Zhang Qiaoling

01 · Lineage & Regional School

In 1977 she became a disciple of Mr. Wei Yuncai. Within the regional tradition and school record of Xuzhou Qinshu Balladry in Xuzhou, Jiangsu: Xuzhou Qinshu is sung in the Xuzhou dialect and is rich in local flavour; it has both the graceful, delicate beauty of southern quyi and the bold, impassioned character of northern quyi. It originated in the little melodies (xiaoqu) of the Ming dynasty, took shape in the late Qing dynasty, and has a history of nearly two hundred years to the present day.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Female, Han ethnicity, born in September 1960 in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province. She is a National First-Class Actor and vice-chair of the Jiangsu Quyi Artists Association. Over more than forty years of performing and transmitting the art she has developed a personal style marked by a smooth, rounded voice, sincere delivery and vivid characterization, and she is one of the representative figures of contemporary Xuzhou Qinshu. Her representative works include Water Flooding Jinshan Temple, Wandering on West Lake, One Woman, Three Mothers and Ode to Consort Yu. Her original piece Xuzhou People of Sentiment and Honour was included in the Chinese Cultural Heritage Rescue Series. She teaches Xuzhou Qinshu at Jiangsu Normal University and other institutions of higher education. Within the documented technical tradition of Xuzhou Qinshu Balladry in Xuzhou, Jiangsu: Xuzhou Qinshu is also called "Northern Jiangsu qinshu" and was formerly known as "silk strings" or "chang yangqin" ("singing to the yangqin"); it circulates mainly in the border region of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui provinces where the four meet, with Xuzhou at the centre. Its vocal style is beautiful and its melodies rich; the musical structure generally comprises the sections "qiban" (raising tune), "man siban", "da baban" or "hua siban", and "guoban" (linking tune). On entering the huo'er (working part) it sings [Fengyang Ge] or [Duoziban], or speaks in shuo bai (spoken narration), and closes finally with the "shaban" (closing tune). Besides [Fengyang Ge] and [Duoziban], its vocal tune patterns also include [Lianhualuo], [Mokesa], [Yinniusi], [Guadifeng] and the like. Xuzhou Qinshu has several performance forms, including the dan dang (single act), the shuang dang (double act) and biaoyan chang (acted song). The single-act form is again divided into two types: singing accompanied by a single clapper struck with one foot, and singing accompanied by a single qinban (zither board); the double-act form is also called "dui kou" (mouth to mouth), the singer holding a tanban (clapper) and at the same time striking the yangqin while the accompanist plays the shengqin, and in performance it may be sung solo, sung in antiphonal pairs, or joined by the chorus or sung in chorus; acted song means that the performers act out movements while singing, with a small ensemble accompanying and joining in the chorus at the side. Over its long course of development, Xuzhou Qinshu artists created and adapted a large number of performance pieces and sung passages, through which they punished evil and praised good, promoted social ethics and voiced the wishes of the people. Wang Tianbao Goes to Suzhou, Zhang Tingxiu Taking the Imperial Examinations, Lü Dongbin Woos the Peony and Flooding Jinshan Temple are among the more representative of these pieces. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Wang Tianbao Goes to Suzhou": Wang Tianbao Goes to Suzhou, Zhang Tingxiu Taking the Imperial Examinations, Lü Dongbin Woos the Peony and Flooding Jinshan Temple are among the more representative of these pieces. "Zhang Tingxiu Taking the Imperial Examinations": Wang Tianbao Goes to Suzhou, Zhang Tingxiu Taking the Imperial Examinations, Lü Dongbin Woos the Peony and Flooding Jinshan Temple are among the more representative of these pieces. "Lü Dongbin Woos the Peony": Wang Tianbao Goes to Suzhou, Zhang Tingxiu Taking the Imperial Examinations, Lü Dongbin Woos the Peony and Flooding Jinshan Temple are among the more representative of these pieces. "Flooding Jinshan Temple": Wang Tianbao Goes to Suzhou, Zhang Tingxiu Taking the Imperial Examinations, Lü Dongbin Woos the Peony and Flooding Jinshan Temple are among the more representative of these pieces.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

She is a national representative bearer of Xuzhou Qinshu Balladry, a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. For many years she has devoted herself to training successors, helping to bring about a three-tier structure of national, provincial and municipal bearers of Xuzhou Qinshu. The young performers she has trained have recorded programmes for China Central Television on several occasions.

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. Zhang Qiaoling · National Representative Bearer Archive