In opera, the Yuan dynasty saw both the peak and gradual decline of the Yuan Za Ju dramatic form. The period also saw the gradual rise to preeminence of the southern opera. When dramatist Gao Ming wrote his tremendously popular The Lute in the southern musical tradition, he broke with the limitations of the number of acts of the Yuan style and also began a trend among the literati towards adapting legendary tales.
而在戲曲上，曾在元朝輝煌一時的元雜劇逐漸沒落，發源於南方的南戲漸佔上風，後來劇作家高明寫下膾炙人口的《琵琶記》，承襲南戲傳統，打破元劇折數的限制，從此打開文人寫「傳奇」的風氣。