皮黃腔是西皮、二黃兩腔結合並存的復合腔調：西皮腔與襄陽調、楚調為同實異名，論其根源則為山陝梆子流入湖北襄陽，與襄陽土腔結合，因楚為湖北之簡稱與古稱，故被稱為「楚調」或「襄陽調」；而湖北人習慣稱唱詞為「皮」，山陝梆子實由西方傳入，所以簡稱之「西皮」。「西皮調」最早於明崇禎間已流行大江南北，康熙間流入江蘇、福建，乾隆間又擴及廣東、浙江、四川、雲南、貴州、江西等省。二黃腔實出江西宜黃，為明萬曆間向外流播的西秦腔二犯為宜黃土腔所吸收而再向外流播者，流播至江蘇、浙江時，由於當地方言音轉變之關係，其稱呼乃有「宜黃」、「宜王」、「二黃」、「二王」等四種寫法，終於以「二黃」最為流行。宜黃腔在康熙、乾隆之際，已在北京和花部諸腔並嶄頭角，也應當在乾隆之前流入江蘇、浙江、安徽、和湖北。西皮、二黃兩腔的合流，在乾隆間應當首先在湖北襄陽，其次在北京和揚州。乾隆末至嘉慶初，徽班主要仍以皮黃合京、秦二腔演出，其後逐漸側重皮黃，終以皮黃為主，於道光二十年前後，皮黃在北京京化完成，又經過咸豐、同治至光緒使京劇達到成熟的時期。京劇也向全國各地流播，有單純之皮黃劇種者十八種、有與諸腔雜奏者三十七種，可見皮黃腔系對近代地方戲曲影響之大了。

Pihuang qiang (tune) is a compound tune which combines xipi and erhuang tunes. Xipi qiang, Xiangyang diao (tune) and Chu diao are all the same thing though they bear different names. Xipi qiang has complex origins: after the Shan-shen (referring to the provinces of Shanxi and Shenxi) bangzi was introduced into Xiangyang of Hubei province, it fused with the local tune of Xiangyang. Since “Chu” is the short name and also the ancient name of Hubei, xipi qiang was also called “Chu diao” or “Xiangyang diao”. People in Hubei used to call lyrics “pi,” and Shan-Shen bangzi came from the west part of the province; hence the name “xipi”. Xipi qiang had become very popular nationwide during the Chongzhen period of the Ming dynasty; it diffused into Jiangsu and Fujian during the Kangxi period. Later during the reign of Qianlong, it was disseminated to the following provinces: Guangdong, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Jiangxi. Erhuang qiang originated from Yihuang of Jiangxi province. It was actually a combination of thelocal tune of Yihuang and xiqin qiang erfan, which spread out during the Wanli period. When erhuang qiang prevailed into the provinces of Jiangxi and Zhejiang, four written forms were adopted to refer to it: “yihuang,” “yiwang,” “erhuang” and “erwang.” Eventually, erhuang became themost popular one. Yihuang qiang surpassed other various tunes and gained its popularity in Beijing during the reigns of Kangxi and Qianlong; prior to the reign of Qianglong, it had already diffused into Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui and Hubei. The fusion of xipi and erhuang qiang first took place in Xiangyang during the Qianlong period, to be followed by Beijing and Yangzhou. Between the reign of Qianlong and the reign of Jianging, the Anhui opera troupe still performed in pihuang qiang together with Jing qiang and Qin aiang. Afterward, they gradually paid more attention to pihuang and finally centered only on pihuang. In 1840, the pihunag had undergone its process of Beijing-ization and existed through the perioids of Xianfeng, Tongzhi and Guangxu, a time when the Beijing opera reached its maturity. At the same time, the Beijing opera spread throughout all over the nation, and there were eighteen kinds of pure pihuang opera and thirty-seven kinds of what blended pihuang with other various tunes, a fact that can fully indicate that pihuang tune series has exerted a large influence over modern local dramas.