| During the late Qing dynasty, Shanghai was the center of Chinese newspaper industry and Peking Opera activity in the South. When Peking Opera was brought to Shanghai in 1876, the first batch of Shanghai commercial newspapers were starting to be published. Because of the sensation of Peking Opera in Shanghai and its impact on society, Peking Opera activity became an important source of news for the commercial press whose purpose was only the profit. Therefore, a lot of newspapers and periodicals had been paid extensive attention to the Peking Opera activities since their beginning. They published a great deal of contents about Peking Opera theatres, Peking Opera actors and Peking Opera repertoires and spread Peking Opera through the news reports, ads, comments and other forms. Since then, a variety of literary tabloids and political newspapers also published a large number of articles about Peking Opera, which for the purpose of recreation or own political ideas. The impact of Shanghai newspapers on Peking Opera spread was enormous. The newspaper advertisements and reviews on the performance of the Peking Opera expanded the popularity of Peking Opera theatres and made the theatres to attract more viewers and increased their operating income. The newspaper advertisements, comments and poems about Peking Opera performers, especially the Peking Opera stars, improved their social influence. Many Peking Opera actors attached great importance to the role of press publicity when they performed in Shanghai. For Peking Opera lovers, the popular low-priced newspapers provided them the convenience to gain Peking Opera information and the opportunities to express their feedback and satisfied their sense of participating in the opera activities. For Peking Opera itself, a large number of commentaries and repertory research articles played an important role in the preservation of the historical materials and the popularity of opera and the development of Peking Opera art. |
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