Bai opera

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Baiju

Applicant: Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province

Project No.: 738

Project No.: Ⅳ - 137

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: Traditional Drama

Region: Yunnan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province

Protection unit: Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture ethnic culture working group (Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture Baiju theater)

Introduction to Bai Opera:

Applicant: Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province

Bai opera has a long history. It was formed by the confluence of chuiqiao opera and Daben Quju opera which were introduced into Dali from the mainland in Hongwu Period of Ming Dynasty. During the reign of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, the performance of chuiqiao opera was extremely prosperous in the rural areas of Bai nationality. The humorous performances of various drama characters, such as fishing, firewood, farming and reading, vividly showed the life style of the farming and reading heirs of Bai nationality. Due to historical reasons, in the early years of the Republic of China, chuiqiao opera declined and retreated to remote mountainous areas. For a long time in a closed environment, not affected by the outside world, so a number of traditional plays and a set of simple performance program have been completely preserved, becoming a valuable historical and cultural heritage of the Bai nationality. In 1962, the ancient drama style of Bai nationality was officially named "Bai opera".

Bai opera is rich in repertoire. At present, there are more than 400 known repertoire, including more than 300 traditional repertoire, more than 80 new repertoire created after the founding of new China, and more than 50 reorganized repertoire. At present, Bai opera is still very active among the Bai people, just like chuiqiao and dabenzu, showing its endless artistic vitality to the masses in its original form.