Yi opera is a new ethnic opera originated in Chuxiong Yizhou. The Chuxiong Yi people have always been good at singing and dancing. Their epics of creation "Mei Ge" and "Yao Mu", heroic epic "Aru Jure" and other long poems have been passed down from generation to generation in the form of rap. In the Yi ethnic group settlement area in Shuangbai County, a folk Yi people named Li Erduo adapted and performed a two-person rap show "A Zuo's Separation of the Family" based on a story in the "Bimo Sutra". The roles are not fixed. They speak Yi language, sing Yi tunes, and dance Yi dances. They dance and dance to the accompaniment of sheepskin drums. Later, in the Yi ethnic group settlement area in Chuxiong County, Yi folk artists created and performed a unique "The King Drills Soldiers". Although some opera forms were used, the actors spoke Yi dialect in Chinese and danced Yi dances, which basically reflected the life of the Yi people at that time. In 1956, the Ma Gan Fang Club was established in Tanhua Mountain, Dayao County. Yang Sen and a group of Yi youths used the combination of song, dance and dialogue to create and perform a number of art programs in Yi language, Yi tunes and Yi dance, such as "Wolves Come to Drag Sheep", "Accumulate Fertilizer", "Sell Fat Pigs", "Singing Cooperative", "Shepherding in the Forest", and "Sheep Eating at Night". Afterwards, Yang Sen and others created and arranged the Yi opera "Manmo and Maruo", which, together with the original "Sheep Calling in the Middle of the Night", participated in the first Yunnan National Drama Festival in 1962 and also achieved success. In March 1980, the Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture allocated 5,000 yuan to support the establishment of an amateur Yi opera troupe in Tanhua Township, Dayao County. The prefecture and county cultural bureaus held academic discussions on Yi opera for many times and published the first and second volumes of "Yi Opera Materials Collection". In 1982, the prefecture's modern drama was first published as a program performance. Yi operas such as "Two In-laws in the Singing Field", "Chaden Tower", "Under the Walnut Tree", "Green Mountains and Forests", and "Ayanna" were widely welcomed. In 1984, Chuxiong Prefecture established a professional Yi Opera Troupe. In addition, in terms of dance, costumes, lighting, scenery, etc., while retaining the national characteristics, performers pay attention to absorbing the strengths of other drama arts to enrich the artistic expression of Yi Opera. In 1985, the Chuxiong Prefecture Yi Opera Troupe participated in the Second National Drama Festival of Yunnan Province and performed four Yi Operas, "Silver Lock", "Mieduni Naodian" (later changed to "Naodian"), "Jiaogechangshang", and "Chundang Yishan". A number of Yi Operas, such as "Jiaogechangren", "Zhanghuoren", "Silver Lock", "Manmo and Maruo", "Songchang Two In-laws", and "Chadenta", won the National Minority Opera Video Performance Award, the National Minority Theme Drama Script Award, and the Yunnan Province Modern Drama Creation Repertoire Award. So far, Yi Opera has created more than 60 repertoires. Yi Opera, a flower of national drama born in Chuxiong Yishan, is like the undefeated horse cherry blossoms blooming in Qianli Yishan, blooming more and more beautifully. (Yixue.com)