Beijing and Tianjin are respected as the base cities of Peking opera in the north while Shanghai is the base in the south.Although it is called Beijing opera, its origins are in the Chinese provinces of Anhui and Hubei.

Beijing opera’s two main melodies; Xipi and Erhuang originated from Anhui and Hubei operas. Much dialogue is also carried out in an archaic dialect originating partially from those regions.

It also absorbed music and arias from other operas and musical arts such as the historic Qinqiang as well as being very strongly influenced by Kunqu, the form that preceded it as court art. It is regarded that Beijing opera was born when the Four Great Anhui Troupes came to Beijing in 1790.

Beijing opera was originally staged for the court and came into the public later. In 1828, some famous Hubei troupes came to Beijing. They often jointly performed in the stage with Anhui troupes. The combination gradually formed Beijing opera’s main melodies.

 

The large-scale four-act drama Beiping•1949 will be staged around the National Day at National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA). Written by famous playwright Wang Xingdong and directed by famous director Ren Ming, it focuses on the founding of The People's Republic of China, telling stories happening in 1949, the special year for China. The drama will be performed by actors and actresses from Tianjin People's Art Theatre along with their counterparts from other theatres or troupes in China. With a series of historic events like Beiping-Tianjin Campaign as its background, the drama re-presents the important historic process, from Fu Zuoyi sent Army 35 for the war, refused Chiang Kai-Shek's order of retreating, and sent General Deng Baoshan for negotiation and signed the peace treaty, to Beiping's declaration of peaceful liberation on January 22, 1949. It recalls a soul-stirring history about how Fu Zuoyi, then Kuomintang's commander in chief of North China, being influenced by Mao Zedong's excellent military and political strategy, experienced profound changes and in the end chose to hand over his army.

The drama Beiping•1949 found scenes in well-known places of interest such as Zhongnanhai, Tsinghua University, Zhonghua Gate, Desheng Gate and Yu Qian Temple where is used to honor the Guarding General in Ming Dynasty. When the drama is performed, these historical places as city landmarks of Beijing will be set on stage again. Precious pictures like war scenes and the hand-over ceremony of Beiping will also be re-represented in the form of multi-media. Historical memories, together with tense plots, will once again bring lifelike experience to spectators.

Synopsis
At the end of 1948, after Liaoxi-Shenyang Campaign, the Northeast field army led by Lin Biao started the Beiping-Tianjin Campaign against North China field army led by Nie Rongzhen. General Fu Zuoyi, Kuomintang's commander in chief of North China who was defending Beiping, faced a difficult choice whether to fight or defend, to withdraw or reconcile.

At that time, Chiang Kai-Shek was supervising in Beiping himself, and the commander of American Western Pacific Fleet tried to draw in Fu Zuoyi's army. On the other hand, out of strategic consideration, Mao Zedong and the Central military commission of the Communist Party neither wished Fu Zuoyi to fight, nor to retreat. For the purpose of saving Beiping from being destroyed by war, Mao and the Communist Party had to push Fu Zuoyi to the peaceful way. However, how to persuade this famous general, who had fought against the Japanese Army as well as the Communist Army and who was commanding an army of 500 thousand soldiers together with almost 100 fighter crafts, to give out his army for peace?

With an excellent military and political mind, Mao Zedong applied the scheme of "fight to promote peace". He led his army fighting in Tianjin, which made it difficult for Fu Zuoyi to make a choice. If he took the peaceful way, the Kuomintang's central army inside Beiping would kill him, Chiang Kai-Shek would send a secret agent to kill him in the name of "betraying the country", and his anti-Communist subordinates would also kill him. As for the Communist Party, whom he had been fighting against for many years, how would they deal with him if he handed over his army? Would they kill him or trust him? Fu Zuoyi had to think over and over about this important decision.

Finally, Fu Zuoyi accepted the Communist Party's proposal of "peaceful uprising". He opened the city gate of Beiping and the Kuomintang's army of 250 thousand soldiers got reorganized by the People's Liberation Army. Hence Beiping, the ancient capital, was saved from war. By viewing national benefits as top priority, General Fu Zuoyi also set an example for the rest of Kuomintang armies. He influenced the peaceful uprising of places like Changsha, Xinjiang and Suiyuan, and contributed to liberation of the whole China.

1949 witnessed Beiping's road to peace, and it was the founding year of the People's Republic of China, establishing Beiping, which was changed to the name of Beijing, as its capital city. That year, a new page was opened for China.

*The programme details may vary due to last minute changes.