Chen Xinfa

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Chen Xinfa, Male, Unspecified, from Ningde, Fujian, is a third-batch national representative bearer of Ningde Huotongxianshi (Ⅵ-6). The tradition is documented in Ningde, Fujian. Within the regional tradition and school record of Ningde Huotongxianshi in Ningde, Fujian: The Huotong string lion survives today in Huotong Town, Ningde, Fujian Province; it is also called the choushi (pulled lion) and known locally as 'beating the lion' (dashi). It is a distinctive form of folk recreation, and also an acrobatic program of costumed animal mimicry with a highly individual style. Since the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, the Huotong string lion has been an important component of local festival culture.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

He is a technician of Huotong string-lion performance and fabrication. He learned the making and performance of string lions from the elders of his family from childhood, and through years of assiduous practice and exploration he has come to command the relevant techniques. His performance is humorous and nimble, combining motion and stillness, endlessly varied and lifelike; the string lions have grown from figures as small as hand-held puppets to large and heavy ones, their structure has changed from simple to complex, and the fabrication craft has been greatly developed and refined. He attaches importance to transmitting Huotong string-lion performance and fabrication, has trained a good number of successors, and has also devoted attention to collecting and collating the relevant documentary materials. Within the documented technical tradition of Ningde Huotongxianshi in Ningde, Fujian: According to historical legend, Huang Ju, a court admonition official (jianyi dafu) of the Sui Dynasty and revered founding ancestor, once irrigated the village fields of Huotong for the benefit of its people, and the local people hold the 'Second Day of the Second Month' lantern festival to commemorate him; the string lion performance is one of the most distinctive programs of the 'Second Day of the Second Month' lantern festival. Before a string lion performance, everything from stage construction and lighting configuration to rope layout is done by hand. The threading and knotting of the ropes is a key step in the string lion performance; every threading motion must be carried out carefully and meticulously. The ball held in the lion's mouth is delicate and ingenious: inside the large ball's net cage sits a small ball that rotates freely, and the small ball is fitted with lights that sparkle at night like a myriad of stars. The lion's body is made of many materials: a frame of split bamboo, padded inside with cotton, cloth and rubber, with its mane made of special colored plastic strips. Through successive reforms by generations of folk artists, the string lion has grown from originally being as small as a puppet to today's large and heavy form; its structure has gone from simple to complex, and its crafting technique has been greatly developed and refined. The Huotong string lion uses ropes to make the lions perform various actions, combining civil and martial skills in one; performances come in four forms: single lion (male), double lions (one male and one female), three lions (one mother and two cubs) and five lions (one mother and four cubs). The string lion performance was originally a moving act, dancing as it made its way along the route; it later shifted to a fixed stage. Through the practical creativity of generations of folk artists, the expressiveness of the string lion has grown ever richer: it can perform sitting, standing, crouching, lying, waking, stretching and climbing postures, and the lion playing with the ball alone involves moves such as seeking, chasing and catching the ball. All of these dynamic performances of the lion are achieved through the collective manipulation and close coordination of the artists. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "One, two, three and five lions": The puppets are worked by ropes in four formats: a single male lion, a pair of male and female, a mother with two cubs, and a mother with four. "The second-month lantern festival": The second-day-of-the-second-month lantern fair commemorates the Sui official Huang Ju, who irrigated the Huotong fields; the string lion is its most distinctive item. "Bamboo frame and plastic mane": The lion body is a bamboo frame stuffed with cotton, cloth and rubber, its mane of coloured plastic filaments; the ball the lion seizes holds a lit, freely spinning inner sphere. "Stringing the ropes and setting the stage": Stage building, lighting and rope layout are all done by hand, the knotting of the ropes being the crucial step; the show moved from a walking procession to a fixed stage.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Male, of Han ethnicity, born in April 1947 in Ningde, Fujian Province, and died in October 2018. He was a national representative bearer of Ningde Huotong string lion dance, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. The Huotong string-lion team he led won numerous awards.

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. Chen Xinfa · National Representative Bearer Archive