Qu Juanru is the official inheritor(官方传承人)of Jiaxing City Tongxiang flower—drum opera. She began to be on the stage when she was a teenager." My mother died when I was 14. I've lived with my father since then. In the old days, women were not allowed to perform opera. However, my father always supported me when I tried to sing." Qu said.
Qu started performing in the local troupe(剧团)called Aimin Flower—Drum Opera. Later, the troupe was disbanded (解散), and she went back to farming.
After that, the young girl tried to set up the troupe several times but failed. She really lived a hard life at that time. But she didn't give up.
In 2001, some developers planned to rebuild Wuzhen. They thought a place which has no culture is of little significance(意义).So they wanted to bring back local customs, including the Tongxiang flower—drum opera. Qu was their only hope.
Knowing she could sing again, Qu was so excited. Whether it's cold or hot. Qu always gives her everything on stage in Wuzhen. She has six rounds(场)of performing every day and each round lasts 30 minutes. In 2017, she was badly ill, yet it didn't stop her.
"I can still sing and perform. I'd love to be here." Qu said. In her opinion，opera life is a wonderful dream that can't be missed.
