Liyuanxi is one of the oldest theatrical genres in the xiqu form, older than kunju. It started in the mid-13th century (at the end of the Song and the beginning of the Yuan dynasties) in Quanzhou in Fujian province. Thus its repertoire includes plays and music from the “southern play” (or nanxi), a very early Chinese theatrical form popular in southern China at the end of the 12th century.