Lantern opera is a local opera originated from northeastern Sichuan. It was created by the working people, and it has been continuously improved and enriched through long-term development. It is an artistic treasure that is loved by the people. It is also the crystallization of the efforts and wisdom of countless folk artists from generation to generation. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Ba people living in the Jialing River and Qujiang River basins have been popular with many social customs with feudal superstitions due to poor transportation and backward cultural economy. When a family member is seriously ill, a witch is invited to dance. When suffering from malaria, the "ghost" is expelled; when a relative dies, the Duangong is asked to "celebrate the altar"; when encountering a severe drought, the Dragon King is asked to pray for rain. In these customs, witches and wizards shout, sing and dance, and they will also be accompanied by musical instruments to increase the momentum and scare people. Influenced by these customs, the Ba people, who lacked scientific knowledge, either eliminated fatigue during heavy physical labor, or expressed joy after the harvest, or expressed grief when encountering natural disasters, or vented their anger when they were wronged and oppressed, or shouted when they were hit hard. At first, three or two people shouted, sang and danced together to express joy, anger, sorrow and happiness. Later, it developed into a "drama" with plots, based on real life, according to the stories they saw and heard. Therefore, the earliest lantern operas were often accompanied by activities such as "celebrating the altar" and "sending ghosts" by the Duan Gong, with elements of hoping for blessings, eliminating disasters, exorcising evil spirits, exorcising ghosts, and praying to God. In the Yuan Dynasty, this kind of singing was more popular. With the development of drama in the Ming Dynasty, lantern operas also changed from singing to performance. Not only singing, but also accompanied by movements and musical instruments, and gradually separated from the activities of the Duan Gong and performed separately. With the evolution of time and the progress of human society, it gradually developed and perfected into what it is today. Lantern opera was originally written and performed by the performers themselves. It was produced during busy periods and performed during leisure periods. It was mostly amateur in nature or performed only in rural areas. Due to the limited conditions in rural areas, this kind of lantern opera had to be suitable for rural conditions, and the requirements for scale, props, and performance venues were not high. The venue did not need a large stage, a hall, a courtyard, a lawn, a river beach, etc., as long as there was a flat area that could accommodate three or five people. The audience could enjoy the performance from all sides. If the performance was performed at night and there was a bright moon hanging high, there was no need for additional lighting. If the moon was gone and the night was dark, only an oil lamp was needed. With the evolution of time and the development of lantern opera, the performers gradually formed a team with a certain level of performance. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, lantern opera became more popular, and there was a certain improvement in the repertoire, props, and costumes. The scale was also expanded. The lighting lamps were also more sophisticated. This lamp was divided into a main lamp and a table lamp. The main lamp was relatively large, which could not only illuminate the performance, but also show the logo of the performance team, decorated with unique images, and some even painted the program of the lantern team, which served as an advertisement. The table lamps are hung in a corner of the venue. There are usually four lamps, which are hung in four corners. The lamps in these four corners are fixed. In addition, there are also eight, sixteen, twenty-four lamps, and more can be hung, and in various forms. The number of lamps is determined by the scale of the performance and the number of spectators. These lamps can be moved according to the needs of the actors. The lantern play is named because it is performed under the lighting of lamps. The props of the lantern play also change with the progress of time. There were no special costumes at the beginning, and later they were set according to the needs of the plot. For example, ancient plays are equipped with simple ancient costumes. The musical instruments were also basins, plates, bowls and other utensils that can make sounds at the beginning, and later they gradually changed to erhu, suona, gongs, drums, etc. The scale of lantern play is not large. Because there are only two or three roles in the play, there are usually one or two people at the beginning. Later, the number of plays increased. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the rise and development of other dramas also promoted the prosperity of lantern play, and the number of people increased to five or six, and at most only more than ten people. Generally, they are men, and the female roles are dressed by men. Only after liberation did women become actors and performers. The content of lantern opera is rich and colorful, mainly reflecting the real life of the people, and also reflecting the past era. Many themes praise the hard work, wisdom, bravery and kindness of the working people, and lash out at the greed, meanness, stinginess, stupidity, stupidity and cruelty of corrupt officials. There are also praises for honest officials. Lantern opera praises truth, goodness and beauty, denounces falsehood, evil and ugliness, and expresses the working people's desire for freedom, equality and happiness. The lyrics are mostly four sentences in a group, with more singing and less dialogue. The actors sing one sentence and the band accompanies one sentence. Sometimes they add chorus, singing and accompaniment, corresponding to each other. The earliest plot was simple, and there was only one plot in a play. Later, it developed from a small curtain single scene to a large curtain multiple scenes. The performance style also gradually evolved from a single rough and bold to a witty, humorous, implicit and intriguing. The repertoire also changed from a single to a variety of, and later it was divided into three categories: regular lanterns, ground lanterns and wave lanterns. Lantern opera is an art that the masses love to hear and see, and enjoys a certain reputation among the people. In the 1980s, Yuechi County Sichuan Opera actors went to other places and the masses to learn the art of lantern opera, rehearsed a series of plays, and performed in Chongqing, Chengdu, Beijing and other places. In Chongqing, they performed more than ten shows such as "Recruiting Jiang Wei", "Yanghe Hall", "Big Foot Lady" and some excerpts and curtain plays, which caused a sensation. Chongqing Radio Station played recordings many times. After performing in Chengdu, it became famous in Chengdu. Sichuan TV broadcast recordings of plays such as "Who Will My Youngest Sister Marry" and "Mother-in-law Goes to the Sedan". In May 1988, at the invitation of the China Dramatists Association, the Chinese Academy of Arts Drama Research Institute, the "Drama Review" Department and the National Opera Modern Research Association, they went to Beijing to perform eight Yuechi lantern operas such as "Bao Gong Looking in the Mirror", "Zhou Wenxian Chicken", "Scholar Buying a Jar", "Romantic Youngest Sister Marrying Who", "Taking the Wrong Car", and "Mother-in-law Goes to the Sedan". Leaders such as Liao Hansheng, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, experts such as Cao Yu, and foreign guests from more than ten countries such as Singapore and Japan came to watch. More than 20 newspapers, radio stations and television stations, including the People's Daily, reported the grand performance. Yuechi Lantern Opera was well received by leaders, experts and scholars. Ernst Schumacher, a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences of the German Democratic Republic and a professor at the University of Hamburg in Berlin, said: "I am writing a monograph "The Forest of World Dramas" and will definitely recommend Yuechi Lantern Opera to the world as a very distinctive drama." The ambassadors of Japan and Singapore to China warmly invited Yuechi Lantern Opera to come to their stage. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)