Beijing Opera is the quintessence of China. The largest Chinese opera form, it is extolled as 'Oriental Opera'. Having a history of more than 200 years, it has created many 'firsts' in Chinese dramas: the abundance of repertoires, the number of artists, opera troupes and spectators.

京剧是中国的精髓。它是中国最大的歌剧形式，被赞誉为 "东方歌剧"。它有200多年的历史，创造了中国戏剧的许多 "第一"：剧目丰富，艺术家、剧团和观众的数量。

Beijing Opera is developed from absorbing many other dramatic forms, mostly from the local drama 'Huiban' which was popular in South China during the 18th century. It is a scenic art integrating music, performance, literature, aria, and face-painting. Certain rules are set up and regulations are standardized during many artists' long practice on stage. Different from regional plays, it is stricter on the variety of the workmanship. The combination of virtual and reality - a special technique of expression, keeps it largely free from the restriction of time and space on stage performance. Beijing Opera has had many interesting names since it came into being, such as Jinghuang, Daxi, Pingju, Jingxi.

京剧是在吸收了许多其他戏剧形式的基础上发展起来的，主要来自于18世纪流行于中国南方的地方戏剧 "徽班"。它是一种集音乐、表演、文学、咏叹调和脸谱化为一体的风景艺术。在许多艺术家长期的舞台实践中，制定了一定的规则和规范。与地方戏不同，它对工种的要求更严格。虚实结合--一种特殊的表现手法，使其在很大程度上不受舞台表演的时间和空间的限制。京剧自诞生以来有许多有趣的名字，如“京簧”、“大戏”、“平剧”（北京曾称为北平）、京戏。

Although it is called Peking Opera, the origins of Peking Opera are not in Beijing but in the provinces of Anhui (East China) and Hubei (South-central China). Its rise is due in great part to the favorable eyes and patronage of the imperial royalties.

虽然被称为京剧，但京剧的起源并不在北京，而是在安徽省（中国东部）和湖北省（中国中南部）。它的崛起在很大程度上要归功于皇室的青睐和赞助。

Peking opera grew out of Huiju opera, a folk opera originally popular in the regions south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Due to the strong mobility of Huiju troupes, performers were exposed to frequent contact with other types of drama, incorporating different regional musical systems and tunes. In 1790, to celebrate the eightieth birthday of the Qianlong Emperor (reigned 1736-1795), the Four Great Anhui Troupes brought Huiju opera to Beijing to join the celebration. Their performances soon found an audience, marking the beginning of the more than 200 years of history of Peking opera.

京剧起源于清代早期（1644-1911）流行于长江下游以南地区的一种民间戏曲徽剧。由于徽剧团的流动性很强，表演者经常接触其他类型的戏剧，融入不同的地区的音乐体系和曲调。1790年，为了庆祝乾隆皇帝（1736年-1795年在位）八十大寿，安徽四大剧团将徽剧带到北京参加庆祝活动。他们的表演很快吸引了观众，标志着京剧200多年历史的开始。

The characters staged in Peking opera are not based on the appearance of people in daily life. Artistic exaggerations are applied in elaboration of makeup and costumes according to gender, personality, age, occupation, and social status of the roles in different plays.

京剧中的人物并不是以人们在日常生活中的外表为基础的。根据不同剧中角色的性别、性格、年龄、职业和社会地位，在化妆和服装的制作中使用了艺术夸张。

In general, the roles on the stage are divided into four categories: Sheng (male), Dan (female), Jing (male, painted-face characters) and Chou (male, clowns). Each character has a different age, gender and social status. Sheng is the main male role in Peking Opera. Dan is a female character. However, interestingly, young male performers actually play this role as women were prohibited from acting until 1912. In Mandarin, “jing” means clean. The face paint does not make the character appear clean, so the word “jing” is used in a contradictory sense. “Chou” means ugly. The actors who play the chou roles have a white dot drawn on their noses. This feature means they are supposed to be ugly. Generally, actors are trained for one category of role; crossover artists are exceptionally talented and rare.

一般来说，舞台上的角色分为四类：生（男）、旦（女）、净（男，脸谱演员）和丑（男，小丑）。每个角色都有不同的年龄、性别和社会地位。生是京剧中的主要男性角色。旦是女性角色。然而，有趣的是，年轻的男演员实际上扮演这个角色，因为1912年之前，女性不允许表演。在普通话中，“净”的意思是干净，然而角色脸上的脸谱使这个角色看上去并不干净，所以“净”实际是相反的意思。“丑”的意思是丑陋。扮演丑角的演员鼻子上画了一个白点。这个特性意味着它们是丑的。一般来说，演员只扮演一类角色；跨界艺术家是非常有天赋和罕见的。

1. Sheng (生)

It's a common name of male characters and composed of Lao Sheng,  Xiao Sheng and Wu Sheng. Lao Sheng refers to the middle-aged man with a beard who acts as the decency figure; for example, Zhugeliang in 'Empty City Scheme'. Xiao Sheng means young man without a beard. Zhangsheng in 'The Story of the West Room' is a representative of Xiao Sheng. Wu Sheng mainly plays brave warriors or heroes of the forest.

这是一个常见的男性角色名称，由老生、小生、武生组成。老生指的是有胡子的中年男子，他扮演的是正派人物；例如《空城计》中的朱葛亮。小生指没有胡子的年轻人。《西厢记》中的张生就是小生的代表。武生主要扮演的是勇猛战将或是绿林英雄。

2. Dan (旦)

The general name for female characters can be divided into Zhengdan, Huadan, Laodan, Wudan. Zhengdan is also called 'Qingyi', who mainly plays the part of the strong-minded middle-aged woman who behaves elegantly. Huadan refers to little girls who often live in the bottom of society. Laodan refers to the senior woman and Wudan indicates the female who is good at fighting.

女性角色的一般名称可分为正旦、花旦、老旦、武旦。正旦也叫 "青衣"，主要扮演思想坚强、举止优雅的中年妇女。花旦指的是经常生活在社会底层的小姑娘。老旦指的是高级女性，武旦表示善于战斗的女性。

3. Jing （净)

Jingxing is commonly known as painted face and are generally male roles. It can be divided into ①the first painted face: the loyal generals of higher status, steady demeanor; ② the second painted face: mostly the brash and reckless characters; ③ Wu Jing: a role based on martial arts.

净行俗称花脸，又叫花面。一般都是扮演男性角色。净行可分为正净（大花脸）：地位较高，举止稳重的忠臣良将。副净（二花脸）：俗称架子花脸，大多扮演性格粗豪莽撞的人物。武净（武花脸）：以武打为主的角色。

4. Chou (丑)

Chou, obviously, is the opposite of "handsome". The characters played by the them are not all bad guys, but most of them have to put a piece of white powder on the bridge of their nose, and their image is ugly after all. They are  divided into Wen Chou and Wu Chou.  Wen Chou means a scholar, and Wu Chou  specializes in martial arts roles such as falling, fighting, flipping and pouncing.

丑，其实不用解释，无非是相对于“俊”来说的。人们不是常说“丑扮”、“俊扮”吗？“丑角”扮演的人物虽不全是坏人，但大都须在鼻梁上抹一块白粉，其形象毕竟是丑的。丑行又分文丑、武丑。文丑意为文人，儒生；武丑，专演跌、打、翻、扑等武技角色。