Xianyu Tune is a variant of Pengban Tune. It originated in the 34th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1908 AD) and was produced in Xianyu Village, 25 kilometers southwest of Dingxing County, Baoding City. It is said that there were more than a dozen flower fairs in Xianyu Village before the Xianyu Tune was produced. Among them, there was a Luozi Fair in the north end of the village, and a Xiaoche Fair, a Hanchuan Fair, and a Nanle Fair in the east end of the village. There are two theaters in the village, also divided into the east and north ends, and people at both ends of the village formed a state of competition. In 1908, during the Spring Festival Luozi Fair, plays with storylines were performed on stage, including "Borrowing a Girl to Mourning" and "Wang Dingbao Borrowing a Pawn", etc., with the addition of banhu, flute, and sheng, which were very beautiful and showed signs of drama. The east end of the village also rehearsed and performed plays such as "Wang Dingbao Borrowing a Pawn" and "Beating the Dog to Persuade the Husband". The village is also full of literary style. Many people can compose music, write and perform their own plays, and gradually form a small drama with local characteristics, Xianyu Tune. The local area has also won the reputation of "One Beijing, Two Wei (Tianjin), and Three Xianyu". Xianyu Tune performances include "Blood and Tears Revenge", "Early Marriage Harm", "Passing Times", "Peach Blossom Temple", "Famen Temple", "Li Sanniang Fetching Water", "Wang Dingbao Borrowing Pawn", "Lotus Temple", "Little Son-in-law", "The Story of Huilong", "The Story of the Golden Bracelet and Jade Cup", etc. Xianyu Tune uses singing, performance, and recitation as the main artistic forms of expression. The literary music includes two sets of Beijing fiddle, banhu, leqin, erhu, flute, and suona, and the martial music includes three sets of drum boards, big gongs, small gongs, and cymbals. Xianyu Diao is mainly self-written, self-directed and self-performed. It is based on real life and is entertaining and easy to understand. It is close to the lives of ordinary people and is deeply loved by the people. The performance is vivid and has a strong rural life atmosphere. The content is mostly to promote respect for the elderly and love for the young, virtues and sentiments, compliance with laws and regulations, and punishment of evil and promotion of good. After the "July 7 Incident", Xianyu Diao stopped performing. In 1942 and 1945, after Chairman Mao's "Speech at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art" was published, the Xianyu Diao Troupe was led by senior literary and artistic workers to perform "Blood and Tears Revenge" to cooperate with the anti-Japanese war and went to the battlefield for condolences. In Dingxing County, Yi County, Xushui County, Laishui County and other counties, it has been praised by the county party committee many times and presented a pennant, which was personally awarded by the then county magistrate Qiao Qian. After liberation, Xianyu Diao promoted the new marriage law and performed more than a dozen plays such as "Little Son-in-law", "Liu Qiaoer", and "Early Marriage Harm". After the 1960s, Xianyu Diao and Peking Opera have been performed simultaneously to this day. Xianyu Tune is currently facing extinction as there are fewer and fewer performers, a lack of young actors, and a sluggish economy. The third generation of inheritors are too old to learn, and young people are unwilling to learn, making it difficult to pass on the art. Xianyu Tune is on the verge of extinction. Information source: Hebei Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center Information source: Hebei Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center