Posted 2017/10/23
· Northern China - Yuan period Zaju: poetic drama & acrobatics are set to music
· Central China - Ming/ Qing period Kunqu: the fully-blossomed romantic opera of the royal court appears
· Peking Opera - A fully developed Chinese institution by the middle of the 19th century, with roots a century earlier in kunqu, Peking Opera becomes an opera school throughout China that continues to this day
· Huangmei Opera - Originally from Hubei province, Huangmei Opera is transformed in neighboring Anhui Province into a more standard opera, albeit, one with a distinctly non-mainstream style
· Yueju Opera - China's youngest "old" opera, Yueju Opera becomes a fixture on China's cultural landscape, though Yueju Opera differs radically from all other Chinese opera forms
The following presents a detailed description of the main developments in Chinese opera. Note that, as in most other human endeavors, there is little or no linear progression, therefore opera developed in certain regions of China on a separate schedule, as it were, while some Chinese Opera genres are specific to certain regions or local traditions.
Song perios---Nanxi
Yuan period---zaju
Ming period (Kunqu)
Peking opera (Beijing opera)
Huangmei Opera
Yueju----Chinese youngest "old" opera
Local Chinese Opera
