Introduction to Guizhou Lantern Opera

Guizhou lantern play in Guizhou Province in the Han areas and some ethnic mixed areas circulated on the basis of lantern songs and dances developed into a variety of opera. Guizhou folk lantern song and dance, a long history, according to the Qing Kangxi to Daoguang years of local records, Fuquan, Zunyi, Kaiyang and other places at that time, there were lantern song and dance popular, every on the New Year's Day, tie all kinds of paper lanterns, made by the children for the time of the new make-up, step song and music, known as the "Lantern Festival", or male make-up Tang Er, female make-up Lazy Sister-in-Law, holding towels, fans, both dance, known as the "lantern jumping", known as the "Lantern Festival", or male make-up Tang Er, female make-up Lazy Sister-in-law, hold towels, fans, and both dance! In 1915, "瓮安县志-风俗篇" contained "ask for miscellaneous dramas", indicating that by this time there were already lantern plays. Guizhou lantern plays in the province have different names: Qianbei, Qianxi area called "lamp folder play"; Dushan area called "table lamp"; Sinan, Yinjiang and other places called "high stage play" or "Lantern Opera".

Guizhou lantern is the treasure of Guizhou folk art, but also the most widely based on the masses of Guizhou Province, the local theater. Initially, the lantern theater performance form is simple, mainly to play folk drama, the subject matter is mostly taken from rural life and folk stories, there are "New Year's Eve", "Sisters Observe Flowers", "Three Visits to Relatives", "Liu Sanmei picking water", "cattle stopping his wife" and other plays.