Jiangxi Ganzhou Local Traditional Drama

Gannan tea-picking drama is a local traditional drama in Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, and it is one of the national intangible cultural heritages.

Gannan tea-picking opera, commonly known as "Camellia Lantern Opera" and "Lantern Opera", has the reputation of "the flower of Hakka art", which originated in Jiulongshan District, Anyuan County, Jiangxi Province and has a history of more than 300 years. Based on Jiulong Tea Lantern, it was gradually formed by absorbing its folk art in southern Jiangxi, which was mainly popular in southern Jiangxi, northern Guangdong and western Fujian, and once spread to southern Guangxi. Gannan tea-picking drama developed from folk songs and dances, which is close to life and humorous in language.

On May 20th, 2006, Gannan Tea-picking Opera was approved by People's Republic of China (PRC) and the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

The Historical Development of Tea-picking Opera in Gannan

Gannan tea-picking drama has a long history and is a performance form that integrates Hakka culture. Formed in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, it has a history of about 400 years. Gannan tea-picking drama originated from Anyuan Jiulong Zhang, which is a drama form created by hardworking and intelligent Anyuan people in their long-term labor life.

So they rely on mountains to eat, grow tea and make a living from tea. Since the Tang Dynasty, they have developed tea gardens and produced tea in Tianlong Temple, Xuan Nv Temple, Vacuum Temple and Ancient Xiangshan in Kowloon. By the Ming Dynasty, tea gardens in Kowloon had developed to Longtan, Shaheping and Silk Mao Ping. In the process of tea production, in order to improve the efficiency, tea farmers take planting and picking tea as the main content, write and sing tea-picking songs, and the original ecological tea-picking songs and dances have begun to take shape.