The Role of Opera in Mid-19th Century Chinese Life

In the mid-19th century, traditional Chinese Opera -- a synthesis of music, song, dance, acrobatics and costumed drama -- was played in urban tea-house theatres or on open stages in villages, in the imperial palaces or in the courtyards of the wealthy.

Opera was an integral part of daily social life. It was both entertainment and education, a school of traditional history, citizenship, morality and beauty.

Strangely enough, in the feudal imperial China of the time, actors were relegated to the lowest rank of society, below the soldiers.

Cantonese Opera River Tour Route Extends Overseas to West Coast America

In South China's Guangdong Province, from which most Chinese American immigrants came, Cantonese Opera troupes toured the Pearl River Delta villages in their Red Junks with dragon prows. When Cantonese emigrated in large numbers, the water touring opera troupes followed them to Hong Kong, the South Seas settlements and then to the California Gold Rush camps and beyond.