Qi Rushan had spent substantial time in Paris between 1908 and 1913. He used this occasion to see as many operas and ballets as possible, and to travel to other cultural centers in Europe. After his return to China, luck brought him together with the exceptionally gifted young dan actor Mei Lanfang. Mei was interested in reforms that would open the way for “female” dan roles to become the main protagonist. The major transformation brought about by Mei and Qi’s reforms was the introduction of a new aesthetic system that was based on dance. Together they created many new operas with dan in the lead. At the center of these new operas was now dance. Up to the 1910s, Peking opera was a performing art form that excelled in singing and celebrated the voice. Through the introduction of dance, Mei and Qi helped transform Peking opera aesthetic from an emphasis on listening to that of viewing the performance.

The Goddess Spreads Flowers was one of the earliest and signature pieces of the Peking Opera reform pioneered by these two men. It engaged with Sergei Diaghilev’s notion of a “total work of art” that would integrate singing, dancing, music, stage décor, costume, and lighting into a unified choreography as he had done in with his troupe Ballets Russes. More visibly, it engaged with Fuller’s famous silk dance by integrating its dazzling forms and multicolored lighting effects into the dance of The Goddess Spreads Flowers.