The Pearl of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage—Huangmei Opera 中國的非遺明珠—黃梅戲

何晨宇

Huangmei Opera， a local drama inAnhui Province， is considered as the Pearlof Chinas Intangible Cultural Heritage byits special charm and rich cultural heritage.

The origin of Huangmei Opera coulddate from the Tang Dynasty， originatingfrom the Picking Tea Song in HuangmeiCounty， Hubei Province. Gradually， withthe love and support of local people，Huangmei Opera got further developmentin the Anqing area of Anhui Province.

The development of Huangmei Operawas filled with difficulties and challenges.In the late Qing Dynasty， with the socialunrest（ 動蕩） and changes， the overalldevelopment of opera art was affected.So was Huangmei Opera. However， the?performers who had a goodcommand of Huangmei Operainsisted on developing it. After thefound of the Peoples Republic ofChina， Huangmei Opera returnedto our daily life with strongsupport and promotion from thegovernment.

Its representative worksinclude Tian Xian Pei（ 天仙配），F(xiàn)emale Consort Prince（ 女駙馬）and so on. For example， Tian XianPei is a traditional classic play of Huangmei Opera， telling a movinglove story. In the story， the Seventh Fairy and Dong Yong fell in love，but love between fairies and ordinary people was forbidden. Gettingthrough many difficulties， they moved the Jade Emperor with sincerityand courage. Finally， the Seventh Fairy and Dong Yong lived togetherhappily.

Today， Huangmei Opera has a great influence on our lives. It is notonly a key part of fine traditional Chinese culture， but also an importantcarrier of contemporary art， culture， society， and international exchanges.In recent years， the government and local people have made great effortsto strengthen the protection and support of Huangmei Opera， such astraining a new generation of Huangmei Opera performers and holdingsome performances and competitions. Through their tireless efforts，Huangmei Opera is now getting well inherited.