In the early years, songs and dances such as tea-picking songs and lanterns were popular in various parts of Guangxi, but they did not form into dramas. During the period of spread, it also absorbed folk songs and minor tunes from Guangxi and Guibei, and gradually enriched it. During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, tune artists opened schools to teach skills in counties in northern Guangxi and Xinning Prefecture (now Fusui County) in southern Guangxi. They made a living by teaching and performing tunes, and gradually became professional artists. During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the tune spread from north to south, forming the main distribution areas centered on Guilin, Liuzhou and Yishan, and continued to spread to the south. During the Daoguang and Guangxu years of the Qing Dynasty, a large number of immigrants from Hunan migrated to the counties in northern Guizhou and introduced Tiaozi (another name for Flower Drum Opera in southern Hunan) to Guangxi. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, Cai Diao Opera, which was derived from Flower Drum Opera but was different from Flower Drum Opera, was formed. Influenced by Hunan Huagu Opera, Tiaozi Opera gradually developed from the "two small plays" of clown and Xiaodan to the "three small plays" of Xiaosheng, clown and Xiaodan with character stories. In the rural areas of northern Guangxi, "Seven Tights, Eight Songs, and Nine Happinesses", that is, "mountain climbing classes" composed of 7, 8 or 9 people, have appeared. Artists are required to specialize in one specialty and have multiple abilities, so that they can travel between villages in various places. Through their long-term performances in village tours and festival temple fairs, they have accumulated "Double Reading", "Double Shop", "Blind Man's Fortune Telling", "Wang Three Birds", "Three Readings", and "Study Money" , "Going to Nanjing" and other 38 "three small plays" (the so-called "Thirty-six Jianghu Diao"). During this period, the tune music initially formed three distinctive categories: tune, ban, and tune. There is a saying of "nine tunes and eighteen tunes". At the same time, there were also reforms in aspects such as makeup, performance, and trade. In the 32nd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1906), the most prestigious Caotou Weiwei Diao Troupe broke the old habit of "women not singing tunes" and produced the first batch of female female actors in Cai Diao operas. Before and after the Revolution of 1911, famous artists emerged in large numbers, such as the "Four Number One Scholars": Leng Guifu, Zhu Wuba, Luo Shaoting, and Qin Laosi; the "Four Famous Danes": Wu Lao Lao, Pan Fafu, Liang Rushan, and Liu Fangsi; "The King of Grimaces" "Zhou Chaogang; "King of Diaozi" Li Dashu, Chen Songshan, etc. The art of color tune has reached maturity during this period.

After the Revolution of 1911, color tunes moved from rural areas to urban theaters, and "mountain troupes" developed into semi-professional tunes with 20 to 30 people, such as Tongle Tang, Cuile Tang, and Qunyuan. class. At this time, the original 36 "Jianghu Diao" could no longer meet the audience's requirements, so the artists compiled "Two Women Fighting for Husbands", "Grabbing the Tofu", "Breaking the Ladle", "Two Women Fighting for Husbands", "Break the Ladle", and "Two Women Fighting for Husbands" based on novels and folk tales. "Evil Daughter-in-law Turns into a Cow" and other "big tune" plays. At the same time, in order to make a living, artists also created many "counter-plays". For example, Class A performed "Mother Sends Daughter to Mother", Class B performed "Mother Sends Daughter to Mother", Class B performed "Three Visits to the Mother", and Class A performed "Mr. Four Girls on a Blind Date" etc. The results of this Taiwan competition not only enriched the repertoire of Cai Diao, but also promoted the development of Cai Diao music and performing arts. Most of the Cai Diao repertoires are short plays that reflect rural life, family ethics and mythological stories. There are about 500 traditional repertoires, and 344 have been recorded as scripts.

After 1927, artists suffered a lot and Cai Diao was on the verge of decline. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Cai Diao was reborn. Professional theater troupes such as Guilin Guihua Diao Troupe and Liuzhou Peasant Diao Troupe were established one after another. Amateur opera troupes also spread across urban and rural areas. In the spring of 1955, the Guangxi Literary Cadre School opened a Cai Diao training class and trained a group of outstanding young actors, such as Fu Jinhua, Tang Ji, Wang Yuzhen, Luo Liang, Yang Aimin, etc., who formed the Guangxi Cai Diao Troupe in 1956. In 1959, Liuzhou Cai Diao Troupe wrote and performed the Cai Diao drama "Liu Sanjie", which was warmly welcomed by audiences inside and outside the region and contributed to the improvement of Cai Diao art. In 1965, the Guangxi Caitiao Troupe wrote and performed the modern play "Three Little Red Flowers", which was made into a color film by the Beijing Film Studio.