China's first professional drama troupe is the Evolution Club founded in Shanghai in the winter of December 1910 and headed by New Drama activist Ren Tianzhi. Other main members of the club were Wang Youyou, Chen Jinghua, Wang Goushen and Xiao Tiandai, etc. The club was dissolved at the end of 1912 due to economic pressure and internal conflicts. Ren Tianzhi, whose birth and death dates are unknown, was a member of the United Allegiance Society, or Tong Meng Hui, and most members of the club were also revolutionary young people.

Ren Tianzhi had paid close attention to dramatic activities during his stay in Japan. In the spring of 1911, the Evolution Club made a tour to over 10 cities, including Nanjing, Wuhu and Hankou, etc. Complying with the requirements of the time, he wielded the weapon of drama to attack the feudal government and preach revolution in many plays, such as Bloody Coir Raincoat and An Chung-gun Assassinating lto Hirobumi.

After the Revolution of 1911 led by Dr Sun Yat-sen, the Evolution Club fomented the revolt with civilized dramatic performances, and devoted itself to the battle of reoccupying Shanghai.

During the two years after establishment, the club produced a large number of plays, which, rich in national characteristics, were mainly comedies or farces designed to lampoon social reality and expressed the feeling and wishes of the mass. Characters of the plays often stepped out of the stage scene to give lectures, review the current political affairs or instigate revolution in impassioned and inflammatory words.

Small as its artistic achievements were, the club made an indelible contribution to and paved the way for the birth and development of modern Chinese drama. It trained a group of excellent actors and formed its own style. In a sense, the Evolution Club is a shining meteor in the history of modern Chinese drama.