How did Chinese Opera come about?
Chinese Opera has a history that dates back 4,000 years ago. It is believed that the Chinese people were involved in ritual dancing and singing to please or entertain spirits during their religious rites. During the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD 220), story-telling was blended with dance to produce an elementary form of musical drama. Thus, the lessons on friendship, love, hatred, treachery and loyalty in folktales were played out on the Chinese Opera stage, where performers share these traditional folktales through speech, songs, dance, elaborate costume and colourful make-up. These stories were performed on stage as part of the ceremonies and celebrations in the imperial courts. Opera singing and acting further developed during the Zhou Dynasty. Religious festivals were held where priests and soothsayers chanted and performed mimes to convey their beliefs to worshippers. During the Song Dynasty, opera groups were usually made up of family members who wandered from place to place to put up pe
