Liu Guofu

01 · Lineage & Regional School

In 1969 he began learning to sing Sichuan Zhuqin under his first teacher Wu Shaocheng, and in 1972 he formally became a disciple of the noted Sichuan Zhuqin master Yang Yuguo. Within the regional tradition and school record of Sichuan Zhuqin in Sanxiaquyituan, Chongqing: Sichuan zhuqin has many schools of performance, among which “Jia school zhuqin”, represented by Jia Shusan, has the greatest influence. It originates in Daoist temple music, and once flourished for a time in the court of the Tang dynasty. After the first year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty (1796), zhuqin art began to spread among the folk, and those who sang it grew steadily more numerous. In the 1930s Jia Shusan, known as one of the three wonders of the Sichuan “qutan”, created the single-person form of performance, in which one person, seated or walking, plays several roles. In the course of long development, Sichuan zhuqin music divided from a single set of tunes into a number of schools with widely differing styles, such as the zhonghe diao and the yangqin diao. In the late Qing and early Republican period, zhuqin trade organisations were founded one after another in all parts of Sichuan, promoting the development of this folk art.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han ethnicity, born in June 1955 in Wanxian, Sichuan Province (now Wanzhou District, Chongqing). His singing technique is accomplished, his flavour rich and his diction clear; he writes and sings his own material with precise verbal expression. His vocal line is beautiful, with correct pronunciation and full, round tones, and he communicates strongly with his audience. He has innovated and developed the traditional performance of Sichuan Zhuqin, greatly enriching its expressive range. His representative works include Huarong Pass, The Case of Chen Shimei and The White Rabbit. Within the documented technical tradition of Sichuan Zhuqin in Sanxiaquyituan, Chongqing: Sichuan zhuqin circulates in the Han areas of Sichuan Province. It takes its name from the bamboo tube and the jianban clappers, all made of bamboo, used as its principal accompanying instruments; among the folk it is also called “da daotong”, “chang daotong” or “da chi-pangpang”. The earliest performing form of Sichuan zhuqin was seated singing by several people sharing out the roles, generally four or five of them singing together. Zhonghe diao is also called “zonghe diao” or “zhonghe diao”; it circulates mainly in eastern, southern and northern Sichuan. It developed from limen diao, lao nanyin diao and nanyin diao, and on the basis of these tunes several schools of performance were formed. Yangqin diao is also called “sheng diao” and circulates only in Chengdu and western Sichuan; its vocal style is supple and flowing, and it is divided into a male and a female vocal style. Both zhonghe diao and yangqin diao belong to the banqiang (metrical) system, with vocal styles such as “yizi”, “sanfa”, “sanban”, “yaoban” and “daqiang”, as well as auxiliary vocal styles such as the “duozi” and the “shuban”, commonly called “kuqiang” and “kupingqiang”. Jia Shusan simplified the four-line zhuqin vocal form into two lines, changed the “man qiyan ban” (slow seven-eye beat) into the “kuai sanyan ban” (fast three-eye beat), and boldly transplanted into zhuqin music the danxi (string-interlude) and huqin xi vocal styles of Sichuan opera together with Sichuan qingyin and folk minor tunes, creating the rich and varied “caiqiang” (florid style), which soon spread far and wide. The classic repertoire of “Jia school zhuqin” is quite rich, with several hundred sung passages such as Sanguo Yanyi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), Bao Gong An (Cases of Judge Bao), Bai She Zhuan (The Legend of the White Snake) and Feng Bo Ting (Wind-Wave Pavilion); the lyrics of these are for the most part elegant and beautiful, and of strong literary quality. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Sanguo Yanyi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms)": The classic repertoire of “Jia school zhuqin” is quite rich, with several hundred sung passages such as Sanguo Yanyi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), Bao Gong An (Cases of Judge Bao), Bai She Zhuan (The Legend of the White Snake) and Feng Bo Ting (Wind-Wave Pavilion); the lyrics of these are for the most part elegant and beautiful, and of strong literary quality. "Bao Gong An (Cases of Judge Bao)": The classic repertoire of “Jia school zhuqin” is quite rich, with several hundred sung passages such as Sanguo Yanyi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), Bao Gong An (Cases of Judge Bao), Bai She Zhuan (The Legend of the White Snake) and Feng Bo Ting (Wind-Wave Pavilion); the lyrics of these are for the most part elegant and beautiful, and of strong literary quality. "Bai She Zhuan (The Legend of the White Snake)": The classic repertoire of “Jia school zhuqin” is quite rich, with several hundred sung passages such as Sanguo Yanyi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), Bao Gong An (Cases of Judge Bao), Bai She Zhuan (The Legend of the White Snake) and Feng Bo Ting (Wind-Wave Pavilion); the lyrics of these are for the most part elegant and beautiful, and of strong literary quality. "Feng Bo Ting (Wind-Wave Pavilion)": The classic repertoire of “Jia school zhuqin” is quite rich, with several hundred sung passages such as Sanguo Yanyi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), Bao Gong An (Cases of Judge Bao), Bai She Zhuan (The Legend of the White Snake) and Feng Bo Ting (Wind-Wave Pavilion); the lyrics of these are for the most part elegant and beautiful, and of strong literary quality.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

He is a national representative bearer of Sichuan Zhuqin, a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. Over the years he has trained several dozen young Sichuan Zhuqin performers.

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. Liu Guofu · National Representative Bearer Archive