When you enter a Chinese oper theater in China, the first thing you notice is a brilliant, lavishly embroidered hanging. Performers then stride on stage to the sound of strings and woodwinds or to the clanging of gongs and drums.

First may be a handsome, sturdy young man in warrior garb, somersaulting across stage and displaying his martial arts skills. Next may follow a young woman veiled by strings of pearls and dressed in silk brocade, singing in a gentle, feminine voice and performing a billowing dance. Then there is the famous Monkey King, Sun Wu-Kung, of the opera Journey to the West, with his twitching, scratching and mischievous simian antics. These characters are all representative of China's traditional national opera, or Peking opera.

Opera viewing has long been a popular entertainment enjoyed by both the comment people as well as China's royalty and aristocracy. Libretto and musical score writing attracted the participation of literati and the gentry. The T'and dynasty emperor Ming Huang (712-755 A.D., also known as Hsuan Tsung) and emperor Chuang Tsung (923-925 A.D.) of the later T'and are considered the "honorary fathers of Chinese opera" for their enthusiastic support of the art. Their main claim to this title was their technical knowledge of music. Emperor Hsuan Tsung founded the Pear Garden Academy, a music-and-dance performing troupe within the court. In later times, opera singing was referred to as the "pear garden profession," and opera performers as "pear garden brothers."

Librettos fro Peking operas feature both tragic and comic elements, interspersed with singing, dancing and poetic narration to dramatize historical events and popular legends. Another style of performance is dialog rendered in Language close to everyday speech and pantomime executed with ordinary gestures. Heartwarming humor reflects and satirizes society, while being educational and entertaining.

The character roles of Peking opera are distinguished on the basis of sex, age and personality. The four main character types are the Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou.

The Sheng is a male character, which is further subdivided into the elderly sheng, the young sheng and the martial sheng. The elderly sheng is a middle-aged to old man who wears a beard, and delivers his lines in a stately, serious fashion. The young sheng is the dashing young lover. The martial sheng is skilled in martial arts; included in this category is the role of the mischievous Monkey King, Sun Wu-Kung.

Dan refers to various female roles, including the elderly dan, the dan dressed in green, the flower dan, the martial dan, and the sword-horse dan. The elderly dan is an older woman whose singing style corresponds to that of the elderly male sheng. The dan dressed in green is a younger of middle-aged woman who is good, rational and upright. The flower dan may be an innocent and outgoing girl or flirtatious and sassy. The matial dan is a skilled fighter who ofter plays a female sprite in myths. The sword-horse dan falls somewhere between the flower dan and the martial dan. She is a female general who is bold and outgoing and equally skilled in letters and the military arts.

The Jing role is a strong-willed male character, either straightfoward or scheming. His facial make-up is greatly exaggerated, so this role can be identified at a glance. The designs and colors employed all have specific meanings. For example, red symbolizes loyalty and courage, blue, a calculating nature, and white, a deceitful and conniving individual. Silver and gold are reserved for the exclusive use of spirits and gods. A face that is made up in a straightfoward and consistent manner is called a "complete face." One that incorporates many diverse elements is referred to as a "fragmented face." Facial make-up in Chinese opera, besides giving information about the personality traits and mindset of a character, also has inherent artistic merit.

The tradition that has evolved around the Chou, a clown character, is a very special one. The Chou is a jocular, satirizing character who weaves his impromptu comic relief in and out of the performance, winning the audience over to his side. He also steps out to make objective editorial comments on what is happening in the story.

The costumes worn in Chinese opera performances are broadly based on the dress current in China about four centuries ago, during the Ming dynasty. Exaggerated flowing sleeves, pennants worn on the backs of military officers, and pheasant feathers used in headwear were added to heighten the dramatic effect of the stage choreography. These extra touches bring out the various levels of gestures and the rhythm of the movement. Like facial make-up, Chinese opera costumes are not only about being aesthetically appealing. In the past, Chinese opera singers would rather wear a worn and torn costume than one that did not correctly represent the character they were portraying.

Chinese opera was orighinally performed against only a backdrop, with the other three sides open. The set is extremely simple. It includes a table, which might statnd in for a desk, an official's table, or even a hill or bridge. Spatial transitions from one place to another are smooth and economic. The actors have over the centuries developed a set of sophisticated formulae of stylized symbolism. The beards worn by male characters; flowing sleeves, fans, and colored satin ribbons used in dance; and weapons used in fighting are all different types of banners that represent extensions of human limbs. All require a high degree of skill to manipulate and embody rich theatrical meaning. Actors must receive strict training in reciting style, eye movements, hand gestures, and gait that express the thought and emotions of the opera character.

In the past, Peking opera tended to be a "theater for actors." Actors drew on a tradition in which they were well-versed to give extemporaneous performances. The moon lute, two-stringed violin, and drum players, who provide the musical accompaniment for the opera, had to cultivate a high defree of sensitivity to and coordination with the actors through years of working together to be able to flow with the performance. Modern Chinese opera, however, is now set in a bot-type stage, and a director system, stage design, and professional lighting are gradually being introduced. These new features serve to enhance the performance and viewing experience, while not being allowed to violate the traditional core of the opera.