Abstract: The special historical background of modern China made the modern construction of traditional art embark on a different path from that of the West. Through a careful examination of the preparatory process of Mei Lanfang's performance tour to the United States in 1930, this paper concluded that, unlike modern Western art, which had to confront the impact of rationalization and marketization after breaking away from religious and political dependence, Peking Opera, as traditional leisure entertainment, is influenced by Western artistic trends and thus shows the development orientation of actively pursuing "instrumentalization" and "de-cmmodification". At the same time, as an unintended consequence of the "National Opera Movement", Peking Opera became China's "National Opera", shouldering the historical mission of carrying forward traditional culture, a mission that was accomplished by adapting Western modern artistic concepts to traditional Peking Opera. Through examples of modern intellectual such as Qi Rushan and his transformative influence on Mei Lanfang and Peking Opera, this study illustrated how modern intellectuals as the main force of this change used the innovative concept of "combining Chinese and Western, integrating ancient and modern" to make art a popular fashion across classes and countries, and to transform traditional art with the lofty ideal of "saving the nation and promoting the glory of the country". In turn, Peking Opera has found a realistic balance between "art for art's sake" and "art for society's sake", and has become a popular art form enjoyed by different classes and is simultaneously international and national. The reform history of Modern Peking Opera provides guidance for us to explore the direction of "cultural consciousness" today.

Key words: Peking Opera, Chinese drama movement, Mei Lanfang's tour to the United States, modern transformation, cultural consciousness