The Enchanting Huagu Opera: A Tale of Courage and Devotion魅力花鼓戏：勇气与奉献的故事

邱博睿

Huagu Opera， also known as Flower Drum， is atraditional local dance， dating back over 4000 yearsto the Xia Dynasty.

This local art form is popular among theworking class in Yingshang， Hefei， Anhui， whereit has become an essential part of the local culture.Huagu Opera is a unique combination of dance，singing， gongs， drums， and opera， offering awindow into the rich cultural heritage and lifestyle of the region.

The gentle yet powerful rhythm（ 韻律） of Huagu Opera is whatmakes it so fascinating and appealing to audiences across China. Thepeople of Yingshang， the birthplace of this dance， firmly believe thatHuagu Opera is proof of their courage and energy. They have supported and promoted this art form for centuries， ensuring its preservation andcontinuation.

According to legend， Huagu Opera originated in the Xia Dynasty.At the foot of Tushan Mountain， Dayu set out to conquer the floods. Hespent 13 years in flood control and passed by his home three times withoutentering. His wife missed him very much and stood on the hillside every dayholding her son and looking into the distance， wishing her husbands successin flood control and an early return. She was eager to see her husband andher sincerity was so great that she turned into a huge stone， which was latercalled “Wangfu Stone” or “Qimu Stone”. In order to honor them， peoplebuilt a temple called King Yu Temple. On March 28th of the lunar calendar，people came to the temple fair， played drums and gongs， and danced. Sincethen Huagu Opera has been passed down to the present.

To better protect the intangible heritage project of Huagu Opera， thegovernment and local people in Anhui have made great efforts to preserveand promote Huagu Opera. Firstly， they have held various activities suchas Huagu performances， dragon and liondances， etc. to introduce intangible heritageprojects into the community and enrichresidents cultural life. Besides， someperformers have been to primary schools toexplain the historical origin， performanceforms and characteristics of Huagu Operato students. They have also given somewonderful performances. The students saidthat through this activity， they had a deeperunderstanding of Huagu Opera and felt theunique charm of the traditional culture.