In China, as in other cultures, theatrical performances arose out of ancient rituals. Theater traditions also absorbed influences from acrobatics and joking of court jesters. Around the time of the Han dynasty (206 bc to ad 220), storytellers combined singing and dancing with their craft. During the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), known as the classical age of Chinese theater, dramatists created plays from history, legend, epics, and contemporary events. These plays were performed on bare stages decorated with a large, embroidered tapestry hanging between two doors in the rear. Performers wore colorful clothes of the period and elaborate makeup.

Chinese theater today consists chiefly of classical drama from the Yuan dynasty, Peking Opera, and many types of local theater. Peking Opera combines spoken dialogue, operatic singing, dancing, and acrobatics. It arose in the 18th century and by the mid-19th century had become the dominant form of popular theater in China. Its subject matter is derived from legends, historical anecdotes, and well-known novels, and its plots usually reward goodness and punish evil. The traditional opera stage is an open, raised platform covered by a roof that is supported by lacquered columns. As in classical Chinese theater, a large, embroidered curtain hangs between two doors at the rear of the stage. Properties are minimal and have standard meanings. Depending on the way the actor uses it, a table might serve as an altar or a bridge, and an oar might represent a boat. Costumes indicate social rank, character, and occasion through their style and color, and elaborate makeup suggests character traits and gender. From the age of ten, actors (all male) undergo years of strenuous training for the Peking Opera and are eventually selected for roles that they continue to play throughout their professional lives. In the early 20th century actor Mei Lanfang became one of the most famous interpreters of female roles in Peking Opera. See also Chinese Music .

Spoken drama in China developed during the early 20th century, as the country increasingly came into contact with foreign cultures. Playwrights Tian Han and Cao Yu were among the first to write original Chinese drama, addressing such issues as class struggle and political oppression. After Japan invaded China in 1937, the theater in China was increasingly used to voice anti-Japanese sentiment.

In 1949, with the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, government control over theater increased. Plays were based upon officially approved models that dealt with problems of the new society under Communism. The government encouraged communes and factories to mount amateur performances of standard works. Only a handful of plays were approved for performance during the Cultural Revolution (1966 to 1976), when the government attempted to remake Chinese society and culture. All other works and their authors were banned as immoral or counter-revolutionary. After the Cultural Revolution ended, the theater revived in China with presentations of both Peking Opera and Western-style spoken drama.

The Peking Opera and its conventions have fascinated Westerners. Western dramatists and directors who have acknowledged Chinese influences in their work include Bertolt Brecht, Antonin Artaud, Ariane Mnouchkine, Jerzy Grotowski, and Americans Harold Prince and Julie Taymor.