Traditional Jingju plays are loosely divided into two categories, civil plays (wenxi), featuring domestic scenes, and martial plays (wuxi), focusing on battles and heroic struggles. The heritage of this division can be traced as early as the Zhou dynasty, when the dancing style was divided into these two forms, with the civil dances described as elegant and graceful, and the military performances as more forceful and featuring dancing with weapons. The categories are not rigid or exclusive, and both types of action can appear in one play. The civil and martial designations indicate the primary features of a scene, describing both the content and the role types to perform in the scene.

Civil plays focus on stories about seeking justice and domestic life, as well as love affairs between talented scholars, xiaosheng, and beautiful maidens, qingyi. A huadan, as a matchmaker, or a chou playing a dimwitted servant often needs to solve an intrigue to assure that the lovers come together in the end.

Civil plays can also feature a laosheng character defending the future of the country in a court intrigue where nobility and loyalty are the essential virtues. Others contain stories of strong women who resist dire situations that test their character.

The performance style emphasizes song, speech, and dance-acting. Melodic accompaniment for the song and dance sections usually features the jinghu (two-stringed spike fiddle), but flutes or other instruments can sometimes be used. The costumes for civil scenes are generally civilian clothing, elegant soft robes in blended colors, with floral and geometric embroidered patterns.