Xiao Runzeng

01 · Lineage & Regional School

In 1958 he was assigned to work at the China Peking Opera Company, and later studied the Qilin school art under the Peking opera master Zhou Xinfang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Peking Opera in Zhongguoguojiajingjuyuan: Peking opera, also called pingju or jingxi, is the operatic genre with the greatest influence in China; it is distributed with Beijing as its centre and extends throughout the country. The role types of Peking opera are divided into sheng, dan, jing, chou, za, wu and liu, the last three of which no longer have dedicated lines of performers established for them. Peking opera is divided into the "Beijing school" (jingpai) and the "Shanghai school" (haipai). Many outstanding performers appeared in different periods, such as Cheng Changgeng, Yu Sansheng, Zhang Erkui, Mei Qiaoling, Tan Xinpei, Sun Juxian, Wang Guifen, Liu Hongsheng, Tian Guifeng, Yu Ziyun, Chen Delin and Wang Yaoqing in the late Qing dynasty, and Yu Shuyan, Yan Jupeng, Gao Yingkui, Ma Lianliang, Yang Baosen, Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Xun Huisheng, Shang Xiaoyun, Zhou Xinfang and Jin Shaoshan during the Republic of China period.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han ethnicity, born in July 1938 in Beijing. He is an expert receiving the special government allowance of the State Council. In 1950 he entered the Opera Experimental School of the Opera Reform Bureau of the Ministry of Culture, later renamed the China Opera School, studying under Peking opera masters such as Lei Xifu, Xing Weiming and Ru Fulan. His representative plays include Wu Long Yuan (The Black Dragon Courtyard, as Song Jiang), Si Jin Shi (Four Successful Candidates, as Song Shijie), Qun Ying Hui (Gathering of Heroes, as Lu Su), Xu Ce Pao Cheng (Xu Ce Runs Through the City, as Xu Ce), Xiao He Yue Xia Zhui Han Xin (Xiao He Pursues Han Xin by Moonlight, as Xiao He), Da Yu Sha Jia (Fisherman's Revenge, as Xiao En) and Ping Gui Bie Yao (Pinggui Takes Leave of the Kiln, as Xue Pinggui). He comes from a family with deep artistic roots, commands a solid technique, acts with refinement, and creates characters vividly and expressively. He has taken an active part in the China Peking Opera Audio-Visual Restoration Project, transmitting and promoting the Qilin school of Peking opera. Within the documented technical tradition of Peking Opera in Zhongguoguojiajingjuyuan: Beginning in the fifty-fifth year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty (1790), the four great Anhui troupes that had originally performed in the south — Sanqing, Sixi, Chuntai and Hechun — entered Beijing one after another. They collaborated with Han tune performers from Hubei, while at the same time taking over part of the repertoire, the tunes and the performance methods of Kunqu and Qinqiang, and they also absorbed a number of local folk tunes. Through continual exchange and fusion, Peking opera was finally formed. In literature, performance, music, stage art and every other respect, Peking opera has its own set of standardised artistic expression conventions. The vocal style of Peking opera belongs to the ban-shi (metrical mode) system, with erhuang and xipi as its principal melodic registers. Siping diao, fansiping diao and Han diao are all subordinate to erhuang, while nanbangzi and wadia diao are subordinate to xipi. The melody of erhuang is smooth and even, its rhythm relaxed and broad, and its singing rich, full and weighty; xipi has a melody of larger rise and fall, a tighter rhythm, and a vocal style that is bright and flowing. Peking opera accompaniment is divided into two great categories, the wen chang (the "string" section) and the wu chang (the "percussion" section). The wen chang uses huqin (jinghu), jing erhu, yueqin, xianzi, dizi and suona, with the huqin as the principal lead instrument; the wu chang is led by drum and clapper, with small gong and large gong following. Within each role type there are finer subdivisions; the dan roles, for instance, are divided into qingyi (the virtuous woman), huadan (the young coquette), daomadan (the female warrior), wudan (the martial woman) and laodan (the elderly woman). The basis of these subdivisions lies not only in the natural attributes of a character but, more importantly, in the character's personality traits and in the attitude of praise or censure the creator holds toward the character. Each role type has its own set of performance conventions, and the four skills of singing, speaking, acting and combat each have their own distinctive character. Peking opera takes historical stories as its principal performance content. It has roughly more than thirteen hundred traditional repertoire works, of which three to four hundred or more are performed regularly; among them Yuzhou Feng (Cosmic Edge), Yutangchun (Spring in the Jade Hall), Changbanpo (The Changban Slope), Qunyinghui (Meeting of Heroes), Dayusha (The Fisherman's Revenge), Kongchengji (The Empty Fort Strategy), Guifei Zuijiu (The Drunken Concubine), Sanchakou (At the Forked Crossroads), Yezhulin (The Wild Boar Forest), Erjingong (Second Entry into the Palace), Shiyuzhuo (Picking Up the Jade Bracelet), Tiaohuache (Lifting the Decorated Cart), Sijinshi (The Four Scholars), Sousu Jiugu (Searching for and Saving the Orphan), Bawang Bieji (Farewell My Concubine) and Silang Tanmu (The Fourth Son Visits His Mother) are household names, familiar to audiences throughout the country. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Peking opera adapted, transferred and newly created a number of historical plays and modern-themed works, among the more important of which are Jiang Xianghe (The General and the Minister Make Peace), Mu Guiying Takes Command, The Yang Family Women Warriors, The Dismissal of Hai Rui, Cao Cao and Yang Xiu, Shajiabang, The Red Lantern, Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, Dainuo and Rickshaw Boy. Peking opera is disseminated across the country, exerts a far-reaching influence, and is known as the "national opera" (guju). It travels to all parts of the world and has become an important means of introducing and disseminating traditional Chinese culture. The Peking opera performance system named after Mei Lanfang is regarded as a representative of the Eastern system of dramatic performance; together with the Stanislavski and Brecht systems it is hailed as one of the world's three great performance systems. Peking opera is an important form of expression of China's national traditional culture, and many of its artistic elements serve as symbolic signs of traditional Chinese culture. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Yuzhou Feng (Cosmic Edge)": Yuzhou Feng is a classical historical-costume play descended from the Ming chuanqi tradition, handed down as a complete act and long among the fixed works of the Peking opera repertory. "Yutangchun (Spring in the Jade Hall)": Yutangchun is a classical court-and-love play built around the wrongful accusation and final vindication of a young woman, long one of the standard works of the Peking opera repertory. "Changbanpo (The Changban Slope)": Changbanpo is a martial historical play centred on the battle fought at the Changban slope and on the exploits of General Zhao Yun, a staple vehicle of the martial role tradition. "Qunyinghui (Meeting of Heroes)": Qunyinghui is a Three Kingdoms historical play depicting a gathering of the commanders of the opposing camps, a set piece long favoured by old-male and painted-face performers.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Peking Opera, a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He has repeatedly taught and transmitted his art at Qilin school study classes, training young Peking opera actors.

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. Xiao Runzeng · National Representative Bearer Archive