Li Yuexian

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Li Yuexian, Female, Han, from Taiyuan, Shanxi, is a fourth-batch national representative bearer of Jinju (Shanxi Opera) (Ⅳ-18). The tradition is documented in Taiyuan, Shanxi. Within the regional tradition and school record of Jinju (Shanxi Opera) in Taiyuan, Shanxi: The Zhangjiakou branch of Jinju is likewise called “kou bangzi” (mouth bangzi): it absorbs the local dialect and takes over artistic features from Beijing opera, Pingju, Hebei bangzi and others, which makes its singing full of resonance, and it has likewise given rise to a group of repertoire works of its own. In the early years of the Qing, Puzhou bangzi (the Puzhou clapper opera) flowed into central Shanxi and was joined there to the Qitai yangge and the folk tunes of central Shanxi; through the efforts of Shanxi merchants and the local literati it grew into Jinju.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

She is a woman of the Han ethnic group, born in December 1940 in Wenshui County, Shanxi Province. At thirteen she entered the Xinxin Troupe of Taiyuan and took as her teacher the Jinju veteran Ma Zhaolin, whose stage name was Gengeng Hong, specialising in xusheng (bearded male) roles and studying the Ma school; she later sought instruction from the celebrated Zhang Meiqin and, through rehearsing The Reed-flower River (Lu Hua He), acquired many techniques and laid a solid artistic foundation. Building on her inheritance of the Ma school of Jinju she has made breakthroughs of her own, and her “ba liao zi”, the soaring cadenza sung at moments of high passion, is held to be peerless. Her stage technique is solid and her bearing martial; she skilfully uses such stage properties as the hat wings, the artificial beard, the hair tassel and the horse whip to portray her characters in depth, and the complete set of “beard techniques” is her own creation. Her representative pieces include Viewing the Battle Array (Guan Zhen), Killing at the Post Station (Sha Yi), The Writ of Life and Death (Sheng Si Pai), Wenlong's Return to Song (Wen Long Gui Song), Pointing the Marshal at the Three Passes, The King of Qi Draws His Horse, The Crouching Tiger Seal (Wo Hu Ling) and Love and Resentment in the Deep Palace (Shen Gong Qing Hen). Within the documented technical tradition of Jinju (Shanxi Opera) in Taiyuan, Shanxi: Jinju is one of the four bangzi (clapper) genres of Shanxi Province; since it originated in central Shanxi it is also known as the “central-route bangzi” (zhonglu bangzi), and provinces outside Shanxi call it “Shanxi bangzi”. It circulates chiefly in central and northern Shanxi and in parts of Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Hebei. It underwent several changes afterwards, and then spread to central Shanxi, northern Shanxi and parts of Inner Mongolia, Hebei and northern Shaanxi. The traditional repertoire of Jinju is rich, with more than two hundred plays staged regularly, such as The Wei River (Weishui he), Beating the Golden Branch (Da jin zhi), Mount Lintong (Lintong shan), The Belt of Heaven and Earth (Qiankun dai), The Kingdom of Shatuo (Shatuo guo), The Battle of Wancheng (Zhan wancheng), White Water Shoal (Baishui tan), The Golden Water Bridge (Jinshui qiao), The Fire Colt (Huoyan ju), The Palace of the Brahma King (Fanwang gong) and Twin-Locked Mountain (Shuangsuo shan). As it developed, Jinju kept the stirring, high-spirited artistic features of Puzhou bangzi while at the same time developing a supple and finely wrought lyrical style. It has a rich variety of vocal styles, among them luantan (free-rhythm singing), qiang’er and quzi; its metrical patterns are varied and its expressiveness is strong, for the luantan alone is divided into seven metrical types: Pingban (level plate), Jiaban (double plate), Erxing (second mode), Liushui (flowing water), Jieban (interlude plate), Gunbai (rolling speech) and Daoban (conducting plate). Beneath the influence of modern lifestyles and the impact of the commodity economy, the number of Jinju plays performed has dropped sharply; urban audiences have drained away in large numbers, while among rural audiences the elderly are the main body. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The Wei River": Jinju possesses a rich traditional repertoire, and upwards of two hundred plays are put on stage regularly: The Wei River (Weishui he), Beating the Golden Branch (Da jin zhi), Mount Lintong (Lintong shan), The Belt of Heaven and Earth (Qiankun dai), The Kingdom of Shatuo (Shatuo guo), The Battle of Wancheng (Zhan wancheng), White Water Shoal (Baishui tan), The Golden Water Bridge (Jinshui qiao), The Fire Colt (Huoyan ju), The Palace of the Brahma King (Fanwang gong), Twin-Locked Mountain (Shuangsuo shan) and others. "Beating the Golden Branch": Jinju possesses a rich traditional repertoire, and upwards of two hundred plays are put on stage regularly: The Wei River (Weishui he), Beating the Golden Branch (Da jin zhi), Mount Lintong (Lintong shan), The Belt of Heaven and Earth (Qiankun dai), The Kingdom of Shatuo (Shatuo guo), The Battle of Wancheng (Zhan wancheng), White Water Shoal (Baishui tan), The Golden Water Bridge (Jinshui qiao), The Fire Colt (Huoyan ju), The Palace of the Brahma King (Fanwang gong), Twin-Locked Mountain (Shuangsuo shan) and others. "Mount Lintong": Jinju possesses a rich traditional repertoire, and upwards of two hundred plays are put on stage regularly: The Wei River (Weishui he), Beating the Golden Branch (Da jin zhi), Mount Lintong (Lintong shan), The Belt of Heaven and Earth (Qiankun dai), The Kingdom of Shatuo (Shatuo guo), The Battle of Wancheng (Zhan wancheng), White Water Shoal (Baishui tan), The Golden Water Bridge (Jinshui qiao), The Fire Colt (Huoyan ju), The Palace of the Brahma King (Fanwang gong), Twin-Locked Mountain (Shuangsuo shan) and others. "The Belt of Heaven and Earth": Jinju possesses a rich traditional repertoire, and upwards of two hundred plays are put on stage regularly: The Wei River (Weishui he), Beating the Golden Branch (Da jin zhi), Mount Lintong (Lintong shan), The Belt of Heaven and Earth (Qiankun dai), The Kingdom of Shatuo (Shatuo guo), The Battle of Wancheng (Zhan wancheng), White Water Shoal (Baishui tan), The Golden Water Bridge (Jinshui qiao), The Fire Colt (Huoyan ju), The Palace of the Brahma King (Fanwang gong), Twin-Locked Mountain (Shuangsuo shan) and others.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

She is a national representative bearer of Jinju (Shanxi Opera), a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. She attaches great importance to training talent and has transmitted all her classic pieces to her many disciples.

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. Li Yuexian · National Representative Bearer Archive