There was a folk song in Jiaozhou, Shandong Province: "When you sing in a majestic tune, the pancakes stick to the pot stand, the hoe hits the crops, and the flower needles prick the fingers." This vividly describes the folk song spread in Jiaozhou area. The artistic charm of Maoqiang, a local opera.

According to historical records: Maoqiang, formerly known as elbow drum and elbow drum, was originally a colloquial opera with simple singing style spread among urban and rural folk. Originally, it was named "elbow drum" because the snare drum was hung on the elbow during singing, and the drum was played while singing. There is also another saying called "elbow drum", which refers to the actor's attitude of dancing and twisting his hips while singing. This form of singing appeared in the early Qing Dynasty and formed its own tone by the end of the Qing Dynasty. It was gradually improved through the efforts of several generations of folk artists such as Zhang Fengshan and Liu Shunxian. In the early 20th century, it spread to Qingdao and other nearby big cities. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the local government rescued this endangered folk opera and named it "Maoqiang". Its singing music has typical northern music characteristics and distinctive local style and local flavor.

In 1950, Qingdao Jinguangmao Opera Troupe was formally established. In 1954, the Mao opera "Hood De Pavilion" starring Su Yanqin, Zeng Jinfeng and Wen Xiuqin went to Shanghai to participate in the East China Opera Festival and won many awards including the Best Performance Award. After the performance, the actors of the troupe competed with artists such as Chang Xiangyu, Gai Jietian, Cheng Yanqiu, etc., absorbed the essence of Peking Opera, and improved Mao Opera, which played a positive role in promoting the development of Mao Opera. In 1959, Li Yuxiang and others starred in the Mao opera "The Story of the Lantern", which went to Beijing to perform in Zhongnanhai. Party and state leaders praised it after watching the performance. Later, "People's Daily" published a review article titled "Flower of Jiaodong", praising Jiaozhou Maoqiang as a wonderful flower in the art palace.

In May 1985, the famous writer He Jingzhi came to Jiaozhou to watch the Mao Opera. In his excitement, he wrote an inscription: "Keep the characteristics of the opera, be good at reform and innovation, stay true to the embrace of the people, and move forward with the times." 1986 In 2016, Qingdao Maoqiang Opera Troupe created and performed the large-scale costume drama "Hongwen Talented Girl" and the large-scale modern drama "Golden Sister-in-law", which participated in the first Qingdao Summer Art Festival and the third Shandong Province Drama Month Performance, and won the best performance award and the most popular drama. Best Creation Award and many other awards.

In the 1990s, Mao opera, like other operas, faced the problem of low popularity. To this end, the Jiaozhou Maoqiang Opera Troupe organized personnel to improve and enrich the singing of Maoqiang, and appropriately accelerated the melody and rhythm of the music, so that Maoqiang became "luxurious" again. In recent years, outstanding Mao operas such as "Tokyo", "Xijing" and "The Number One Scholar and the Beggar" have been made into opera art films or recorded into albums, records and tapes by CCTV, China Record Company, etc., and are deeply loved by Mao opera listeners. .