Qiludeng Exploration,

Lamp on the Forked Road, a novel produced in Qing Dynasty, remained unknown to the public since it's very birth. It was not until the eighties of last century that it began to arouse the extensive interest of researches in the sphere of learning. By referring to various kinds of firsthand information and the ready made achievements of the forefathers, and taking opera and commerce as a point of contact, this present paper tends to reveal the authentic appearance of the development of opera and commerce of that era. With reference to the historical materials reserved in the novel and the relevant documents, the first two chapters analyze "the battle between Kunqv and Local Opera" and re-explain the so-called Bang Luo Juan that appears in the novel. Chapter 3 probes into the businessmen and their activities during the domination of Kangxi and Qianlong by analyzing the related historical notes and local records. In Chapter 4 ,based on the interpretation of the previous three chapters ,the paper analyzes the relationship between opera and commerce, trying to prove the view that "the way of trade is the way of opera". In a word, by employing the method of taking text and history both as evidence, this paper tries to fully excavate the historical and cultural values implied in the novel, thus reappearing a period of real history.