1. The Origin of Cangxi and Cangxi Lantern Opera According to historical records, Cangxi was under the jurisdiction of Langzhong County of Ba State in ancient times. The county was first established between 280 and 289 in the Western Jin Dynasty, and has a history of more than 1,700 years. Cangxi is located in the mountainous area on the northern edge of Sichuan Province, consisting of more than 300 high mountains and buffer plains. There are nearly 100 mountains with an altitude of more than 1,000 meters in the territory, with Jiulong Mountain being the highest, with an altitude of 1,400 meters. Yuntai Mountain, a Taoist holy land, is particularly famous at home and abroad. The Han Zhi says under Langzhong County: Ba "has Pengchi Lake and the famous mountain Lingtai." The Yu Lan Volume 44 quotes the Shidao Ji: "Lingtai Mountain is located in the north of [Langzhong] County, also known as Tianzhu Mountain, 400 feet high, where Zhang Daoling ascended to the truth in the Han Dynasty." The Huanyu Ji Volume 86 also says: "Lingtai Mountain, also known as Tianzhu Mountain, is 35 miles southeast of Cangxi County, 400 feet high, 100 miles above the ground, with fish ponds and suitable for growing grains." "Lingtai" is Yuntai Mountain. Yuntai Mountain consists of a naturally protruding Yang fish-shaped giant mountain with an altitude of more than 1,200 meters, a concave Yin fish-shaped giant ravine with an altitude of more than 1,200 meters, and eight naturally surrounding Gua-shaped giant mountains with an altitude of more than 1,000 meters, forming a complete three-dimensional picture of Yin Yang Fish Bagua mountains and rivers with a radius of 78.5 square miles. Yuntai Mountain has been a hotbed for Taoists at home and abroad to seek their roots since the Han Dynasty; the average height of the mountain is about 600 meters above sea level, and there are more than 300 of them. More than 300 rivers and streams in the territory form a vast and winding Taishi. In particular, the Jialing River and the largest Donghe River meander throughout the territory, forming many unique and magnificent meandering natural landscapes such as, ... Hanzhong Prefecture [now Nanzheng] - Cangxi County - Baoning Prefecture [now Langzhong] has both land and water routes, and the land route from Baoning Prefecture [now Langzhong] - Tongchuan Prefecture [now Santai] - Chengdu Prefecture [now Chengdu City] has been a passage into Shu since ancient times. At the same time, Hanzhong [now Nanzheng] - Guangyuan [ancient Lizhou] - Cangxi County - Baoning Prefecture [now Langzhong] also has both land and water routes, and the land route from Baoning Prefecture [now Langzhong] - Tongchuan Prefecture [now Santai] - Chengdu Prefecture [now Chengdu City] has also been a passage into Shu since ancient times. These two passages into Shu through Cangxi County are the same as the passages into Shu through other places. During the Three Kingdoms and before, the official 1 was the preferred passage from Hanzhong Prefecture [now Nanzheng] in Shaanxi to Shu. The official preferred route from Hanzhong Prefecture in Shaanxi [now Nanzheng] to Sichuan was: Hanzhong Prefecture [now Nanzheng] - Guangyuan [ancient Lizhou] - Zhaohua County [the ancient seat of Jiameng State] - Jiange County - Zitong County [now Zitong County] - Guanghan County [now Guanghan City] - Chengdu Prefecture [now Chengdu City]. However, in and after the Western Jin Dynasty, because the ancient post road [ancient Ge Road] from Guangyuan [ancient Lizhou] - Zhaohua [ancient Jiameng State] - Jiange County - Zitong County [now Zitong County] was destroyed in the war at the end of the Three Kingdoms period and was not fully restored until the early Qing Dynasty, the two official routes through Cangxi were directly changed to the preferred routes for entering Sichuan from Hanzhong Prefecture [now Nanzheng] in Shaanxi, namely: Hanzhong Prefecture [now Nanzheng] - Cangxi County - Baoning Prefecture [now Langzhong], which has both land and water routes, and then Baoning Prefecture [now Langzhong] - Tongchuan Prefecture [now Santai] - Chengdu Prefecture [now Chengdu City] by land, and Hanzhong [now Nanzheng] - Guangyuan [ancient Lizhou] - Cangxi County - Baoning Prefecture [now Langzhong], which also has both land and water routes, and then Baoning Prefecture [now Langzhong] - Tongchuan Prefecture [now Santai] - Chengdu Prefecture [now Chengdu City] by land. In the long history of more than 1,400 years from the Western Jin Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, Cangxi has highlighted its important location as a "throat" in north-south transportation. On the other hand, Cangxi is connected to Jingchu in the east and has been the key to east-west transportation since ancient times. Shizhou [Jingchu]-Kuizhou [Sichuan]-Cangxi County-Guangyuan [ancient Lizhou]-Wudu County [Gansu]. Moreover, whether it is official or private, this channel has always been the main east-west transportation channel in China since ancient times. Cangxi has fully highlighted its important location as a "key" in east-west transportation since ancient times. In short, due to the special geographical location, Cangxi has had a very important position advantage in many aspects of China's politics, military, economy, culture, tourism, transportation, etc. since ancient times. In history, anyone who "got Long and wanted Shu" must first compete for Cangxi. King Wu of Zhou attacked King Zhou first at Qiaoba [90 li north of Cangxi today], King Huiwen of Qin and King of Shu fought at Tieshan Pass [100 li north of Cangxi today]; during the Three Kingdoms period, Wei general Zhang He and Shu general Zhang Fei fought at Wakou Pass [20 li east of Cangxi today]; General Fu Jian of Jin fought against King Zhang Yu of Shu [30 li east of Cangxi today]; Emperor Minghuang of Tang went west to Sichuan and took Cangxi; Wang Zuo of Southern Song fought against the army of King Gokhan of Yuan Mongolia at Changning Mountain [50 li south of Cangxi today]; General Fu Youde of Ming went north from Chengdu to seize Cangxi and threaten Baoning [the provincial headquarters of Sichuan moved to Langzhong at the end of the Yuan Dynasty], and the Ming army defeated the "Sweeping King" at Tieshan Pass [100 li north of Cangxi today]; the peasant army Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng fought in Cangxi because of internal disputes over entering Sichuan or the Central Plains, and each fought bloody battles with General Tao Yi of Ming at Cangxi. Xi County; Qing Zhengnan General Haoge went south from Hanzhong Prefecture, Shaanxi [now Nanzheng] to pacify Cangxi and open the door to Sichuan; Qing army Huiling fought against the White Lotus Sect at Rentou Mountain [now 100 miles north of Cangxi County], Yang Yuchun and Yang Fang fought against the White Lotus Sect at Mana Mountain [now 120 miles north of Cangxi County]; Sichuan Jing1 Xiong Kewu fought against the Beiyang Army at Berlin Gou [now 100 miles northwest of Cangxi], Yunnan and Guizhou Allied Forces went north to support Sun Yat-sen and Sichuan Jing1 Xiong Kewu fought against Berlin Gou [now 100 miles northwest of Cangxi], the Red Fourth Front Army and the 1st Army fought against Huangmaoya [now 120 miles north of Cangxi], the Red Fourth Front Army and the 1st Army fought against Tashan Bay [now Hongjundu, one mile away from the county seat], etc., and the 1st Army fought against the Red Lantern Sect at Sanqingba [now 5 miles west of Cangxi County]. More than 200 famous ancient battlefield sites in history are spread throughout Cangxi. During the reign of Emperor Ping of the Han Dynasty, there was "Court Meeting with Qiao Xuan, Refusing to Serve Wang Mang", during the reign of Emperor An of the Han Dynasty, there was "Zhang Daoling Attained the Tao and Flying Fairy at Yuntai Mountain"; during the Jin Dynasty, there was "Gu Kaizhi Wrote "Painting Yuntai Mountain""; during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was "Emperor Xiao Visited Yuntai Mountain for the Luck", during the Tang Dynasty, there was "Emperor Xuanzong Entered Sichuan and Passed Cangxi", "Poet Saint Du Fu Released the Boat Platform", "Wu Daozi Painted the Thousand Miles of Jialing River in One Night and Lost His Tracks in Cangxi"; during the Song Dynasty, there was "Lu You's Farewell Pavilion", "Nine Grandsons of No. 1 Scholar Wang Yue and Eight Jinshi", and Yan Dayou's Poems Wu Xi, the King of Shu, was excommunicated; in the Ming Dynasty, there was "General Zhaoyi, the tenth generation of the Tao family's hundred households"; in the Qing Dynasty, there was "the sixth generation of the Tao family's governor", "Tao Shilin, the Mirror Censor", and "He Ziyou, the head of the Wudang Sect"; in the Republic of China, there was "Tao Zekun, a revolutionary who killed the governor of Sichuan, Zhao Erfeng, for the sake of justice", "Li Yunpu, the earliest pioneer of new culture in northern Sichuan", and "30,000 people enthusiastically joined the Red Army"; in the Republic of China, there were "twelve generals including Wu Zhong and five ministers and provincial governors including Li Zemin". Cangxi has a subtropical humid monsoon climate, with abundant heat, abundant rainfall, long frost-free period, mild climate, distinct four seasons, winter is longer than summer, spring is longer than autumn, and the land is fertile. It mainly produces major crops such as rice, wheat, corn, rapeseed, peanuts, as well as agricultural and sideline products such as sericulture, silk, tung oil, oranges, pears, apples, kiwis, and fish. It has been known as "Little Luzou" since ancient times. Cangxi has a splendid and colorful folk culture since ancient times. According to the records in the Shanhaijing Dahuangxijing, among the descendants of Huaxu, there were "Ten Witches" headed by Wu Xian, who widely spread the witch culture in the land of Jing (Hubei) and Ba, and Cangxi Lingtai Mountain (Yuntai Mountain) was once the activity center of the witch culture. The ancient Shu King Bie Ling once climbed Cangxi Lingshan to pay homage to the witch resort, and Cangxi Lingshan got its name. According to the Huayang Guozhi, "King Wu of Zhou defeated King Zhou and actually got the troops of Ba and Shu, which is recorded in the Book of History. The Ba army was brave and fierce, and they sang and danced to overwhelm the Yin people. They turned against the Yin army in the future, so the world called it "King Wu defeated King Zhou, singing in front and dancing behind." Also, "There is Yushui in Langzhong, and many Qiang people live on the left and right. They are born brave and brave, and they were the vanguard of the Han Dynasty at first, and they were very sharp. The emperor liked it and said: This is the song of King Wu's defeat of King Zhou. So he ordered the musicians to learn it. Now it is called Bayu Dance." The Book of Han - Rituals and Music records: "There were Bayu drummers among the court music officials of the Han Dynasty." The Book of Jin - Music records: "[Bayu] dance music includes "Maoyu Ben Song", "[An]1 Yu Ben Song", "An Zhao Ben Song", and "Xingci Ben Song", totaling four chapters. The words are so ancient that no one can understand the sentences. At the beginning of the Wei Dynasty, Wang Can, the military counselor and chief wine, was sent to create the words." Langzhong was the administrative area of Ba State before the Qin Dynasty. After the Qin Dynasty, it was changed to Baxi County or Baoning Prefecture. Now it is changed to the county-level Langzhong City. Cangxi City is only 30 kilometers away from Langzhong City, and it shares the Yu River with Lang0 Bashan. Yu River is also the ancient West Han River, now the Jialing River. Cangxi has been under the jurisdiction of Langzhong since ancient times until the Republic of China. Judging from the collection and compilation of "Folk Songs of -- County", "Folk Stories of -- County", "Folk Ballads of -- County", "Folk Dances of -- County", "Dialects of -- County", "Production and Living Customs of -- County" and so on collected and compiled by Cangxi Cultural Center and Langzhong Cultural Center in the 1980s [1980-1990 AD], Cangxi and Langzhong are absolutely the same in all aspects of culture. Therefore, it can be said that during the period when King Wu of Zhou attacked King Zhou, "the ancient Cangxi people served as his teachers, and they were brave and sharp, singing and dancing to overpower the Yin people, and they turned against the Yin people in the future, so the world called it 'King Wu attacked King Zhou, singing in front and dancing behind'", Cangxi "has the Yu River, and many Qiang people live on the left and right." The ancient Cangxi people "were born brave, and they were the vanguards of the Han Dynasty at first, and they were very sharp. The emperor liked it and said: This is the song of King Wu attacking King Zhou. So he ordered the musicians to learn it. Now it is called Bayu Dance". Therefore, it is beyond doubt that Cangxi has produced Bayu dance since the Zhou Dynasty. Moreover, the ancient Cangxi people were not only brave and good at fighting, but also skillfully applied the "Mao Yuben Song", "An Yuben Song", "An Zhaoben Song" and "Xing Ciben Song" they created in production and life to the battlefield where the enemy and us were facing each other, to entertain and also to "entertain" the enemy-disintegrate the enemy army. At the same time, dances such as car lamp dance, ox lamp dance, bamboo horse lamp dance, lion lamp dance, dragon lamp dance, unicorn dance, silk dance, money stick dance, etc. were produced and widely spread among the people of Cangxi as early as after the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Cangxi has been beautiful in mountains and waters, rich in products, and diligent and beautiful in appearance since ancient times. It is the intersection of many cultures such as Shudao culture, military culture, Taoist culture, farming culture, trade culture, tourism culture, ecological garden culture, folk culture, etc., which has forged the diversity and uniqueness of Cangxi's cultural character. A culture with diverse and unique character is destined to give birth to something that will be passed on to future generations for a long time. This is the fundamental reason and belonging of the development of things. After checking a large number of historical records or wild materials from the Jin Dynasty to the present, there is no record of the simple Bayu dance in the Han Dynasty as recorded in the Huayang Guozhi. In other words, the simple Bayu dance has disappeared from Cangxi and the wider land of China since the Jin Dynasty. Where did the simple Bayu dance go since the Jin Dynasty? The coming and going of anything in the world is never without basis. In investigating Cangxi folk dances, it is not difficult to find that Cangxi folk dances such as car lantern dance, ox lantern dance, bamboo horse lantern dance, lion lantern dance, dragon lantern dance, unicorn dance, silk dance, money stick dance, etc., all show the shadow of Bayu dance, and the music accompanying car lantern dance, ox lantern dance, bamboo horse lantern dance, lion lantern dance, dragon lantern dance, unicorn dance, silk dance, money stick dance, etc., all show the rich charm of Bayu dance. "From a certain perspective, the ancient Bayu dance has gone through hundreds of years or nearly a thousand years of history. As early as more than a thousand years ago, it has evolved and evolved into more colorful Cangxi folk songs, Cangxi minors, and Cangxi lantern dances on the land of Cangxi, and Cangxi lantern drama is the culmination of Cangxi's colorful Cangxi folk songs, Cangxi minors, and Cangxi lantern dances." This conclusion is the most scientific and authoritative conclusion reached by local drama and cultural experts from the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture, Nanchong Regional Bureau of Culture, Cangxi County Bureau of Culture [Museum] in the mid-1980s. Moreover, this conclusion was recognized by the Ministry of Culture and the most authoritative local drama and cultural experts in the country after several investigations, and was written into the "Chinese Opera Records" and "Chinese Art History Collection". There is no need for me to spend nearly a million words, charts, and even more physical objects that could be collected at that time to prove it. Cangxi Lantern Opera, also known as "Drum and Music God" and "Happy God", is a folk song and dance drama with a long history popular in northern Sichuan and southern Shaanxi. At the beginning of its origin, it was one of the three wonders of Cangxi opera together with Cangxi puppet show and Cangxi shadow play. Cangxi Lantern Opera is divided into "Sky Lantern" and "Ground Lantern". "Sky Lantern" refers to the lantern opera that can be performed on a grand stage. "Ground Lantern" refers to the folk lantern opera that can be performed anywhere, such as in a courtyard. Cangxi Lantern Opera is divided into "Singing Lantern" and "Dancing Lantern". "Singing lanterns" refer to singing and dancing ox lanterns, car lanterns, etc., which are mainly beautiful, reasonable and logical rap, and some simple stylized action performances. "Jumping lanterns" refer to pure dancing dragon lanterns, lion lanterns, unicorn lanterns, etc., where the performers only perform without rap. Generally, Cangxi lantern operas do not perform large-scale, complex plots, and numerous characters. Cangxi lantern opera is not only a folk opera with strong local characteristics in Sichuan, but also one of the important vocal styles of Sichuan opera. Because its performances are often combined with folk activities such as the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, community fire, and celebration altar, it has formed the characteristics of many small plays, many happy plays, and many noisy plays. Cangxi lantern opera uses the moral standards of farmers to perform the beauty, ugliness, good and evil, joy, anger, sorrow and happiness of the world, mostly expressing the thoughts, feelings and moral sentiments of the working people. The language is easy to understand, humorous and witty, and full of local flavor and local characteristics. Cangxi Lantern Opera is like blooming mountain flowers blooming all over the mountains of Cangxi, especially in the more than 20 towns and nearly 200 villages and communities in the northeast of Cangxi. They have been the nests of Cangxi Lantern Opera since ancient times. Almost every household, adults and children can sing Cangxi Lantern Opera. There are lantern opera troupes in every village and community that are active in the mountain villages all year round, and they perform in northern Sichuan, southern Shaanxi, and western Jingchu. 2. The year when Cangxi Lantern Opera was born 1 When did Cangxi Lantern Opera, as a kind of opera, come into being? Let us go against the footsteps of the long river of history and explore the ancient times from the 1980s. In the 1980s [1980-1990 AD], local opera experts from the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture, Nanchong Regional Bureau of Culture [Cangxi was then under the jurisdiction of Nanchong Regional Bureau], and Cangxi Cultural Center collected and sorted out Cangxi lantern operas, and conducted research and verification on lantern operas popular in northern Sichuan and southern Shaanxi. They also made it clear that "Cangxi lantern operas have been popular in Langzhong, Nanbu, Yilong, Shunqing in Nanchong, Bazhou and Nanjiang in Bazhong, Lizhou, Zhaohua, Jiange, Wangcang in Guangyuan, Nanzheng, Mianxian, Ningqiang, Lueyang and other areas in Hanzhong, as well as in a wider area since the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty." Among the old Cangxi lantern opera artists still alive, Luo Maosen has been engaged in Cangxi lantern opera for the longest time. According to the records of the Luo Family Genealogy, which was revised and preserved in the 25th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty [1889], Luo Maosen's ancestors have been engaged in Cangxi Lantern Opera for at least 36 generations, dating back to more than 700 years ago, that is, the middle period of the Tang Dynasty. Luo Shengyan, the earliest ancestor of the Luo family, was a court artist during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. He specialized in song and dance production and could be regarded as a legitimate dancer or musician. Later, due to the An-Shi Rebellion, he followed Emperor Xuanzong to escape to Sichuan and stayed in Cangxi. Since then, the descendants of the Luo family settled in Cangxi and multiplied on this land. Luo Shengyan integrated his skills in song and dance with the local folk culture of Cangxi, which promoted the Cangxi Lantern Opera that originated in the Shangyuan period of the Tang Dynasty. In the Luo Family Tree, we can see nearly 300 Cangxi Lantern Opera repertoires left by the Luo family members since Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, such as "The Divine Dog Pushing the Mill", "The God's Gate Meeting", "The Riddle of the Spirit Tablet", and a large number of Cangxi Lantern Opera stage names such as "The Divine Dog", "The Young Girl", and "The Pestle" that have been passed down from generation to generation, and are still famous in northern Sichuan and southern Shaanxi. Tao Shilin, a Cangxi native and censor during the Daoguang period (1821-1850 AD) in the Qing Dynasty, wrote a bamboo poem praising it: "Singing lanterns is everywhere in the singing hall, and the songs are easy to change without tunes. It is said that the official troupe will gather tomorrow, and the opening will be to watch the little buns." "Little buns" refers to men dressed as women in Cangxi Lantern Opera, and here it refers to Cangxi Lantern Opera. From Tao Shilin's praise of Cangxi Lantern Opera in his bamboo poems, we can easily find that during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, Cangxi Lantern Opera was "very active" and had even been performed on the same stage as official opera troupes. In the "Arts and Literature" section of Ding Yingkui's "Cangxi County Chronicles" from the 47th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1782 AD), which is now collected in the Cangxi Archives, there is a record that Cangxi Lantern Opera was "very active", "During the Lantern Festival, lanterns were lit, lantern operas were performed, and stages were built in the city walls of the county to compete, day and night." The "Sichuan General Chronicles" compiled during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty (1796-1820 AD) also recorded the above content and stated that before the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, "the performance of lantern opera was only There is no precedent for this. "The "Arts and Literature" section of the "Cangxi County Chronicles" compiled by Tao Shuli, a Cangxi native and the governor of Zhongzhou Prefecture School in the 29th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, which is now collected in the Beijing Library, has the following record: "Cangxi Lantern Opera originated from the Tang Dynasty." "During the Tang Dynasty, the custom of the Lantern Festival was quite popular in Cangxi." "At the beginning of the Cangxi Lantern Opera, the first line of the lantern officer chanted: The Tang King gave me the lantern officer's hat." It also said that "Cangxi people called Cangxi Lantern Opera Tang Lantern", and some said that "Tang is a mistake for Tang, and Tang Lantern is Tang Lantern". Obviously, Tao Shuli, the provincial school administrator and local chronicler, made his conclusion about Cangxi Lantern Opera after in-depth research and argumentation. The Cangxi Tao family settled in Cangxi during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty due to official duties in Wuzhou City, Zhejiang Province (now Jinhua City). During the Ming Dynasty, ten generations of the Cangxi Tao family inherited the title of "hundred households" and were promoted to General Zhaoyi; during the Qing Dynasty, six generations of the Cangxi Tao family served as the Cloud Guard of the Imperial Guard, and one generation served as the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. During the Republic of China, one generation served as the secretary of Sun Yat-sen's office. In the "Arts and Literature" section of the incomplete copy of Cangxi's "Origin of the Tao Family" [Tao Family Genealogy] from the Jiajing period (1522-1566) of the Ming Dynasty, which is now collected by Tao Shuhui, the 19th generation descendant of the Cangxi Tao family since the Ming Dynasty, there is a record: "Cangxi lantern opera has existed since the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty and was quite popular during the Hongzhi period. It originated from the folk lantern playing, yangko opera, and altar celebrations." "On the 15th day of the fifth month, there is a plague ancestor meeting, and lantern opera is performed for ten days. Every night, incense is burned like fog, and the fire never stops. The mountain of lanterns is also like the Lantern Festival." These records are recorded in the notes after the three Cangxi lantern operas, "The Black Case", "The Invitation", and "Blind Wang Watching the Altar", which were collected and compiled by Tao Wenju, a Cangxi native and professor at the Imperial College, included in the genealogy. According to the "Genealogy Table" in the fragment of "Tao's Origin" during the Jiajing period (1522-1566 AD), Tao Wenju was a professor at the Imperial College during the "Hongzhi Period". Therefore, Tao Wenju's record of the "fairly prosperous" Cangxi Lantern Opera at that time should be true. Tao Wenju traced the origin of Cangxi Lantern Opera by saying that it "had existed since the Hongwu Period of the Ming Dynasty", and then said that "on May 15th, there was a plague ancestor meeting, and the lantern opera was performed for ten days - just like the Lantern Festival". This shows that Tao Wenju, who was a professor at the Imperial Academy during the "Hongzhi Period", had a deep understanding and research on the "Cangxi Lantern Opera" and "Cangxi Lantern Mountain" during the Shangyuan Period of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty [674-676 AD]. After making sufficient research, he came to the conclusion that Cangxi Lantern Opera, like the "Cangxi Lantern Mountain" mentioned by Tao Wenju, still maintained the style of the Shangyuan Period of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty [674-676 AD]. This also shows that Cangxi Lantern Opera existed during the Shangyuan Period of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty [674-676 AD]. At the same time, both of the above books record that Cangxi Lantern Opera began to be popular in Langzhong, Nanbu, Yilong, Shunqing in Nanchong during the Jiajing Period of the Ming Dynasty, Bazhou and Nanjiang in Bazhong, Lizhou, Zhaohua, Jiange, Wangcang in Guangyuan, Nanzheng, Mianxian, Ningqiang, Lueyang in Hanzhong, etc. This shows that after the "fever" of the "Hongzhi Year" when Tao Wenju lived, Cangxi Lantern Opera was no longer content with being popular in the county, but extended its tentacles to a wider space outside the county. Regarding this point, Liangping County's "Liangshan Chronicles" during the Guangxu Year of the Qing Dynasty, Baoning Prefecture's "Baoning Prefecture Chronicles" during the Qianlong Year of the Qing Dynasty [now Langzhong, during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Baoning Prefecture's seat was in Langzhong County, Cangxi was under the jurisdiction of Baoning Prefecture, and bordered Langzhong County], and Nanzheng Chronicles during the Daoguang Year of Nanzheng all have records. Even the chronicles of many places in Hubei that were influenced by Cangxi Lantern Opera, such as "Yichang Prefecture Chronicles", "Hangao Bamboo Branch Poems" and "Chenzhou Prefecture Chronicles" in the 30th year of Qianlong, also have records that "it originated from Cangxi Lantern Opera in Sichuan". The Wang family of Cangxi followed Emperor Xuanzong to escape from the An Lushan Rebellion in his later years and settled in Cangxi during the Tang Dynasty. In the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, there were always people from the Wang family of Cangxi serving as officials in the imperial court, and the lowest official position was the doctor of Jingji. In the literature section of the Cangxi Wang Family Tree, which was revised in the 10th year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty, there is a poem about Cangxi Lantern Opera written by Wang Yue, the champion of the imperial examination and the doctor of Jingji in the second year of Shaoding in the Song Dynasty [1231 AD]: "The sun sets, drums and gongs sound in the countryside. Everyone returns home, and the lantern dance begins in the courtyard." This shows that Cangxi Lantern Opera existed before the second year of Shaoding in the Song Dynasty, and it was very popular among the people in Cangxi in the second year of Shaoding in the Song Dynasty [1231 AD]. Otherwise, how could Wang Yue, the champion of the imperial examination, the doctor of Jingji and a native of Cangxi, write: As soon as the sun sets, the drums and gongs of the lantern dance troupe calling the audience resound throughout the countryside and mountains? Why would the villagers want to finish work early and go home to watch the "lantern dance"? The earliest person who has a written record of Cangxi Lantern Opera is Du Fu, the great poet of the Tang Dynasty. In the autumn of the second year of Emperor Daizong's Guangde reign [763 AD], Du Fu lived in Langzhong to avoid the Ziyi Rebellion. Because his eleventh uncle went to Qingcheng County to take up a post, Du Fu saw him off. Passing through Cangxi County [there is no record of who he saw off], Du Fu and his eleventh uncle stayed in Cangxi County for a while, and visited Shaoping Mountain on the other side of the Jialing River at the foot of Cangxi County. During this time, Du Fu wrote the three characters "Shaoping Mountain" on the stone wall of Shaoping Mountain, and wrote the famous poem "Release the Boat" which has been passed down through the ages: "Seeing off guests in Cangxi County, the mountains are cold and the rain has not cleared. I am worried about riding a slippery horse, so I let the boat go back. The green peaks are gone, and the yellow oranges and grapefruits are coming. I feel free in the middle of the stream, and I feel relaxed and happy sitting still." However, few people know about another poem written by Du Fu, namely "Another Screen Trace Inscribed with Poems": "I use clumsiness to achieve my way, and live in seclusion close to the nature. Mulberry and hemp are covered with deep rain and dew, and swallows and sparrows grow together. The sound of lantern operas rises, and the fishing boats are light. I have been walking with a walking stick since I was old, and my heart is happy and clear." "Lantern opera" refers to Cangxi lantern opera. "Gege" means "gege". As a poet, Du Fu did not leave us the time when Cangxi Lantern Opera was created, but his words "The sound of lantern opera rises, and the fishing boats are light" show that Cangxi Lantern Opera existed as early as 1244 years ago during the reign of Emperor Daizong of Tang Dynasty, and it was very popular in Cangxi County and the wider Cangxi countryside. Otherwise, how could it have a place in the poet's writing? It can be seen that Cangxi Lantern Opera originated at least during the Shangyuan period of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty, and existed and developed as an independent drama. 3. The relationship between Cangxi Lantern Opera and other operas 1. Cangxi Lantern Opera and Cangxi Qingtan In the "Arts and Literature" section of the "Cangxi County Chronicles" compiled in the 29th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, Tao Shuli, a Cangxi native and the governor of Zhongzhou Prefecture, attributed the origin of Cangxi Lantern Opera to the backward economy and culture. He said that Cangxi Nuo religious activities were more popular than other areas in northern Sichuan. Rural farmers in Cangxi needed to pray for blessings and wishes, and they paid Nuo to set up an altar and perform rituals for three days and three nights or seven days and seven nights or even twenty-one days. Tao Shuli further analyzed that although the rituals in Cangxi Nuo religious activities had simple music and dance, they had no plot and were monotonous and boring. In addition, they were long-lasting and it was difficult to attract the lasting interest of the host's relatives, friends and neighbors, so the Cangxi altar troupe and the Cangxi Lantern Opera troupe were combined. The Cangxi Lantern Opera troupe could perform Cangxi Lantern Opera in between rituals to entertain people and gods. Tao Shuli further analyzed that there is a Cangxi altar troupe and a Cangxi lantern troupe for the Spring Festival, Autumn Festival, Qingming Festival, temple building and welcoming gods, bir