When did China's ancient operas mature?

China opera has a long history, which originated from songs and dances imitating labor.

(A) Pre-Qin-the embryonic stage of China traditional opera. The "Ode" in The Book of Songs and the "Nine Songs" in The Songs of Chu are the lyrics of singing and dancing when offering sacrifices to the gods. From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty, recreational songs and dances gradually evolved. From the Han and Wei Dynasties to the mid-Tang Dynasty, there appeared "Jiao Di" (that is, a hundred plays), in which "joining the army" performed in a question-and-answer way and "dancers" performing short stories of life were all budding plays.

(2) The Tang Dynasty (middle and late period)-the formation period of traditional Chinese opera. After the mid-Tang Dynasty, China's drama advanced by leaps and bounds, and the art of drama gradually took shape.

(3) Song and Jin Dynasties-the development period of China traditional opera. "Zaju" in Song Dynasty, "Courtyard Style" in Jin Dynasty and "Zhu Gong Tune" in rap form all laid the foundation of Zaju in Yuan Dynasty in music, structure and content.

(D) Yuan Dynasty-the mature period of China traditional opera. In the Yuan Dynasty, "Zaju" developed greatly on the original basis and became a new kind of drama. It has the basic characteristics of drama, which indicates that China's drama has entered a mature stage.