Gao Ming

Traditional music is an umbrella term used in the mid–20th century by folklorists and ethnomusicologists to denote community-rooted, orally transmitted repertoires tied to social ritual, work, celebration, and storytelling. Unlike commercial pop or art-music traditions, traditional music is typically learned by ear, varies regionally, and evolves slowly through communal participation. It often features modal melodies, cyclic rhythms, heterophony or unison singing, and indigenous instruments whose timbres are integral to local identity. Lyrics tend to preserve language, history, and collective memory. While the musical practices themselves can be ancient, the phrase “traditional music” emerged to replace earlier, narrower or colonial framings like “folk” or “ethnic” music, foregrounding continuity, locality, and living practice rather than exoticism.

Yue opera (Yueju), also known in English as Shaoxing opera, is a regional form of Chinese opera that arose in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and flourished in nearby Shanghai. It is renowned for its gentle, lyrical singing style, refined Jiangnan (lower Yangtze) “silk-and-bamboo” timbres, and for the hallmark practice of women playing both male (sheng) and female (dan) roles. Performances emphasize romantic love, domestic ethics, and literary classics, presented through elegant melodies, nuanced acting, and stylized movement. The language is typically in Wu Chinese (e.g., Shaoxing or Shanghainese dialects), which contributes to its soft, mellifluous vocal color.