Originating in the mid-Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Yong'an Daqiang Opera belongs to the Yiyang school of opera, a traditional genre from Yiyang county in East China's Jiangxi province. The name reflects its distinctive performance style, which features "big gongs and drums for grand plays, and powerful voices for high-pitched singing".

During the Jingtai period of the Ming Dynasty, members of the Xiong clan in Fengtian village, Qingshui She ethnic township, Yong'an county, learned Yiyang qiang from local artists in Shicheng county, Jiangxi province. Blending it with local folk songs and Taoist music, they formed the Daqiang troupe, which later spread to nearby Datian county through clan migration.

The opera has preserved a repertoire of over 100 traditional plays, such as The Tale of the White Rabbit. Its vocal style is bold and resonant, characterized by high-pitched, declamatory spoken lines with limited melodic variation. It retains the Yiyang tradition in which one leading voice is echoed by many in unison.

With a 15-member troupe, Daqiang Opera adheres to the "four role types and nine subcategories" system, a detailed classification of performers in Chinese opera. The accompaniment uses only a few instruments, including gongs, drums and simple props – a table and two chairs.

Once widely performed in entertainment and ritual events, Daqiang opera began to decline in the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Having been preserved for over 500 years, it holds great value for the study of Chinese opera history. Today, with fewer than 20 remaining performers and a dwindling audience, Yong'an Daqiang Opera is urgently in need of protection.