【1】Different landscapes shape different customs， and different customs breed different forms of drama. Just as people differ in appearance， so do the tunes of their theater. Prominent among dozens of opera genres are Peking， Yu， Jin， Yue， Huangmei， Erhuang， and Sichuan Gaoqiang， each with its own rhythm and character. If you ask which boasts the longest history， best preserves its traditions of stage combat， singing， and storytelling， or conveys the clearest moral message， our answer is： Qinqiang. Its perceived strengths are as striking as its perceived weaknesses. Its admirers love it to death， while its detractors detest it to the bone. People outside its birthplace， especially those from the Yangtze River Basin who pride themselves on their refined taste， find Qinqiang’s thunderous intensity too overwhelming. The gentlest critics blame its raucousness， while more blunt comments dismiss it as no more than “shouting and yelling”. You’ll find frail-looking women who have somehow ventured into such a show