China's Southern Opera was first formed and developed in Wenzhou, Zhejiang at the beginning of12nd century. In the spread and development of Song and Yuan Dynasties for more than 200 years, Southern Opera spread to the Yangtze River valley and the southeast coast, forming Yiyang Opera, Haiyan Opera, Yu Yaoqiang Opera, Kunshan Opera and Quanchao Opera.

The development of Chaozhou Opera in Ming Dynasty proved that there were prosperous performances of Southern Opera in Chaoshan area in Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Some early scripts of Southern Opera in Song and Yuan Dynasties, such as "Yan Chen" and "Liu Xi Jin Bi Chai Ji", were lost in historical records, which is the evidence of the spread of early Southern Opera in Chaoshan area.

Secondly, "Cai Bojun" and "Liu Xibi's Chai Jin Collection" are scripts of southern operas sung in Chaozhou dialect, which shows that after the southern operas spread to Chaoshan area, Chaozhou artists sang in Chaozhou dialect. Due to the differences in pronunciation and intonation, the original tunes have changed, and Chaozhou folk music and minor tunes have been absorbed, thus forming a new "Chaoqiang" on the basis of Southern Opera.

In the Ming Dynasty, Dai Jing wrote in Guangdong Tongzhi: "Tide customs often play with local accent". In the early Qing Dynasty, Qu Dajun wrote in "Guangdong New Language": "chaozhou people sings North-South songs with local accent, which is called Chaozhou Opera."