Descendants of a Long Line of Peking Opera Masters

TRADITIONALLY, Peking Opera performance techniques are passed on through succeeding generations of the families of its master exponents, ensuring that excellent performance techniques carry on. It was in the 1790s that this quintessence of Chinese culture emerged in Beijing to be enjoyed on all social levels, from the imperial courtiers to rickshaw drivers, to farmers. Several hundred troupes and countless theaters were established throughout the country, and at its peak, Peking Opera comprised 15 major schools named after its most famous exponents. They included the Tan (Tan Fuying), Mei (Mei Lanfang), Ma (Ma Lianliang), Xun (Xun Huisheng), and Qiu (Qiu Shengrong) schools.

Descendants of a Long Line of Peking Opera Masters

TRADITIONALLY, Peking Opera performance techniques are passed on through succeeding generations of the families of its master exponents, ensuring that excellent performance techniques carry on. It was in the 1790s that this quintessence of