Shanghai Opera, a local traditional drama in Shanghai, is one of the national intangible cultural heritages.
Shanghai opera originated from Tiantou folk songs and folk slang on both sides of the Pujiang River. Influenced by Tanci and other folk rap, it evolved into tanhuang, a rap form. During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, tanhuang in Pujiang area developed into a "duet play" played by two people and sang by themselves, and a "same play" with more than three actors dressing up their characters and accompanied by a special person. In 1898, artists came to Shanghai, and they were fixed in the teahouse to sing, which was called bentan. In 1914, bentan was renamed Shenqu. After 1927, Shenqu began to perform civilization drama and current affairs drama. In 1941, Shanghai Opera Society was founded, and Shenqu opera was officially renamed Shanghai Opera. Shanghai Opera is a kind of opera that mainly performs modern life. Its music is mild and soft, its melody is beautiful and beautiful, it is easy to mold typical characters in modern typical environment, and it has rich flavor of the times and real feeling of artistic beauty.