Song Aihua
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Song Aihua, Female, Unspecified, from Henan, is a third-batch national representative bearer of Henan Zhuizi (Ⅴ-20). The tradition is documented in Henan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Henan Zhuizi in Henan: The centre of diffusion of Henan zhuizi lies in Shangqiu, Kaifeng, Zhoukou, Xuchang, Zhengzhou and northern Henan, and it was carried along the railways and waterways into southwestern Shandong, northern Anhui, northern Jiangsu, Beijing and Tianjin. In each locality the artists are rostered into units based on tea sheds, storytelling sheds and temple fairs, each performing group being assigned its own shed, with the long books divided into sections, one section a night; in the countryside it is customary on temple fairs, thanksgiving vows and birthday celebrations to engage a storytelling troupe to tell stories for several days on end. It is popular in the Central Plains region of Henan and other areas and in parts of the provinces and cities of North China, and took shape in about the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty. In the early years of the Republic of China, artists such as Sun Minde, Feng Zhibang, Dang Zhifa, Liu Shilu, Cheng Wanlin and Gao Zhian were already famous in the Kaifeng and Zhengzhou areas. Before long Henan zhuizi was carried into such large cities as Beijing and Tianjin, and its influence went on expanding. In the late 1930s Qiao Liyuan and his wife Qiao Qingxiu, who were well known in the Nanle, Daming and Qingfeng areas of Henan, were invited to Tianjin to perform, and famous performers such as Dong Guizhi and Cheng Yulan followed them there. By the time of the War of Resistance against Japan, Henan zhuizi had passed in turn into Shanghai, Shenyang, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Wuhan, Chongqing and Hong Kong, becoming one of the most widely spread quyi forms in China. Since the late twentieth century the survival and development of Henan zhuizi have met with unprecedented difficulty, the performers have sharply declined, performances are few, and it urgently needs support and protection.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Female, Han ethnicity, born in September 1941 in Yucheng County, Henan Province. From 1953 she learned the art from her mother Liu Shihong. Her singing was brisk and lucid, in the grand manner with broad melodies; she made skilled use of penkou, the explosive delivery of a phrase, and guankou, rapid patter, and in performance she also absorbed the vocal style of Eastern Route zhuizi, the lively tunes of the Qiao school of zhuizi and Xu Yulan's knotted cadence as a closing phrase, gradually forming her own manner of singing, lyrical and joyful, subtle and smooth, expansive and bold, witty and fluent, which earned her fame throughout Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu. She sang and reworked more than two hundred passages, her representative piece being Shanmao Zui Shuo Mei (The Bobcat Plays Matchmaker). After retirement she trained more than fifty young quyi performers. Within the documented technical tradition of Henan Zhuizi in Henan: Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Duan'er shu, the short pieces": The short pieces regularly performed, mostly domestic in theme and finishable in a single sitting. "Long tales adapted from Daoqing": Long tales such as The Nine-Pearl Crown and Five Tigers Pacify the West, adapted from Daoqing storytelling. "The principal vocal schemes": The main rhythmic schemes of the singing, used in alternation according to the pace of the story. "The accompanying instruments": The instrument set: foot clapper and zhuihu for the accompanist, clappers, cymbals, low drum and wooden block for the singer.
Duan'er shu, the short pieces
The short pieces regularly performed, mostly domestic in theme and finishable in a single sitting.
Long tales adapted from Daoqing
Long tales such as The Nine-Pearl Crown and Five Tigers Pacify the West, adapted from Daoqing storytelling.
The principal vocal schemes
The main rhythmic schemes of the singing, used in alternation according to the pace of the story.
The accompanying instruments
The instrument set: foot clapper and zhuihu for the accompanist, clappers, cymbals, low drum and wooden block for the singer.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
National representative bearer of Henan Zhuizi, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
It is popular in the Central Plains region of Henan and other areas and in parts of the provinces and cities of North China, and took shape in about the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty. In the early years of the Republic of China, artists such as Sun Minde, Feng Zhibang, Dang Zhifa, Liu Shilu, Cheng Wanlin and Gao Zhian were already famous in the Kaifeng and Zhengzhou areas.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liu Zongqin | Henan | 02-0731 | Same declared area |
| Song Aihua | Henan | 03-1163 | This page |
| Ma Fuqin | Linzhang, Hebei | 05-2488 | Other regional school |
| Chen Shengli | Henan | 05-2489 | 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。