An Luchang

01 · Lineage & Regional School

At the age of thirteen he joined the Longshunhe opera society and studied under He Fengxiang, known as Zhaozhou Hong and one of the Four Reds of Sixian, specializing in xusheng (bearded male) and laosheng (old male) roles. Within the regional tradition and school record of Shijiazhuang Sixian in Shijiazhuang, Hebei: Shijiazhuang Sixian circulates over most of Hebei Province as well as in eastern Jinzhong and the Yanbei area, and it occupies a high position among the local genres of Hebei, giving rise to the sayings that 'kun, gao, sixian and luan are never parted' and that 'one kun, two gao, three sixian'. Within the province, the city of Shijiazhuang together with the districts of Zhengding, Gaocheng and Huolu forms the core of the troupe network; the Sixian troupes of Baoding, Xingtai and other places share a common source with it in their choice of qupai and in vocal style, yet each has its own departures. Shijiazhuang Sixian evolved from the folk tunes of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Its vocal style is distinctive: characters are sung in the natural voice, the melody leaps upward and rises to a high register, and the trailing phrases are then carried in falsetto with the melody descending stepwise. The result is stirring and lingering, impassioned and uninhibited.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

In 1957 he went with his troupe to Beijing for a report performance, and in 1958 he traveled to Korea to give consolation performances for the Chinese People's Volunteers. His stage acting was elegant and humorous with a strong local flavor; he created the double boot-carrying technique and reformed the technique of the winged hat. His singing is high and powerful yet also subtle and delicate; he excelled at portraying a character's inner world and at the technique of articulating words in the natural voice and prolonging cadences in falsetto. His representative productions include Hua Zhu Hen (The Wedding Candle's Grievance), Kou Zhun Bei Xue (Kou Zhun Carries the Boots), Shi Wu Guan (Fifteen Strings of Coins), Jin Ling Ji (The Golden Bell), Wu Nü Bai Shou (Five Daughters Celebrate a Birthday), Que Tui Shuji Shang Shan (The Lame Secretary Goes Up the Mountain), San Jin Shi (The Three Graduates) and Da Tie (The Forging), among others. Within the documented technical tradition of Shijiazhuang Sixian in Shijiazhuang, Hebei: Shijiazhuang Sixian is also called xianqiang, xiansuoqiang, Hexi diao, xiaoguqiang, luoluqiang, nüerqiang and other names. It is one of the ancient genres peculiar to Hebei Province, and one of the rare local vocal-system opera genres in the whole country. It circulates over most of Hebei Province as well as in eastern Jinzhong and the Yanbei area. Shijiazhuang Sixian has more than five hundred traditional plays. Kong Yin He (The Empty Seal Case), The White Silk Robe, Xiao Er Jie Zuo Meng (The Second Eldest Sister's Dream), Gan Nüxu (Chasing the Son-in-Law), Jin Ling Ji (The Golden Bell Stratagem), The Yang Family Generals, Hua Zhu Hen (Lament of the Wedding Candles), Shengsi Pai (The Life-and-Death Tablet) and Zong Ze and Yue Fei are its representative works. Sixian music belongs to the xiansuo vocal-system family. It has more than five hundred musical scores of various kinds and over one hundred types of accompanying qupai (tune patterns), divided into two main parts, guanqiang and yuediao. The guan diao tune patterns are mostly in long-and-short sentence form, represented by Shua Haier; the yuediao tune patterns are mostly in paired-couplet form, represented by San Dao Qiang and Luoluo. The Sixian orchestra is divided into a civil section and a martial section. The civil instruments include the string set, yueqin, large sanxian and small sanxian — the 'four-string frame' (sijia xian) — while the martial instruments include the clapper drum, large sieve gong, large cymbals, muted cymbals and so on. The role types of Sixian fall into the sheng, dan, jing and chou lines. Its performance is ardent and fiery, bold and unrestrained, with movements exaggerated and of large amplitude; it depicts characters with delicate vividness and carries a strong flavour of the soil. Shijiazhuang Sixian is an outstanding representative of Yanzhao culture, highly creative in its own right, and it occupies a high position among the local genres of Hebei. There is a saying that 'kun, gao, sixian and luan are never parted', and another that 'one kun, two gao, three sixian'. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Kong Yin He (The Empty Seal Case)": Shijiazhuang Sixian has more than five hundred traditional plays. Kong Yin He (The Empty Seal Case), The White Silk Robe, Xiao Er Jie Zuo Meng (The Second Eldest Sister's Dream), Gan Nüxu (Chasing the Son-in-Law), Jin Ling Ji (The Golden Bell Stratagem), The Yang Family Generals, Hua Zhu Hen (Lament of the Wedding Candles), Shengsi Pai (The Life-and-Death Tablet) and Zong Ze and Yue Fei are its representative works. "The White Silk Robe": Shijiazhuang Sixian has more than five hundred traditional plays. Kong Yin He (The Empty Seal Case), The White Silk Robe, Xiao Er Jie Zuo Meng (The Second Eldest Sister's Dream), Gan Nüxu (Chasing the Son-in-Law), Jin Ling Ji (The Golden Bell Stratagem), The Yang Family Generals, Hua Zhu Hen (Lament of the Wedding Candles), Shengsi Pai (The Life-and-Death Tablet) and Zong Ze and Yue Fei are its representative works. "Xiao Er Jie Zuo Meng (The Second Eldest Sister's Dream)": Shijiazhuang Sixian has more than five hundred traditional plays. Kong Yin He (The Empty Seal Case), The White Silk Robe, Xiao Er Jie Zuo Meng (The Second Eldest Sister's Dream), Gan Nüxu (Chasing the Son-in-Law), Jin Ling Ji (The Golden Bell Stratagem), The Yang Family Generals, Hua Zhu Hen (Lament of the Wedding Candles), Shengsi Pai (The Life-and-Death Tablet) and Zong Ze and Yue Fei are its representative works. "Gan Nüxu (Chasing the Son-in-Law)": Shijiazhuang Sixian has more than five hundred traditional plays. Kong Yin He (The Empty Seal Case), The White Silk Robe, Xiao Er Jie Zuo Meng (The Second Eldest Sister's Dream), Gan Nüxu (Chasing the Son-in-Law), Jin Ling Ji (The Golden Bell Stratagem), The Yang Family Generals, Hua Zhu Hen (Lament of the Wedding Candles), Shengsi Pai (The Life-and-Death Tablet) and Zong Ze and Yue Fei are its representative works.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Male, Han ethnicity, born in November 1937 in Huolu County, Hebei Province, and died in November 2018. He was a national representative bearer of Shijiazhuang Sixian, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He devoted himself to the protection and transmission of Shijiazhuang Sixian, passing on to young actors his special skill of double boot-carrying and fourteen traditional plays.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. An Luchang · National Representative Bearer Archive