Cantonese opera from the South, formerly known as "Cantonese drama", also known as "drama" or "Guangdong drama", originated in Foshan. As early as the Han Dynasty, performing arts Foshan has been very popular. Since the Ming Dynasty Jiajing began in Guangdong, Guangxi, Cantonese opera is a blend of deeply honored, musicians soundtrack, stage costumes, abstract body, and so the performing arts. Since the fusion of the Ming and Qing Guangdong inflow of sea salt cavity, Yiyang, Kunshan cavity, Clapper and absorb the Pearl River Delta and other various cavity formed by folk music to opera (opera called Sipi), two yellow dominated southern China a big drama.

Cantonese opera popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan and Hong Kong and Macao. In areas inhabited by Guangdong Overseas Chinese in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Cuba and Central and South America, there are opera performances.

Early Cantonese opera performances outline a lot of drama, and many more mouth body granted by fixed "pomp" scintillating, with a large and multi-gong drum accompaniment. Traditional Cantonese opera performance style rough hot, there are some lingering Fei sorrowful, the use of "Southern School martial arts" focus on practical and show unity, artists of great talent, style Gu Pu, reflecting the party humanistic characteristics and local customs.

Development of Cantonese opera can be roughly divided into: early Qing Dynasty from prosperity to Foshan Qionghua Hall banned, not clear Bahe Hall Guangzhou Opera advocacy ZTE, the 1930s trend of urbanization, and contemporary development and improvement of several stages.

Early opera popular in Guangzhou, Foshan and the Pearl River Delta area, stage length and breadth of thanksgiving to entertain people by contact with thousands of villagers and artisans close. Red Boat waters show to follow through Qionghua Hall, Jiqing Gong bought movie theater sold. Qing Xianfeng years, opera net feet Li Wenmao rate Legendary children uprising, anti feat had occurred, and began to spread throughout Southeast Asia and the Americas. 1930s, Guangdong and Hong Kong Taipan Xue Ma hegemony, many famous actors their creation singing genre, focusing on singing on the opera stage with Sheng and Dan play gradually replace other plays, some of the traditional repertoire, profession performing arts and performance program gradually disappear, Cantonese Opera there are significant changes in stages: stage changed mandarin language is Cantonese dialect, sung by falsetto voice really changed, and the troupe of male and female co-ed class placement instead, line of business appear unique "civil and military life." But the impact of a variety of reasons due to the evolution of cultural entertainment, the audience level of change, the operation of the troupe and other setbacks in recent decades, the old artists have passed away, studying no longer survive in the world Zheyi septuagenarian, talents lean, features a century bent along the outstanding heritage of Cantonese opera, people facing death situation must Arts.