Kunqu, or Kunshanqiang, first appeared in the late Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), some 600 years ago, in the lower Yangtze Valley. It was one of the earliest genres of drama and named for its birthplace, Kunshan, near the city of Suzhou in today's Jiangsu Province. Carrying forward the tradition of ancient poetry and common speech, it is of very high literary value. It has a rich traditional repertoire.

The development of Chinese opera music went through three stages. In the early days, the songs were composed of long and short lines. The singer sang solo, and the orchestra only came in at the end of each line. Only percussion instruments were used. Later, Kunqu music was the result of refinements made by musician Wei Liangfu in the mid-16th century.

In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), reformed by Wei Liangfu during the reign of Jiajing, Kunqu became mild, smooth and graceful, and performers attached great importance to clear recitation, correct singing and pure tunes; the composers wrote the musical scores after working out the tunes, and the songs were written in seven-character or ten-character lines. Three types of musical instruments (stringed instruments, bamboo flutes, and drums and clappers) formed the accompaniment. Kunqu had 12 roles, and all the characters other than Zhengsheng and Zhengdan could play leading roles. Moreover, the Jing and Chou roles were no longer those exclusively portraying foolish, awkward or stingy people.

Kunqu has a complete system of acting as well as its own distinctive tunes. Its wide-ranging repertoire has many delicate and elegant tunes. The orchestra consists of traditional instruments including the Dizi, a horizontal bamboo flute which plays the lead part; Xiao, a vertical bamboo flute; Sheng, a mouth organ; and Pipa, a plucked string instrument with a fretted finger board. Many Chinese local operas are greatly influenced by its tunes and acting style.

The performance of the play Washing Gauze made Kunqu famous throughout the country. Later, Kunqu developed into a national opera genre.

Washing Gauze by Liang Chenyu (1519-1591) drew its materials from a famous historical story: Gou Jian, king of the State of Yue, underwent self-imposed hardships so as to strengthen his resolution to wipe out a national humiliation. The love between Xi Shi and Fan Ji runs through this drama as a unifying thread. Their joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, as described by Liang Chenyu, follow the political twists and turns of Liang's time.

With its constant development, Kunqu later formed quite a few branches, such as Northern Kun, Xiang Kun, Chuan Kun and Ning Kun. But during the mid-Qing Dynasty, Kunqu was on the decline. It was due to the comprehensive retrieval of those famous repertoires after China's liberation that Kunqu finally came back to life.

Other representative works of Kunqu are: Escorting Jingniang Home (Qianli Song Jingniang), Fifteen Strings of Coins (Shiwu Guan), Love at First Sight (Qiang Tou Ma Shang), and Yan Xijiao.