Huai Opera is one of the important local opera genres in China, deeply loved by the people for its simple singing style and vivid narration. The ethical concepts, feelings of family and country, and social education functions it contains are an important part of China's excellent traditional culture and also an important carrier for telling Chinese stories well. Standing at the new starting point of cultural "going global", our city should give full play to the unique role of Huai Opera in cultural communication, coordinate traditional protection and contemporary innovation, focus on promoting classic collation, original creation, digital transformation and multilingual communication, cultivate demonstration communication paths, enhance the international recognition and communication power of Huai Opera, and promote the resonance of Chinese culture on the world stage.
Based on Roots and Origins, Deepening the Soil of Huai Opera's Ethical Narration
Ethical narration is the cultural core of Huai Opera. Whether it is traditional plays about loyalty, filial piety, integrity and righteousness, or modern new works reflecting the changes of the times, they subtly convey the Chinese people's value cognition about family, hometown and society. To achieve effective transformation in international communication, it is first necessary to deeply cultivate the local context and deepen the narrative soil.
On the one hand, systematically collate classic plays. Through the digital and translated collation of classic scripts such as Zhao Wuniang and Pipa Birthday, condense their core ethical values to form representative theme prototypes, providing a stable cultural basis for international audiences. On the other hand, promote creative innovation. Encourage contemporary performance teams to use modern narrative techniques and integrate realistic elements such as gender issues, intergenerational conflicts, and urban-rural changes, making ethical narration more contemporary. Through the dual narrative of "traditional themes + contemporary writing", show the development context of Chinese society and enhance the explanatory power of cross-cultural communication.
Integrating Technology to Innovate Cross-border Communication Forms of Huai Opera
Under the wave of digitalization and intelligence, technology empowerment has become a new engine for cross-border communication of local operas. The international communication of Huai Opera cannot only rely on traditional stage performances, but should be reborn in diverse media and interactive scenarios. First, create an immersive digital stage. Use technologies such as VR/AR, holographic images, and AI virtual actors to restore Huai Opera scenes and characters, allowing overseas audiences to experience the unique charm of the "water town singing style" immersively even across the ocean. Second, build an online multilingual platform. Relying on international video platforms and opera digital museums, launch the "Huai Opera Cloud Theater", and introduce high-quality plays and micro-dramas with English and French subtitles to lower the audience's acceptance threshold.
Furthermore, develop interactive cultural products. Integrate Huai Opera elements into games, animations, emojis and digital cultural and creative products to form a cross-media narrative matrix and expand the cultural reach of young groups. In addition, the "artificial intelligence + translation" project can be promoted. Through big data training and AI voice synthesis, realize the multilingual synchronous communication of Huai Opera arias, allowing operas that "can be understood" to cross language barriers and be presented smoothly on the international stage.
Deepening Integration to Expand the Cultural Communication Chain of Huai Opera
The international communication of Huai Opera is not only a display of a single art, but also a systematic project of cultural industry and cross-border integration. Through the diversified model of "opera +", the communication chain can be continuously expanded and cultural tentacles extended. First, as a famous historical and cultural city and an ecological tourist city, Yancheng can promote the in-depth integration of "Huai Opera + cultural tourism". Relying on Yancheng's rich wetland landscapes and historical sites, create an immersive performance space and cultural tourism routes with Huai Opera as the theme, such as "Yancheng Wetland · Huai Opera Cultural Tour". Tourists can not only enjoy traditional plays, but also participate in local folk experience and taste Yancheng's characteristic food, forming a comprehensive cultural experience of "watching plays, enjoying scenery, tasting food, and staying in homestays", and improving the recognition and participation of Huai Opera among international tourists.
At the same time, the "Huai Opera + education + cultural and creative" model can be deepened. Combine Yancheng's universities and local cultural resources to set up Huai Opera art workshops and cross-cultural courses to attract overseas students and cultural lovers to participate in the experience; and develop cultural and creative products based on Yancheng's characteristic figures and stories, such as designing clothing, jewelry, tea sets and digital collections based on local legends and classic stage roles, realizing the linkage of cultural experience and consumption, and connecting with the international market through cross-border e-commerce platforms.
Activating Space to Build a New Scenario for International Communication of Huai Opera
The innovative use of space is an important strategy for the international communication of Huai Opera. It is necessary to activate the local stock space, build an international display platform, and open up new communication fields overseas to make Huai Opera go further and more steadily. Domestically, relying on the construction of a famous opera city, a "Huai Opera Cultural Living Room" should be built, combining theaters, exhibition halls, experience halls and digital interactive spaces to form an international communication base integrating performances, research, exhibitions and exchanges. By regularly holding international Huai Opera festivals and inviting overseas scholars and artists to participate, promote multilingual dialogue and cross-border exchanges.
Abroad, long-term cooperative relationships can be established with international theaters, museums and cultural festivals, setting up "Huai Opera Overseas Workshops" and "Huai Opera Regular Performance Bases", and organizing tours and lectures through overseas cultural institutions to achieve regular communication. Especially in countries along the "Belt and Road", relying on cultural and people-to-people exchange mechanisms, a "Huai Opera International Tour Belt" can be created to implant China's ethical narrative art into the world stage. At the same time, attention should be paid to the strength of overseas Chinese communities and community spaces. Relying on overseas Chinese associations and cultural centers, establish Huai Opera fan clubs and lovers' alliances, so that "grassroots communication" and "official promotion" can form a joint force, and build a multi-level, multi-subject and multi-scenario communication pattern.
(Xu Wenya is a researcher at the Yancheng Local Culture International Communication Research Center; Ye Lei is the executive director of the Yancheng Local Culture International Communication Research Center. This article was published in Yanfu People‘s Daily on September 29, 2025.)
