Jiang Jianfeng

01 · Lineage & Regional School

He specialized in xiaosheng and xiaochou roles, studied under Chen Lixiang, a famous comic actor of Yangju Opera, and was the founder of the Jiang school of Yangju singing. Within the regional tradition and school record of Yangju Opera in Yanyijituanyangjutuan, Jiangsu: Yangju opera was originally called Weiyang xi and is popularly known as Yangzhou xi; it is current in Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Nanjing and other places of Jiangsu Province and in parts of Anhui Province. In the early 20th century it entered large cities such as Shanghai and Hangzhou, and in the 1950s and 1960s it began to flourish, performances in Zhenjiang, Nanjing and Yangzhou enjoying a vogue for a time and forming a tripartite contest among the three cities. The Jiangsu Yangju Opera Troupe concentrates on the sorting out of traditional repertoire works and on the creation of newly adapted historical plays and modern plays, while the troupes of Yangzhou and Zhenjiang have their respective divisions of labour in the range of repertoire they present. In the early 20th century it entered large cities such as Shanghai and Hangzhou; in the 1950s and 1960s Yangju opera began to flourish, performances in Zhenjiang, Nanjing and Yangzhou enjoying a vogue for a time and forming a tripartite contest among the three cities.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

His repertoire was exceptionally large: over seventy years in the art he performed every traditional play of Yangju Opera. He took part in the writing, direction and performance of newly composed historical plays and modern operas. In 1959 he went to Beijing for a report performance and was received by Party and state leaders. Within the documented technical tradition of Yangju Opera in Yanyijituanyangjutuan, Jiangsu: Yangju opera was originally called Weiyang xi and is popularly known as Yangzhou xi; it is current in Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Nanjing and other places of Jiangsu Province and in parts of Anhui Province, and Yangju plays are also performed in Shanghai. Yangju opera is based on Huagui opera, a small folk song-and-dance play of Yangzhou, and on Xianghuo opera, performed by male shamans at the thanksgiving and deity-propitiation temple meetings of the folk of northern Jiangsu; absorbing Yangzhou qingqu, local folk songs and simple tunes, it gradually developed into an independent drama genre. The vocal music of Yangju opera belongs to the tune-pattern system and consists mainly of three parts: Huagui opera music, Xianghuo opera music, and Yangzhou qingqu together with xiao chang (short sung pieces). Its accompanying ensemble is divided into a wen chang (civil section) and a wu chang (martial section). The civil section mainly uses string and wind instruments such as the zhu hu, zheng gong, pipa, sanxian, yangqin, flute and suona; the martial section mainly uses percussion such as the ban drum, large gong, small gong, nao and bo, and hall drum. Although the role types of Yangju opera are divided into sheng, dan, jing and chou, the distinction is not strict; performers cover a wide range, and in the vocal line only a male style and a female style are distinguished. The performance of each role type draws largely on and absorbs the conventions of Kunqu, Beijing opera and the like, yet it always keeps the plain and lively character of Huagui opera, with a strong flavour of everyday life. Yangju opera has more than four hundred traditional repertoire works, the more influential of which include Yu Qingting (The Jade Dragonfly), Zhenzhu Ta (The Pearl Pagoda), Shen Tudì (The Trial of the Land God), Xiu Fu Yuan (The Embroidered Tally), Wang Zhaojun (Lady Zhaojun of the Han), Nao Deng Ji (The Trouble with the Lanterns), San Xi Bai Mudan (Three Plays of the White Peony), Ming Fu Yan (The Noble Lady's Feast), Qiaofu Yu Hua Nü (The Woodcutter and the Painted Maiden), Hongyan Chuanshu (Wild Geese Carrying a Letter) and Bai Sui Guashuai (The Hundred-Year-Old Takes Command). Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Yu Qingting (The Jade Dragonfly)": Yangju opera has more than four hundred traditional repertoire works, the more influential of which include Yu Qingting (The Jade Dragonfly), Zhenzhu Ta (The Pearl Pagoda), Shen Tudì (The Trial of the Land God), Xiu Fu Yuan (The Embroidered Tally), Wang Zhaojun (Lady Zhaojun of the Han), Nao Deng Ji (The Trouble with the Lanterns), San Xi Bai Mudan (Three Plays of the White Peony), Ming Fu Yan (The Noble Lady's Feast), Qiaofu Yu Hua Nü (The Woodcutter and the Painted Maiden), Hongyan Chuanshu (Wild Geese Carrying a Letter) and Bai Sui Guashuai (The Hundred-Year-Old Takes Command). "Zhenzhu Ta (The Pearl Pagoda)": Yangju opera has more than four hundred traditional repertoire works, the more influential of which include Yu Qingting (The Jade Dragonfly), Zhenzhu Ta (The Pearl Pagoda), Shen Tudì (The Trial of the Land God), Xiu Fu Yuan (The Embroidered Tally), Wang Zhaojun (Lady Zhaojun of the Han), Nao Deng Ji (The Trouble with the Lanterns), San Xi Bai Mudan (Three Plays of the White Peony), Ming Fu Yan (The Noble Lady's Feast), Qiaofu Yu Hua Nü (The Woodcutter and the Painted Maiden), Hongyan Chuanshu (Wild Geese Carrying a Letter) and Bai Sui Guashuai (The Hundred-Year-Old Takes Command). "Shen Tudì (The Trial of the Land God)": Yangju opera has more than four hundred traditional repertoire works, the more influential of which include Yu Qingting (The Jade Dragonfly), Zhenzhu Ta (The Pearl Pagoda), Shen Tudì (The Trial of the Land God), Xiu Fu Yuan (The Embroidered Tally), Wang Zhaojun (Lady Zhaojun of the Han), Nao Deng Ji (The Trouble with the Lanterns), San Xi Bai Mudan (Three Plays of the White Peony), Ming Fu Yan (The Noble Lady's Feast), Qiaofu Yu Hua Nü (The Woodcutter and the Painted Maiden), Hongyan Chuanshu (Wild Geese Carrying a Letter) and Bai Sui Guashuai (The Hundred-Year-Old Takes Command). "Xiu Fu Yuan (The Embroidered Tally)": Yangju opera has more than four hundred traditional repertoire works, the more influential of which include Yu Qingting (The Jade Dragonfly), Zhenzhu Ta (The Pearl Pagoda), Shen Tudì (The Trial of the Land God), Xiu Fu Yuan (The Embroidered Tally), Wang Zhaojun (Lady Zhaojun of the Han), Nao Deng Ji (The Trouble with the Lanterns), San Xi Bai Mudan (Three Plays of the White Peony), Ming Fu Yan (The Noble Lady's Feast), Qiaofu Yu Hua Nü (The Woodcutter and the Painted Maiden), Hongyan Chuanshu (Wild Geese Carrying a Letter) and Bai Sui Guashuai (The Hundred-Year-Old Takes Command).

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Male, of Han ethnicity, born in June 1928 in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, and died in March 2012. Representative bearer of Yangju Opera, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. His representative operas include Bai She Zhuan (The Legend of the White Snake), Baisui Guaishuai (The Centenarian Commander), Yuan Qiao Baidu (Yuan the Woodcutter Ferries Across), Seng Ni Xia Shan (Monk and Nun Descend the Mountain), San Nü Shen Zi (Three Women Judge Their Son), Zhu Hongwu yu Ma Niangniang (Zhu Hongwu and Lady Ma), Bao Gong Gaozhuang (Judge Bao Brings a Case) and Qingshan Hongmei (Green Hills and Red Plum); he took part in writing the script of Baisui Guaishuai and in 1954 appeared at the first East China Regional Opera Observation and Performance Festival, winning second prize for acting. He trained several leading performers, principal xiaosheng actors and heads of troupes for the Jiangsu Provincial Yangju Troupe and the Yangzhou Yangju Troupe.

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. Jiang Jianfeng · National Representative Bearer Archive