Pinghu Huagu Opera, also known as "Xixiang Huagu Opera", was first formed during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. It is said that it was created during the labor of cotton farmers picking cotton. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, cotton was widely planted in Pinghu. Cotton farmers in Guangchen, Xincang, Huanggu and Quantang created a large number of folk songs about rubbing flowers and picking flowers orally during their labor. Folk artists adapted these ballads into pieces with storylines and sang them with huqin accompaniment, forming Huage Diao, which is the prototype of Huagu Opera. Later, Huage Diao developed into a double-file double-qin duet play, in which the qin player was also an actor, and the characters jumped in and out of the play. The tune and content could be adjusted at any time according to the needs of the audience, which was called "on-the-spot change". The performance form was like quyi. In the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, drum boards began to be involved in the performance, and actors performed excerpts in disguise, which gradually matured. From the duet play to the same play, the accompaniment was increased by small gongs and flutes, but each troupe had only five or six people. Pinghu Huagu Opera is sung in Pinghu dialect, with easy-to-understand lyrics and simple character creation. The artists work on the farm when they are busy and sing in their spare time, which makes it convenient for performance, so it is loved by farmers. The performance costumes are simple and without makeup. The artists wear a belt with a huqin hanging from their waists, playing and singing. The performance is free and relaxed, with two people on stage, one beating the drum board, one playing the huqin, one singing male and one singing female. The early performance venues were mostly on the stalks and mounds in the fields, on the abandoned houses of extinct families, and in the open spaces of various temple fairs, which were called "Libaidi". After the founding of New China, Huagu Opera artists were allowed to perform in teahouses. Pinghu Huagu Opera has 80 large and small repertoires, among which "Jiuhu Ji" ("Pinghu Qi'an") and "Cinnabar Disease" ("Zhapu Anecdotes") describe Pinghu love affairs and have local characteristics. There are more than 30 tunes such as "Long Tune", "Xiu Tune", "Three Tunes", "Phoenix Head" and "Phoenix Tail". Performers can change the tune at any time according to their needs during the performance, which is exactly the difference between Huagu Opera and orthodox drama. The mid-19th century was the heyday of Pinghu Huagu Opera. A folk proverb says: "If you don't watch Huagu Opera when you are young, you will die in the dryness when you are old." The famous artists at that time included Tang Da Afa, Mr. San, Hei Agui, Mr. Yang Da, Xiao Tuozi, Lu Shuangfu and others. Before and after the Revolution of 1911, the more famous Huagu Opera troupes in Pinghu included "Zhang Ailao", "Gao Guisheng" and "Li Shunyuan". After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Pinghu Huagu Opera declined. In 1956, the cultural department found Lin Jianrong and Lin Sanguan, old Huagu Opera artists who had returned to their hometown to farm, in Qiangang Township, and reorganized their singing. In 1959, the Pinghu Huagu Opera Performance Team was established and affiliated to the County Quyi Troupe. The activities ended during the "Cultural Revolution". In 1979, a Huagu Opera group was established. By 1987, there was only one Pinghu Huagu Opera artist left. Pinghu Huagu Opera has no successors and is on the verge of extinction. Currently, Pinghu Huagu Opera has attracted the attention of local government departments, and they are actively conducting rescue excavations. Information source: Jiaxing City Library Information source: Jiaxing City Library