A Forgotten Operas

This paper is based on folk drama " Er Gu Xian " as research object which is popular in Wuzhi of Henan Province and its surrounding area, from historical ethnomusicology perspective, through interviews to the remaining Er Gu Xian amateur troupe and local artist,we can trace back to historical development process of Er Gu Xian. Er Gu Xian string troupe appeared in Jiaqing years, after a short period of prosperity, two stocks strings gradually declined in nineteen fifties.This paper help people pick up the folk memory through the investigation of folk drama which had been forgotten by the local people from the mid of twentieth Century, exploring the historical development process of Er Gu Xian. Reconstructing historv for the folk drama which is nearly lost, which can make it have records that can be referred to. in order to promote the protection and inheritance of the folk cultural heritage. Through understanding about historical development of Er Gu Xian, based on interviews with the old artist. we summarized the music melodv, plate, operas of two string, and compared the similarities and differences with the different opera called Er Jia Xian which has approximate name. Through the aspects of simplicity, grassroots, and the collective, this paper explained why the Er Gu Xian have been in folk, because they have unique art value and existence foundation, and to explore the interaction between the folk drama and local drama from reference and absorption between the Er Gu Xian and other local operas, also discuss the reasons why the Er Gu Xian didn’t develop into local opera like other similar folk dramas through the aspects of performance area, performance themes, language limitations about Er Gu Xian.