Yang Xiuying
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Yang Xiuying, Female, Unspecified, from Huaian, Jiangsu, is a third-batch national representative bearer of Huaihai Opera (Ⅳ-104). The tradition is documented in Huaian, Jiangsu. Within the regional tradition and school record of Huaihai Opera in Huaian, Jiangsu: Huai'an Huaihai opera centres on Huai'an city, Jiangsu, and is popular in Huai'an, Suqian and parts of Xuzhou and Yancheng; because its singing phrases often leap up an octave at the end in a flourish it is called the “soul-pulling tune”, sharing an origin with the Lianyungang branch yet with troupes of its own. Around 1830 troupes performing Huaihai opera appeared, and after 1880 the two counties of Donghai and Guanyun in Haizhou alone had more than a hundred Huaihai opera troupes. During the War of Resistance in 1940 the Huaihai opera artists formed the “Artists' Save-the-Nation Association” and wrote and staged a great many modern items such as The Little Stool, The Great Rear and Three Stars Fall, using opera to publicise resistance and to raise the morale of soldiers and people.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Female, Han nationality, born in April 1941, a native of Siyang County, Jiangsu Province. A national first-class actor. In 1955 she was admitted to the Siyang County Huaihai Opera Troupe, where she received personal instruction from Zhu Yunlan, known by the stage name Da Hua Gua (The Big Floral Jacket). In 1956 she made her name with the play Liang Shanbo yu Zhu Yingtai (Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai). In 1959 she was transferred to the Jiangsu Provincial Huaihai Opera Troupe and came under the devoted guidance of the renowned Huaihai Opera master Gu Guangfa. Her acting was plain and finely detailed, her voice bright and rounded, combining strength with gentleness, and she gradually formed a distinctive "Yang school" art that enjoyed high repute throughout northern Jiangsu. Representative works include Fan Lihua Dian Bing (Fan Lihua Reviews the Troops), Pi Xiuying Si Gao (Pi Xiuying's Four Accusations), San Bai Tang (Three Bows in the Hall), Long Jiang Song (Ode to the Long River), San Shang Jiao (Three Times into the Sedan Chair), Hong Lou Meng (Dream of the Red Chamber) and Jie Fu Yin (Song of the Chaste Wife). Her disciples Wu Ling and Xu Yaling have become mainstays of the Jiangsu Provincial Huaihai Opera Troupe. After retiring she founded the Xiuying Theatre Club and continued to contribute to the transmission and dissemination of Huaihai Opera. Within the documented technical tradition of Huaihai Opera in Huaian, Jiangsu: Huaihai opera is one of the principal local genres of Jiangsu, popular in Lianyungang, Huai'an, Suqian and parts of Xuzhou and Yancheng, with a history of more than two hundred years. Its singing music is rich and varied, with male and female voices distinguished: the male voice takes “Dongfang diao” as its basic tune with “Jinfeng diao” and others auxiliary, the female voice takes “Hao Fengguang” as its basic tune with “Erfanzi” and others auxiliary. Its singing is marked by a sudden leap up an octave at the end of a phrase, with the soul-pulling artistic charm that gives it the name “soul-pulling tunes”. Some of its acting poses clearly derive from northern Jiangsu rural life, with a strong rustic flavour. In long performance it has accumulated classic traditional plays, said to number “thirty-two grand volumes and sixty-four single pieces”, among which Pi Xiuying's Four Complaints, Sanbai Tang and Cuizu are performed without decline and are almost household names in northern Jiangsu. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The Little Stool": A modern item composed and staged by Huaihai opera artists during the War of Resistance to publicise resistance. "The Great Rear": A modern item composed and staged by Huaihai opera artists during the War of Resistance. "Three Stars Fall": A modern item composed and staged by Huaihai opera artists during the War of Resistance. "Pi Xiuying's Four Complaints": A long-running classic of Huaihai opera's traditional repertory.
The Little Stool
A modern item composed and staged by Huaihai opera artists during the War of Resistance to publicise resistance.
The Great Rear
A modern item composed and staged by Huaihai opera artists during the War of Resistance.
Three Stars Fall
A modern item composed and staged by Huaihai opera artists during the War of Resistance.
Pi Xiuying's Four Complaints
A long-running classic of Huaihai opera's traditional repertory.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
A national representative bearer of Huaihai Opera, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
Around 1830 troupes performing Huaihai opera appeared, and after 1880 the two counties of Donghai and Guanyun in Haizhou alone had more than a hundred Huaihai opera troupes. During the War of Resistance in 1940 the Huaihai opera artists formed the “Artists' Save-the-Nation Association” and wrote and staged a great many modern items such as The Little Stool, The Great Rear and Three Stars Fall, using opera to publicise resistance and to raise the morale of soldiers and people.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yang Xiuying | Huaian, Jiangsu | 03-1111 | This page |
| Huo Yijun | Lianyungang, Jiangsu | 05-2436 | Other regional school |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。