Opera in the Ming Dynasty

Through the prosperity of the poetic drama of the Yuan Dynasty, opera reached a development peak in the Ming Dynasty. Both the upper-class vassal kings, high-ranking ministers, scholar officials and erudite and the lower-class actors and actresses in opera troupes were engaged in opera creation and systematically studied issues such as rhythm and technique. Wealthy families paid opera troupes heavily for private performance. All of this jointly promote progress in opera literature and art. From then on, the genre of legend was finally established, and Kun Opera was widely disseminated, attracting many literati to participate in creation. In such a thick opera cultural atmosphere, Tang Xianzu and his opera The Peony Pavilion emerged.