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How did Yuan drama use standard songs to communicate with audiences speaking different dialects?
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Chinese music
Twelve pitches of Chinese music as produced by overblowing the lü, bamboo tuning pipes (starting for ease of comparison from Western C).
In Yuan drama, playwrights utilized standard songs for specific situations or emotions that could be incorporated into any opera. By employing these recognizable musical conventions, performers were able to effectively communicate stories and themes to mass audiences who spoke a variety of different dialects.1
These standard songs were part of a broader effort to make the theatre accessible to the general public, which also included the integration of dancing and acrobatics into performances. While the musical scores for these plays have been lost, the practice of using standard pieces helped establish a foundation for later forms of Chinese opera, ensuring that the narrative content remained understandable across linguistic boundaries.12