Comprehensive Examination of Four Types of Newly Discovered Opera from the Period between the Late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China

During the period between the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, newspapers and periodicals became crucial media and platforms for playwrights to publish their works. Recently encountered are four previously unexamined texts of opera published in periodicals and newspapers in late Qing and Republic of China. The four texts are Xin Pai Xun Guo Can Ju Liu Gong Dao by Zhuya Geren, Ai Guo Ge Ju Cai E by Mr. MA Er, Qiong Dao Gu Chen Lei by Lingzhi, as well as Wu Jiang Ji by YANG Yuling, a newly examined content as supplement, which has been investigated by some scholars. These political or historical operas reflect, to some extent, the ecology Chinese opera in the era between the late Qing and Republic of China. Additionally, the operas represent unique significance in terms of thematic ideas, literary characteristics, and the structure of Chinese opera.