The Historical Origin of Traditional Chinese drama (Ming dynasty)

Abstract

Traditional Chinese drama traces its origin back a few millennia to ancient China, but the one, usually called Chinese opera, started to develop in the 12th century. The Ming dynasty play writers were mostly educated and hold relatively high social status, and chuanqi works were created mainly by scholars. Kunqu was regarded as an elegant part of the culture; it was promoted by scholars, and therefore became highly influential. In the Ming dynasty, southern yiyang tunes fused with Kunqu and spread widely. Yiyang tunes lacked formal rules, was more uninhibited and exciting, therefore more appealing to the local classes and easily fused with local musical styles and produced many high-pitched tunes in numerous local operas. Another important development was the emergence of Shaanxi Opera in the Northwest. During the Ming period, Chinese theatre may be divided into three categories by audience: imperial court, social elite, and the general public. Professional public troupes did not thrive until Ming elite class started to collapse