Ruichang Tea Picking Opera (Second Batch Provincial Level) Ruichang is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River and at the foot of Mount Lu. It was originally part of Wu and part of Chu. It is known as the hometown of bronze. It has mutual influence with Wuyue culture and is closely related to Chu culture. The territory is beautiful with green mountains and clear waters, rich resources and profound cultural heritage. For more than 200 years, the specific geographical location and cultural environment have nurtured generations of folk tea picking opera artists. Ruichang Tea Picking Opera has a long history. It is a folk opera developed by combining Huangmei tea picking with local folk tea lantern opera in the 30th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1765). It is the most representative local opera in northern Jiangxi. The singing is lyrical and soft, the performance is concise and simple, and it has a strong local characteristic. It is commonly known as "glutinous rice tea picking" (because of its sweetness). There are not only complete original singing, but also nearly 100 minor tunes. Over the years, it has toured in Jiangxi, Hubei, Anhui, Hunan and other places, and is well received and loved by the audience. It has won many awards in provincial, municipal and international drama competitions and has been unanimously praised by leaders, experts and colleagues. Ruichang Tea Picking Opera is the most representative and influential tea picking opera in northern Jiangxi because of its wide spread. In 1986, Ruichang Tea Picking Opera was renamed "Jiujiang Tea Picking Opera" and included in the "Encyclopedia of China" [(Opera and Variety Arts) Page 146]. In 1999, the "Collection of Chinese Opera and Music, Jiangxi Volume" published the renamed "Jiujiang Tea Picking Opera" as "Ruichang Tea Picking Opera". In 2008, Ruichang Tea Picking Opera was included in the second batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage list. Ruichang Tea Picking Opera, formerly known as Tea Lantern Opera, was renamed Tea Picking Opera after entering the half-term class, and is commonly known as "Tea Lantern" among the people. Its main popular areas are Ruichang, Jiujiang, Hubei, Pengze, De'an, Duchang, Wuxue and other places. "As early as the Ming Dynasty, lanterns were very popular in Ruichang and Jiujiang. Every Lantern Festival to the Flower Festival in February, people would gather together to play with lanterns and celebrate, which was very lively. In the late Ming Dynasty, the tea lantern opera in eastern Jiangxi spread to northern Jiangxi and combined with the lanterns in Ruichang, forming the tea lantern opera with Ruichang characteristics. In the 30th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1765), floods overflowed, river embankments collapsed, and disaster victims went out. The Huangmei Tea Picking Opera Triangle Troupe, which fled to northern Jiangxi, merged with the Ruichang Tea Lantern Opera, thus forming the Ruichang Tea Picking Triangle Troupe" (recorded in "Opera Genres in Jiangxi Provincial Annals"). During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, the Ruichang Tea Picking Opera quickly developed into a half-class, and many tea opera troupes and societies were formed among the people. Such as "Guashan Troupe (the first tea-picking troupe), Hongyuan Troupe, Xintang Troupe, Shuilong Troupe, Keyuan Troupe, etc. After six generations of inheritance: Zhou Caiyou, Zhou Yingrong, Xu Tingzi, Zhou Shengrong, Xu Yuxian, Yang Kaiqian, etc., a group of very influential old artists of tea-picking opera have been created. Due to the competition and combination of various troupes, and at the same time, their respective regions are different, thus enriching the form of banqiang and promoting the development of the opera. Ruichang tea-picking opera is short and exquisite in form, with very rich singing. There are not only complete original singing, but also nearly a hundred minor tunes, most of which reflect stories circulated among the people. For example: sisters picking tea, merchant Cai Wufeng quitting the store, rice shop clerk Zhang Chaozong telling Jingcheng, Yu Laosi pushing a cart to the fair, and disaster victim Li Yi selling his daughter. They have many characteristics in terms of board style, structure, mode, and melody: some singing is beautiful and fluent, gentle and soft, and has strong rendering power. Some of the singing styles are well-paced, vigorous and full of life. Many of the singing styles are familiar to rural people. The stage sings the first sentence, and the audience continues the next sentence. The voice and popularity of the opera are integrated, forming a folk opera art performance form that has been loved by the masses for nearly two hundred years. In 1955, Ruichang organized more than 100 folk tea-picking opera troupes to hold an autumn folk drama gala, absorb new literary and artistic workers, and form a county tea-picking troupe. In July 1956, the "State-owned Ruichang Tea-picking Troupe" was formally established. Under the guidance of the party's policy of "letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred flowers bloom, and bringing forth the new through the old", new and old literary and artistic workers have comprehensively excavated, collected and sorted out the Ruichang tea-picking opera, thereby making it more consolidated and complete. "Ruichang Tea-picking Opera" is known as "glutinous rice tea-picking" and is the most representative tea-picking opera in northern Jiangxi Province.