The Collection of Brothels is a treatise on opera performance written by Tingzhi in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. Brothel Collection records the lives of more than 1 actresses in several big cities in the Yuan Dynasty, and also involves the deeds of more than 3 actors and more than 5 opera writers at that time. Among them, most of the space recorded the exquisite skills of a group of zaju actresses from the Pearl Curtain Show in the early Yuan Dynasty to Miriha in the late Yuan Dynasty. Xia's artistic charm is often summed up by "two skills in color and art", which reflects the real situation of the actors at that time and the general interest of the audience. While praising their beauty and skill, Xia's family also emphasized their uniqueness in terms of attitude, spirit and manners, while praising some actors who are unattractive and even have physical defects for their extraordinary and commendable acting skills. It can be seen that "brothel collection" puts "art" in the first place between "color art".
Among the numerous zaju actors, some are skilled in art, such as Li Jiaoer, Zhang Bener, Gu Shanshan, Jing Jianjian and Wang Xinqi, who specialize in "Hua Dan Zaju"; Guo Yudi, Tian Xixiu and Pingyang Nu are good at "Green Grove Zaju" and Nanchun Banquet, and are good at "Driving Zaju". Some are all-rounders, such as Shixiu Shun, "Zaju is the highest in always in my heart, and the head driver and Dan Ben are also decent", a natural show, "always in my heart's Zaju was the first hand at that time, and Hua Dan's head driver was also wonderful", and a bead curtain show "Driving the head, Hua Dan, soft mud, etc., was well made"; This can also reflect the variety of works of art, fine division of labor and colorful schools in Yuan Zaju.
The Collection of Brothels also describes the highly artistic skills of zaju actors. Some actors have never lost their skills. For example, after Sai Lian Xiu's middle-aged blindness, his performance of "going out into the house, stepping on the line and doing the needle" is still "not bad and unscathed", which is "beyond my reach". Gu Shan-shan was "superb in skill", and in his later years, he was "older than Songjiang, while Hua Dan's zaju was still a teenager's figure". There are also many other folk artists with unique skills, such as Xiao E's singing and slow words, Chen Po-xi's playing and singing "the sound stops the clouds", and the children's speaking art "is like a pill, like a water building" ... Many artistic forms have emerged in the Yuan Dynasty, and a large number of artistic talents have emerged. Most of these artists are brilliant and have certain cultural and artistic accomplishments. Some are good at writing, poetry and calligraphy, some are good at making Yuefu, some are even quick-witted and can "improvise", while others are familiar with temperament. Although these actors in the Yuan Dynasty were in high school, they were in a humble position, and most of them could not escape their tragic fate. The author also recorded the unfortunate experiences of these actors with sympathetic brushstrokes.
The Collection of Brothels is an important work that records the historical data of the actors of the Yuan Dynasty's opera and quyi. It provides an indispensable and important historical data for future generations to understand the life and artistic attainments of the actors of the Yuan Dynasty's opera and quyi, and to study the art and history of the drama. Especially in ancient China, people's general discrimination against opera actors led to a shortage of information about ancient Han opera actors in China, and the Yuan Dynasty was the golden age of ancient China opera, so the description of "Collection of Brothels" has its unique and precious historical value.