Zheng Lanxiang
01 · Lineage & Regional School
In 1955 she entered the Zhejiang Wu Opera training class and studied successively under such masters as Xu Ruying, Zhou Yuexian and Yao Chuanxiang, specializing in huadan roles. Within the regional tradition and school record of Wu Opera in Jinhua, Zhejiang: Wu opera centres on Jinhua city, Zhejiang, and is popular in the Jinhua, Quzhou and Lishui area and in western Zhejiang and north-eastern Jiangxi; the various vocal styles long shared one stage in the troupes, forming a performing tradition mainly of luantan but also singing high-pitched, Kun, Hui, tanhuang and shidiao. Drawing on the Zhejiang volume of the Annals of Chinese Xiqu and local Jinhua materials, Wu opera is popularly called “Jinhua opera”, named for Jinhua's ancient name Wuzhou; it was gradually fused from the high-pitched and Kun vocal styles that came into central Zhejiang in the mid-Ming and the luantan, Hui, tanhuang and shidiao that came in the early Qing, these co-existing in the same region and performing in the same troupes over a long period, forming a pattern of multi-vocal companies.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Female, Han nationality, born in April 1936, a native of Jinhua County, Zhejiang Province, now Jindong District of Jinhua City. Having mastered the traditional vocal method, she built on her own strengths to form a scientific method of voice production that combines true and falsetto voice, conveying feeling through the voice with full vocal and emotional expressiveness. Representative works include Shuang Yang Gong Zhu (The Princess of Shuangyang), San Qing Li Hua (Three Invitations to Li Hua), Xi Shi Lei (Tears of Xi Shi), Mu Dan Dui Ke (The Peony Lesson), Seng Ni Hui (The Monk and the Nun Meet), Zhao Jun Chu Sai (Zhao Jun Crosses the Frontier) and Shuang Hong Lian (The Twin Red Lotuses), of which Xi Shi Lei was made into a film. Within the documented technical tradition of Wu Opera in Jinhua, Zhejiang: Wu opera is an ancient xiqu genre of our country, popularly called “Jinhua opera”, with a history of about four hundred years to the present. It has more than five hundred traditional plays, and its vocal and musical system is marked by comprehensiveness, embracing such vocal styles as high-pitched (gaoqiang), Kunqu, luantan, Hui tunes, tanhuang and shidiao. Wu opera also has its own features in the systems of costume and make-up: its facial masks, costumes and props are all quite distinctive. Performing civil plays in a martial manner and martial plays in a civil manner is the main characteristic of Wu opera performance, and can be called a unique feat. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Princess Shuangyang": One of the representative plays of Wu opera. "Three Invitations to Lihua": One of the representative plays of Wu opera. "Tears of Xishi": One of the representative plays of Wu opera, made into a film. "The Monk and the Nun": One of the representative plays of Wu opera, a typical work of “civil play done in martial manner”.
Princess Shuangyang
One of the representative plays of Wu opera.
Three Invitations to Lihua
One of the representative plays of Wu opera.
Tears of Xishi
One of the representative plays of Wu opera, made into a film.
The Monk and the Nun
One of the representative plays of Wu opera, a typical work of “civil play done in martial manner”.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
A national representative bearer of Wu Opera, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. She served successively as an actor and then as head of the Zhejiang Wu Opera Troupe, and at the height of her career yielded the stage to her students Zhang Jianmin and Chen Meilan; after retiring she founded the Lanxiang Art School and trained a large group of outstanding Wu Opera performers, including Yang Xiayun, Lou Sheng, Wu Wenling and Ji Lingcui.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
Drawing on the Zhejiang volume of the Annals of Chinese Xiqu and local Jinhua materials, Wu opera is popularly called “Jinhua opera”, named for Jinhua's ancient name Wuzhou; it was gradually fused from the high-pitched and Kun vocal styles that came into central Zhejiang in the mid-Ming and the luantan, Hui, tanhuang and shidiao that came in the early Qing, these co-existing in the same region and performing in the same troupes over a long period, forming a pattern of multi-vocal companies.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ge Suyun | Jinhua, Zhejiang | 03-1116 | Same declared area |
| Zheng Lanxiang | Jinhua, Zhejiang | 03-1117 | This page |
| Jiang Zhiqian | Jiangshan, Zhejiang | 03-1118 | Other regional school |
| Zhang Jianmin | Jinhua, Zhejiang | 04-1681 | Same declared area |
| Chen Meilan | Jinhua, Zhejiang | 04-1682 | Same declared area |
| Xu Qinna | Jinhua, Zhejiang | 05-2439 | Same declared area |
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。