Peking Opera

Peking opera (jingju) is the dominant form of Chinese opera, a total theatre of sung aria, stylised speech, mime, dance and acrobatic combat performed to a small ensemble led by the jinghu fiddle and a battery of percussion. Role types (sheng, dan, jing, chou) are fixed by vocal production, costume and painted-face design, and a repertory of several hundred plays draws on history, legend and classical fiction. Formed in Beijing around 1840 from Anhui and Hubei troupes, it produced in *Mei Lanfang* its most famous performer and remains China's emblematic stage art.