京剧并非北京土生土长的戏曲，而是由中国南方入京的徽班艺人和汉调艺人相互借鉴，并吸收了当时流星于北京多个剧种的优长而形成的新剧种，迄今已有二百年的历史。京剧植根于东方文化这块丰厚的土壤，与西方戏曲有着根本的差异。第一次看到京剧的现代人，难免会对京剧产生某种距离感，听不懂也看不懂。但假如了解了京剧的艺术特点和文化内涵，就会发觉一切是那么有兴味，说不定在某个早晨，耳边传来了咿呀弹唱，你忽然发觉自己已经爱上了京剧。

Seeing a Peking Opera performance for the first time, a foreigner would wonder: why are faces of actors painted red, white, black, yellow or green?Are they masks? But masks are separate from the face. Facial make-ups in Peking Opera are different from masks. Intrigued, many foreign tourists would go backstage to see actors and actresses remove stage makeup and costume. Next time, they would go there before a performance starts to see how performers do their makeup. Luciano Pararotti, the great tenor of international fame, once had a Peking Opera actor paint on his face the makeup of Xiang Yu, a valiant ancient warrior portrayed in numerous Peking Opera plays.

Foreword i

The Birth and Evolution of Peking Opera

 Anhui Troups Moved into Beijing

 The Art of Listening, Old-Style Theaters

 Old Beijing in Peking Opera's Heyday

 Theatrical Companies and Old-Style Opera Schools

 Theaters, Temple Fairs and Tanghui

The Stage, Props And Orchestra

 A Table and Two Chairs

 Wen Wu Chang

Performing Art

 Four Roles of Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou

 Acting

 Singing, Dancing and Acting Skills

 "Realms" of Acting

Performers and Performing Schools

 Nan Dan, or Men Playing Female Roles

 Generations of Famous Actors

 Mei Lanfang, FamousDan Impersonator

Classic Plays

Modern Peking Operas

Conventions of Peking Opera

It Is Not Easy to Appreciate Peking Opera

Peking Opera in the Contemporary Era

Appendix: Chronological Table of the Chinese Dynasties