱表示刚烈、正直、勇猛甚至鲁莽，如包拯、张飞、李逵等；黄色的脸谱表示凶狠残暴，如宇文成都、典韦。蓝色或绿色的脸谱表示一些粗豪暴躁的人物，如窦尔敦、马武等；白色的脸谱一般表示奸臣、坏人，如曹操、赵高等。
在过去二百年里，大量的流派和表演大师出现，他们中许多人成为现代演员的仿效对象。两个世纪以来，由于很多艺术家的辛苦工作，京剧已经发展成一门完善的艺术形式，它代表了中国艺术很重要的一部分。