Brief introduction of Yunnan Lantern Opera

Yunnan used to call the performance of lanterns "singing lanterns" or "dustpan lanterns", saying that they were performed in a circle in the square. Historically, lantern performances were mostly performed by lantern clubs, and they held fires. On festivals, people perform lanterns at sports meetings to welcome the gods. It is said that Yuanmou's Honggang Lantern can be traced back to the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1573- 1642). Yuxi lanterns are said to have been pushed to the Ming Dynasty. During the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, Wu wrote in the poem "Thirty Miscellaneous Odes in Southern Yunnan": "Sobbing Lusheng and harmonica, the tone is vaguely mixed with southern sounds. What's the point of hitting a new straw? I'm afraid I have to make a change now. " The original note is "Lu Jian, harmonica, savage instrument; Straw stalks, song names, can be sung by both men and women. "It can be seen that at that time, southern Yunnan was already singing straw stalks (that is, jujube stalks) with national musical instruments," both men and women can sing "; The "fuzzy tone mixed with southern sounds" reflects foreign tunes and is in the process of evolution. According to relevant records, during the Shunzhi period in the Qing Dynasty (1644- 16 1), lantern performances near Kunming were quite common.

As a lantern drama, it is later than the lantern dance. From the contents of some earlier lantern plays, we can find the blueprint of Hundred Autumn in the Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty. For example, Bu Gang, Feng Gu and In-laws in Xiangcheng originated from Buying Rouge, Ancient Paintings, Visiting Family and Scolding each other in the sixth episode of Bian Baiqiu respectively. The lantern drama "Borrowing Relatives to Match" and "Blind People Watching Lights" originated from the first 1 1 episode of Dressing in White Autumn, Borrowing Wife, Watching Lights and Noisy Lights. From this point of view, as the emergence of lantern drama, it will probably not be earlier than the Qianlong period. Because that's when many folk operas in western China flourished.