How was The White-Haired Girl adapted from northern Chinese yangge folk dances?

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kunqu performer — Chinese performing arts Contemporary *kunqu* performer.

During the Sino-Japanese War beginning in 1937, artists mobilized into propaganda troupes began incorporating regional folk legends, songs, and dances into their work to reach broader audiences.1

The White-Haired Girl (Baimao nǚ) was developed through this process, as artists adapted northern Chinese yangge folk dances to create both an opera and a ballet. By utilizing these traditional regional forms, the work transformed a folk legend into a powerful narrative about an escaped concubine, who served as a symbol for victims of feudal governments and oppressive social systems. Later, in 1965, the ballet version was famously adapted as one of the "eight model works" (yangbanxi) promoted during the Cultural Revolution.12