Huai opera, also known as Jiang Huai opera and Huai opera, is an ancient local opera, originated in Huai'an City and Lixia River area of Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, originated in modern Shanghai, and now popular in Jiangsu Province, Shanghai city and some parts of Anhui Province.
Huaiju said Jianhu dialect and sang Jianhu tune. The leading figures in all stages of Huaiju are mostly Jianhu people. Jianhu is the hometown of Huai opera people. In November 1950, Ma Lintong, a famous Huai opera actor, first printed the standard "Huai opera" on the opera list. [1] As a result, "Jiangbei opera", "Jianghuai opera" and other different appellations gradually unified to "Huai opera". In October 1952, the Shanghai People's Huai Opera Troupe attended the first national opera performance conference, and its name was officially recorded in the national file. In 1953, upon the proposal of Premier Zhou Enlai, the state officially named the play Huaiju. [1]
In the middle of Qing Dynasty, in Huai'an prefecture (today's salt city and Huai'an City) and Yangzhou Prefecture, a rap form "gate exclamation" developed from farmer's chant and field song "part part part cavity" and "planting seedling tune" was popular among the local people. The form was one person singing alone or two people singing in pairs, which was called "two Kezi". Only the bamboo clapping was used. After the Huaiju opera was performed in combination with the Xianghuo opera, a folk song opera in Northern Jiangsu, and later influenced by Huixi opera and Peking Opera (called huijiake), it gradually enriched in singing, performance and repertoire, thus forming Huaiju opera.