In analyzing the genesis of Chinese literary drama, one must consider China's role in the global cultural and literary process, alongside the various factors of cross-cultural influence that shaped the Chinese cultural model. The development of Chinese drama was stimulated by forces that are often non-obvious to the local population and to many scholars of the Chinese cultural sphere alike. Today, the concept of the Sanskrit origins of Chinese drama has achieved a consolidated terminological status in Chinese literary criticism, referred to as zhujushuo.
