The early years of New China witnessed vigor in the sphere of spoken drama. The Young Generation, Teahouse, and other excellent spoken dramas had a great impact on many young people. After the end of the "cultural revolution" in 1976, spoken drama witnessed its prosperity again, when When All the Sounds Are Hushed, When Maple Leaves Are Red, and other wrathful works which complained about the crimes of the "Gang of Four" who brought calamities to China and its people, appeared. Afterwards, such works as Chen Yi Comes Down from the Mountain, Great General Peng Dehuai and Sun Yat-sen eulogized the great achievements of revolutionaries of the older generation with great admiration.

In addition, a large number of traditional-type spoken dramas were produced. For instance, such new costume dramas as Song of the Great Wind, Tang Emperor Li Shimin, Wang Zhaojun, and Song-tsen Gampo were filled with the vehement spirit of the time. Also, many rearranged or transplanted ancient, modern and foreign spoken dramas were staged. After the Chinese Dramatists' Association set up the Cao Yu Chinese Dramatic Literature Prize, such excellent spoken dramas as Mayor Chen Yi, Warm Currents Outside the Room, Duet Romance, Weddings and Funerals, Tang Poet Li Bai, and A Crouching Tiger on Mount Zhong won the prize successively.
The 17th Plum Blossom Awards for Chinese Dramas sponsored by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Chinese Dramatists Association were announced in Beijing in March 2000, with 39 people winning awards for excellent performances.

Shen Tiemei of the Sichuan Opera Theater of Chongqing, Song Guofeng of the Liaoning People's Art Theater, Feng Yuping of the Shenyang Pingju Opera Theater, Ding Jiali of the Chinese Youth Art Theater and Zhu Shihui of the Peking Opera Theater of Hubei Province won Plum Blossom Awards for the second time. Eighteen traditional opera performers including Zhang Huoding of the China Peking Opera Theater, Han Zaifen of the No. 2 Anqing Huangmei Opera Troupe of Anhui Province, and Qian Huili of the Shanghai Shaoxing Opera Theater, and ten modern drama performers including Ni Dahong of the Central Experimental Modern Drama Theater, three modern opera performers including Sun Yi of the China Opera and Dance Drama Theater, and three performers of professional folk theatrical troupes including Yang Hongli of the Jinzhong Xiaomingqin Shanxi Opera Troupe of Shanxi Province won Plum Blossom Awards for the first time.