page_title: Theatre of China
section_title: Earliest Chinese theatre
hierarchical_section_title: Theatre of China / History / Earliest Chinese theatre
caption_attribution_description: English: The Dahuting Tomb (Chinese: 打虎亭汉墓, Pinyin: Dahuting Han mu; Wade-Giles: Tahut'ing Han mu) of the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), located in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, was excavated in 1960-1961 and contains vault-arched burial chambers decorated with murals showing scenes of daily life. For further information, see the Baidu article (in Chinese): 打虎亭汉墓. Click here for more pictures and a step-by-step walkthrough of the tomb, from the outside, down a stairwell, and through the vaulted burial chambers.
context_page_description: Theatre of China has a long and complex history. Traditional Chinese theatre, often called Chinese opera, is musical in nature. Western forms like the spoken drama, western-style opera, and ballet did not arrive in China until the 20th century.
context_section_description: Theatre in China dates back to as early as the Shang dynasty (16th century BC?–c. 1046 BC). Oracle bone records reference rain dances performed by shamans, while the Book of Documents mentions shamanistic dancing and singing. For the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 BC – 256 BC), evidence from the Chu Ci suggests that in the 4th or 3rd century BC State of Chu, shamans performed with music and costumes. Some scholars have identified poems from the Classic of Poetry as possible lyrics of songs accompanying court dances from the early or mid-Zhou dynasty.
  The Zhou royal court as well as the various ancient states employed professional entertainers which included not only dancers and musicians but also actors. The earliest court actors were likely clowns who pantomimed, danced, sang, and performed comedy. One of the most famous actors from this period was You Meng or Jester Meng (優孟), a giant who served King Zhuang of Chu (reigned 613–591 BC). After meeting the impoverished son of Sunshu Ao, the late prime minister of Chu, he is said to have spent a year imitating Sunshu Ao's speech and mannerism. Finally he performed his role at a banquet and successfully appealed to King Zhuang who then granted land to Sunshu Ao's son.
  Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian contains a passage about Confucius (551–479 BC) explaining the Great Warrior Dance or Dawu Dance (Chinese: 大武舞; pinyin: Dàwǔ Wǔ), which told the story of King Wu of Zhou's overthrow of the Shang dynasty in c. 1046 BC, and how he founded the Zhou dynasty with the help of Duke of Zhou and Duke of Shao. The Great Warrior Dance not only depicted a full story, but was also filled with symbolism, as Confucius explained:
  When they dance in two rows and lunge in all directions with their weapons, they are spreading the awe of his military might throughout the Central States. When they divide up and advance in twos, it indicates that the enterprise has now been successfully accomplished. When they stand for a long time in their dancing positions, they are waiting for the arrival of the rulers of the various states.
  During the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), a wrestling show called Horn-Butting Show (Chinese: 角觝戲; pinyin: Jiǎodǐxì) flourished and became one of the so-called "Hundred Shows" (百戲) under Emperor Wu (reigned 141–87 BC). While most probably this was also a spectator sport, both textual and archaeological evidence suggests that performers were dressed in fixed roles and performed according to a plot. One such story the wrestlers re-enacted was the battle between a tiger and a magician named "Lord Huang from the East Sea" (東海黃公). Han-period murals discovered from an aristocratic tomb in Dahuting, Xinmi, Henan, offer strong proof that entertainers performed at banquets in the homes of higher-ranking ministers during this period.
caption: Part of a second-century tomb mural from Dahuting which depicts entertainers at an aristocratic banquet.
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