This study examined whether Peking Opera has the elements of theatrical therapy through the Republican period of China when Peking Opera was of much prevalence. In the first text, the audiences of Peking Opera during the Republican period of China were classified into four types according to their characteristics. The first type is political figures, the second type is the merchant class, the third type is the literati class, and the fourth type is the general citizen class. Next, the preferences of the different types of audiences for watching Peking Opera were looked into. It was found out that revolutionary dramas and dramas dealing with current events were loved during the period from the late Qing dynasty to the early Republican China, but due to the reflux of revolutionary passion and the emergence and increase of female audiences, story-centered family ethics dramas became popular.
In the second text, the cases were found out from the magazines published during the Republican period of China and the books casting light upon the events during the period that the audiences at that time might have felt emotional comfort by watching Peking Opera. As shown in the cases, it could be said that the emotional comfort felt by the viewers who saw Peking Opera is like their experience of catharsis, through which healing could be associated with theatrical therapy.
The therapeutical possibility of Peking Opera is not limited to the Republican period of China but exists even today. Like other traditional arts, it is necessary to actively promote these therapeutical possibilities of Peking Opera and to establish its systematic therapeutical techniques in order to revive the Peking Opera in crisis and maximize it as a cultural industry.