Chinese operas combine singing, reciting, acting and martial arts. It is not easy for an actor to attain the high level of the performing art. He should perform realistically as well as artistically, so that the audiences get a fascinating, intoxicating enjoyment through his performance.
In a sense, the actor’s performance not only gives enjoyment to the audience, but also gives enjoyment to him. As was stated orally by Zhang Defu in the “Keys to Learning Opera”: “On the stage I am no longer myself. For the role of a devoted minister I should be loyal and just, commanding the respect of the audience; for the role of a treacherous minister I should be crafty and ugly; for the role of a chaste lady I should be quiet and beautiful, arousing the admiration of the audience; for the role of a wanton woman I should be licentious and flippant; for the role of the aged I should look old and senile; for the role of a juvenile I should be na?ve and lively. I should display the right mentality, and show the right spirit”. In fine, the actor should present the right image and blend himself with his role, to display the role’s mentality and behaviors, in order to present a superb performance.
Playwrights used to remark: “What exists in the world exists in the dramas; what exists in the dramas exists in the world”. When a scene is going to be staged, the actor for that type of role will study the role and decide how to act. For example, scuffling in daily life often incurs wounds and bleeding. But on the stage scuffling should be aesthetic and worth watching. The drama “Orphan Zhao” was staged in the Yuan dramas and then Kunqu and then in Beijing opera, with a scene of Chen Yin beating Gongsun Chujiu. The scene in 
Beijing opera was presented in the following manner: First, Chen Yin swings his long beard to the left side, and throws the whip from the left to the right, beating the right of Gongsun. Then Chen Yin swings the long beard to the right side and throws the whip from the right to the left beating the left of Gongsun. The set of movements matches with the facial expressions of actors and the banging of the going, exhibiting an aesthetic and realistic sight. For another example, in the opera “Cosmic Sword” the character Zhao Yanrong feigns madness.
Her moves on the stage are vigorous but convey sadness and indignation rather than imbecility. Even her face scarred from bleeding looks somehow charming and witty. For yet another example : in “The West Chamber” the scholar Zhan Junrui suffers from lovesickness , stays in an inn and dreams of his sweetheart . His ill-looking complexion and staggering paces arouse the audience’s sympathy rather than detestation. No matter the beating scene, the madness scene or the sickness scene, the actor acts both aesthetically and realistically. Zhang Decheng, a famous opera actor sums up as follows: “The actor presents the truth in life, not the true life. What is not the true life can give a truthful impression when acted vividly. The good actor forgets himself, but enlivens his role.” The “separation and reunion of the spirit and appearance” is the highest demand on an actor.
