Jin Shouchang

01 · Lineage & Regional School

A diaodiao performer and third-generation bearer of the art. He began learning from his father at the age of seven and took part in performances at thirteen. Besides continuing the three difficult, demanding and dangerous signature movements his father taught him - 'the spider dropping from its thread', 'the purple-gold bell hung upside down' and 'the rolling thread turning up and down' - he developed the 'seventy-two hangings' into the 'one hundred and eight hangings'. Within the regional tradition and school record of Diaodiao in Shaoxing, Zhejiang: According to the recollections of late elderly performers, about two hundred years ago Tiaodiao already appeared in the areas of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and Anqing, Anhui. The first famous Tiaodiao (suspension-swinging) performer in Shaoxing was Jin Axiang of Cangqiaotou in the city of Shaoxing in the late Qing dynasty. He made his living as a boatman and had a strong physique; through continuous exploration and practice he created complex Tiaodiao movements from the “Eighteen Swings” up to the “Forty-nine Swings”. After several generations of innovation and development by his descendants, these grew into the superb swinging arts of the “Seventy-two Swings” and even the “One Hundred and Eight Swings”. At the end of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing dynasty, Tiaodiao was borrowed by the Mulian opera and the Shaoxing opera “Great Peace Play” (ping'an daxi), becoming their most brilliant program — the “Male Hanging” (nandiao). In the 1950s, inheritors of the Tiaodiao art brought it onto the sports field, performing on many occasions at provincial, municipal, and national sports meets. In 1953 they represented the East China region at the National Traditional-Form Sports Performance and Competition Conference, where they won a gold medal and received commendation from Comrade He Long.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Also known as Jin Changlin and by the stage name Xiaoyanfei. Male, of Han ethnicity, born in December 1933 in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province. Now approaching eighty, he can still perform feats of great difficulty. He raised funds himself to build a diaodiao intangible cultural heritage hall, preserving documents and materials of every kind so that the art and culture of diaodiao may be transmitted without end. Within the documented technical tradition of Diaodiao in Shaoxing, Zhejiang: Tiaodiao is a form of spatial suspension movement performed purely through body language. As a method of personal physical training and a folk juggling act, it already has a long history. At first it was merely the juggling act of itinerant performers, with names such as the “three hangings” (sanshang diao) and the “single hanging on the bar” (gangshang dandiao); the movements were relatively simple. As a thrilling program at temple-fair folk activities, Tiaodiao has great appeal and is loved by the broad masses of the people. Lu Xun's essay “Female Hanging” (Nüdiao) contains a concrete description of the splendid performance of the Male Hanging. At that time, Tiaodiao performers were also specially invited by many theater troupes to give added performances to attract audiences, thereby ensuring the box-office receipts of the entire show. Tiaodiao is an original creation of the folk performers of Shaoxing. Its movements are highly difficult and technically demanding, full of the flavor of everyday life, and at the same time extremely thrilling, giving it very great ornamental value and a strong character of the local culture of the Jiangnan water country. To this day, because the main vehicle of Tiaodiao performance — the temple-fair folk activities — has undergone great changes in form and content, Tiaodiao performances have become increasingly rare. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Eighteen, forty-nine and one hundred and eight hangs": The repertoire grew from Jin Axiang's eighteen to forty-nine hangs, and over generations to seventy-two and even one hundred and eight. "Three Hangs and Single Hanging on the Bar": The early, simpler names of the stunt when it was still a street performer's trick and a personal exercise. "Male Hang in Mulian opera and Shao opera": In the Tongzhi era the stunt was absorbed into Mulian and Shao opera as the Male Hang, and troupes engaged its performers to draw audiences. "The Male Hang in Lu Xun's Female Hang": The stunt's thrills made it a favourite at temple fairs, described in detail in Lu Xun's essay The Female Hang.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Representative bearer of Diaodiao, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. In 1953, together with his elder brother Jin Shoukang, he represented the East China region at the National Traditional Sports Performance and Competition Meeting and won a gold award.

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. Jin Shouchang · National Representative Bearer Archive