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To celebrate the 80th birthday of Qianlong Emperor in Qing Dynasty, the “Four Great Anhui Troupes” brought Anhui Opera to Beijing, which later developed to Beijing Opera.
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Several famous Hubei troupes arrived in Beijing and performed jointly with Anhui Troupes. The combination gradually formed Beijing Opera’s melodies.
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Several influential troupes were established and stabilized, contributing to further communication between Hubei Opera and Anhui Opera, fully forming the foundation for Beijing Opera.
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The Empress Dowager Cixi became a regular patron of Peking opera, cementing its status over earlier forms like Anhui Opera.
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The first commercial venue showcasing female performance troupes appeared in Shanghai. This encouraged other female troupes to from, which gradually increased in popularity. Before than, women were forbidden form performing in Beijing Opera.
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Mei Lanfang, a famous Dan (male performer) artist in Beijing Opera, visited the United States for Opera performances, and received warm welcome form local people. Beijing Opera became famous worldwide.
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Among the Eight Model Plays (art performances approved by the government), five were Beijing Operas. Performances of works beyond the eight model plays were allowed only in heavily modified form. The endings of many traditional plays were changed, and visible stage assistants in Peking opera were eliminated.
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After the Cultural Revolution, Beijing Opera began to be performed in its traditional form in the late 1970s.
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Beijing Opera was enlisted into the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity of the UNESCO, indicating its important status and art value in international community.
