How old is Beijing Opera?

Peking Opera, also known as "Pihuang", consists of two basic tones: Xipi and Huanger. It also sings some local tunes (such as Liu Zi Opera and Blowing Opera) and Kunqu Qupai. 1840 was formed in Beijing and prevailed in 1930s and 40s. It is sometimes called "National Opera". It is still a big drama with national influence. It is the representative of China modern opera, with comprehensive business, mature performance and magnificent momentum. Chinese Peking Opera is the quintessence of China with a history of 200 years. The name of Peking Opera first appeared in Shenbao in the second year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1876). Historically, it has been called Pihuang, Huang Er, Huang Qiang, Peking Opera, Pingju, National Opera and so on. In the fifty-fifth year of Qing Qianlong (1790), four Anhui Huizhou classes entered Beijing, where they became attached to Kunqu opera, Han opera and Yiyang. Its rich repertoire, the number of performing artists, the number of troupes, the number of audiences and the profound influence are the highest in the country. Peking Opera is a comprehensive performing art, that is, singing (singing), reciting (reciting), acting (acting), fighting (martial arts) and dancing (dancing) are integrated. Through programmed performance means, stories are told, characters are portrayed, and thoughts and feelings of "happiness, anger, sadness, joy, surprise, fear and sadness" are expressed. Roles can be divided into four categories: raw (male), Dan (female), pure (male) and ugly (both male and female). Characters are divided into loyalty, ugliness, good and evil. Every image is vivid. The state attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On May 20th, 2006, Peking Opera was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.