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.