Zhejiang folk art can date back to as early as Song dynasty. In northern Song period, the prevailing performance in Zhejiang was Xiao-Chang (vocal tunes) and Da-Qu mainly for the entertainment of the officials. Most of the Xiao-Chang performers were singing girls in the cities, while Da-Qu was a kind of grand singing and dancing program. When the officials were holding a banquet, the performer would sing some extracts of Da-Qu to entertain the guests.

In southern Song period, dozens of genres of popular entertainment consisting of talking and singing mushroomed in Hangzhou and other cities. According to books like Travel in the Capital, Fan Sheng Lu, Meng Liang Lu, The Past Stories of Wulin, Drunk's Talk and Yi Jian Zhi, the fashionable genres of singing and talking included Shuo Hua, Chang Zhuan, Ya Ci, Tao Zhen, He Sheng, Shang Mi, Dao Qing, Xiao-Chang, Shua Ling, Piao Chang, Yin Jiao, Xiang Sheng, Gu Zi Ci, Zhu Gong Diao, Shuo Sun Hua, Zhuang Xiu Cai, Qiao He Sheng, Xue Xiang Tan, Tan Chang Yin Yuan, etc.

During the Southern Song dynasty, in addition to the brisk business and great variety, the singing and talking had the following characteristics:

I. There were many people in the profession, hence many artists.

Due to the great variety of singing and talking and their brisk business, there were large numbers of people involved in this field. Famous artists come to the fore in every genre. For instance, Novel had more than 60 artists like Cai He, Li gongzuo; History Performing had more than 20 artists like Qian Wanjuan, Xu Gongshi; Shou Hun Hua had almost 20 artists like Monk Chang Xiao, Peng Dao; Chang Zhuan had more than 30 artists like Pu Silang, Shan Li Erlang; Xiao Chang had more than 40 artists like Xiao Po Po, He Shou; Zhu Gong Diao had upto 10 artists like Xiong Baobao, Gao Langfu; Tan Chang Yin Yuan had more than 10 artists like Tong Dao and Fei Dao; Shua Ling had more than 20 artists like Da Huotai and Li Jun; Piao Chang had more than 10 artists like Shi Erniang and Shi Jia; Shang Mi had more than 10 artists like Hu Liulang and Wei Dalin. In addition, there were also records about famous artists in Chang Jing Ci, Xue Xiang Tan, Zhuang Xiu Cai, Yin Jiao, He Sheng, etc. Those who had left their names amounted up to more than 250 people. Together with countless others, these artists of singing and talking not only had rich social experience, profound historical knowledge and lofty performing skills, but also were well educated. Some even were scholars with official titles.   During the Southern Song dynasty, in addition to the brisk business and great variety, the singing and talking had the following characteristics:      I. There were many people in the profession, hence many artists.     Due to the great variety of singing and talking and their brisk business, there were large numbers of people involved in this field. Famous artists come to the fore in every genre. For instance, Novel had more than 60 artists like Cai He, Li gongzuo; History Performing had more than 20 artists like Qian Wanjuan, Xu Gongshi; Shou Hun Hua had almost 20 artists like Monk Chang Xiao, Peng Dao; Chang Zhuan had more than 30 artists like Pu Silang, Shan Li Erlang; Xiao Chang had more than 40 artists like Xiao Po Po, He Shou; Zhu Gong Diao had upto 10 artists like Xiong Baobao, Gao Langfu; Tan Chang Yin Yuan had more than 10 artists like Tong Dao and Fei Dao; Shua Ling had more than 20 artists like Da Huotai and Li Jun; Piao Chang had more than 10 artists like Shi Erniang and Shi Jia; Shang Mi had more than 10 artists like Hu Liulang and Wei Dalin. In addition, there were also records about famous artists in Chang Jing Ci, Xue Xiang Tan, Zhuang Xiu Cai, Yin Jiao, He Sheng, etc. Those who had left their names amounted up to more than 250 people. Together with countless others, these artists of singing and talking not only had rich social experience, profound historical knowledge and lofty performing skills, but also were well educated. Some even were scholars with official titles. II. Stages were everywhere, and theatric performances were on the upsurge.      During the Southern Song Dynasty, there were many places for theatric performances. For examples, Gou Lan, tea houses, bars, squares or even the streets could become stages, among which the most important was the Wa Lan built inside Wa She, the market.     Gou Lan was the most common place for singing. Apart from those who were selected for the court, the best performers mainly congregated in Gou Lan. Both Wa She and Gou Lan were products of commodity economy, and their thriving well mirrored the prosperity of trade of the time. Wa She could also be called Wa Zi, Wa Shi and Wa Si. It was said in Meng Liang Lu that Wa She was a place for people to assemble or disorganize easily. A distributing center as it was, it had most businessmen and customers. Gou Lan was people's recreation ground that was built in Wa She, so that it attracted most audiences hence good business. For the time, Lan'an (the present Hangzhou) alone had more than 20 Wa She in and around the city, which was twice the number of Wa She in the capital city of Northern Song Dynasty Bian Liang (the present Kai Feng). At the same time, Wa She was also becoming bigger and bigger in size.      Besides Wa She, tea houses and bars offered places for performing too. As another reflection of the thriving business, they even outnumbered Wa Shi and Gou Lan, and extended all over the city.

IV. Guilds were developed for professionals as well as amateurs to perform, create and exchange ideas together regularly.

Out of their own professional needs, interest and religious beliefs, local people in Hangzhou joined different kinds of guild-like organizations. Some were called 'She', while others 'Hui'. Combined together, they became 'Shehui', meaning society or club. There were various societies such as the Poetry Society made up of scholars, Seven Jewel Society of jewelers, Sunshine Association of Buddhists, Lingbao Association by Taoists, Eyun Society of Chang Zhuan artists, Eloquence Society of novelists, Tongwen Society of Shua Ci performers, Lvhua Soceity of Yin Jiao performers and Xiang Sheng Jiao Sheng Society of their artists. Some of these societies were professional with relatively settled place for activities. Some were only amateurish and occasional, and were usually held in the temple fair on birthdays of Buddha and Gods.

The most valuable heritage from Song and Yuan Dynasty was the story-telling scripts. Some were about history, like King Wu's Crusade Against Zhou, History of Seven Countries, Qin's Taking Possession of the Six Kingdoms, Sequel of Pre-Han History, Popular Stories about Three Kingdoms, Popular Stories about the Five Dynasties and Stories of Xuanhe Period of Song Dynasty. Some belonged to novels, like the long bibliography of 107 items in Drunk's Talk and 154 items in Talk by the Green Window compiled by Feng Yue Zhu Ren of Southern Song Dynasty (The Hall of Brisk Business in Wuxing and Tianyi Pavilion both keep their hand-written copies). These story-telling scripts provided all the nutrition that a writer needed, thus contributed a lot to the famous traditional novels in Zhanghui style like Heros of the Marshes, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Pilgrimage to the West, and the three collections of short stories and two volumes of amazing stories edited by authors of Ming Dynasty.

The vigorous development of folk arts in Song and Yuan Dynasty stimulated economic growth, enriched the culture and satisfied people's recreational needs. It acted also as an agent that carried on the past and opened a way for the future.