Yihuang Opera, one of the ancient operas in Jiangxi, originated from Yihuang County in the eastern part of Jiangxi. Around the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the Western Qinqiang, which originated in southern Gansu, spread from north to south, bringing two tunes: the Chuiqiang accompanied by flute and the Erfan accompanied by suona. After entering Yihuang, the suona and flute were abolished and replaced by the accompaniment of the huqin, forming a Banqiang music with Erfan as the main body, which was called "Huqinqiang" at that time. Li Diaoyuan of the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty said in "Yucun Drama Talk": "Huqinqiang originated from Jiangyou (now Jiangxi), and its sound is popular in this world. It is also called Erhuang (Huang)qiang with the huqin as the rhythm." Soon, this huqin Yihuangqiang quickly spread to Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Shaanxi, Henan, Sichuan, and entered Beijing. Qi Zhen's "Beijing Bailiu Zhuzhici" recorded: "The graceful pearl throat and beautiful clothes, Yiqiang Qindiao mixed with Yihuang." Yihuang, Yiyang and Qinqiang in Kyoto are all better. In the late Qing Dynasty, Yihuang Opera in Jiangxi Province was so popular that there were many troupes, including Liushun, Chunhe, Heshun and other troupes in Fuzhou alone. The repertoire of Yihuang Opera is extremely rich. According to a list of plays in the seventh year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1881), there were 70 full-length plays and 182 single-act plays at that time, most of which were based on historical stories. Among them, the plays inherited from the Western Qin Opera in the Ming Dynasty include "The Book of Honest Officials", "Five Thunder Array", "Four Kingdoms", "Naosha River", "Rou Longtou", "Songpenghui", "Wanlihou", "Xiahedong", "Double Rescue", "Da Jinguan", "Da Dengzhou", "Xixiongbian", "Qingyangtu", "Mengjinhui" and so on. These plays are all famous plays of Huabu Luantan during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. The music of Yihuang Opera includes Erfan (Erhuang), Fanzi (Fandiao), Suona Erfan, Xipi, Zhediao, Nanbeici, etc., and it also retains the Chuiqiang of the Western Qin Opera era, commonly known as "Panban Chuiqiang". Erfan, also known as "Erfan", is the main tune of Yihuang Opera. The counter-tune of Erfan is called "Fanzi", also known as "Huanhunqiang". Suona Erfan, with suona as the main instrument, is suitable for high-pitched and tragic emotions. The orchestra of Yihuang Opera includes huqin (wooden pole and wooden sticks, slightly larger than Jinghu), erhu, yueqin, and sanxian, collectively known as "eleven strings". The role division of Yihuang Opera is relatively detailed. The Sheng role includes Zhengsheng, Laosheng, Xiaosheng, and Mo; the Dan role includes Zhengdan, Xiaodan, Laodan, and Erdan; the Jing role includes Dahua, Erhua, Sanhua, and Sihua. The roles in the early years were the same as Yiyangqiang, all of which were "nine corners". Later, Mo, Erdan, and Sihua were added, becoming "twelve roles". The performance procedures of each line are very standardized and rigorous. Some plays still retain the scripts and scenes of the early Qing Dynasty. The play "Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion" has more scenes than Peking Opera, such as "Zhao Fei Moving Soldiers" and "Holding the Dragon to the Throne". The stage performance also absorbs the nutrients of folk art. For example, in the "Four Kingdoms Qi" scene, the six actors who play the cavalry are tied in the shape of horses and lanterns, and make various horse-running movements. Another example is the mask makeup of "Three Stars Offering Longevity" in "Wanshoutu" and the "jumping judge" action in "Flower Girl", which preserves the performance of folk lanterns and Nuo dance. The judge dances without a mask, staggering, wearing bloated clothes, with fat buttocks and protruding belly, red robes and black boots, and elephant-shaped pointed yarn. He jumps left and right to the beat of the drum, and sometimes spews flames from his mouth, and sparks fly several feet away, making a sound. It has always been popular with rural audiences. The Yihuang Drama Troupe was disbanded in 1989. Now there are only some rural amateur performance teams. It was listed as the National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006.