Wang Junan

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Wang Junan, Female, Han, from Fanghuayuejutuan, Fujian, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Yueju (Shaoxing Opera) (Ⅳ-53). The tradition is documented in Fanghuayuejutuan, Fujian. Within the regional tradition and school record of Yueju (Shaoxing Opera) in Fanghuayuejutuan, Fujian: The Yin school of Yue opera takes the Fujian Fanghua Yue Opera Troupe as its main body of transmission; moving from Shanghai to Fuzhou in 1959, it has long performed across Fujian and trained Fujian-born actors, exerting some influence on the performance and musical innovation of local Fujian genres such as Minju; the Fanghua Yue Opera Troupe is the principal Yue opera performing body in Fujian. Yue opera originated in Sheng county, Zhejiang; in the early twentieth century the narrative-singing artists of “floor-singing” began to appear in costume on stage, and from then on it gradually developed into an independent operatic genre, popular in Zhejiang, Shanghai and Jiangsu and forming many artistic schools in stage practice. The Yin school of Yue opera created by Yin Guifang took shape in the early 1940s, when famous Yue opera artists gathered in Shanghai and each led the field; the Yin school emerged and matured amid this fierce competition, and in 1959 the Yin school moved with the Fanghua Yue Opera Troupe from its birthplace Shanghai to Fujian, striking root and bearing fruit throughout Fujian. Drawing on Yue opera historical materials, the Yin school entered its second peak in the 1950s and 1960s, its performance, singing and stage art growing more mature and marking its establishment as a system; after the Fanghua troupe moved to Fujian in 1959 it became the core force spreading Yue opera there.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

A woman of Han ethnicity, she was born in May 1970 in Sheng County, Zhejiang Province. She is a National First-Class Actor. She is a direct disciple of Yin Guifang, founder of the Yin school of Yueju opera. In 1981 she was admitted to the trainee class of the Fanghua Yueju Opera Troupe of Fujian Province. She graduated from the Fujian Art School in 1986, specializing in the xiaosheng (young male) role. By combining the bel canto quality of operatic vocal music with the formal characteristics of Yin school singing, she gradually formed her own Yin school style: restrained, round, pure, bright and vigorous in the upper register, deep and gentle in the lower register. In her use of the small melodic phrases that distinctly mark the Yin school in particular, the melody follows each word and responds to each sound, flowing like drifting clouds and running water, natural and unadorned. Her representative works include Reprimanding the Wife and Seeking the Wife, He Wenxiu and The Jade Dragonfly. Within the documented technical tradition of Yueju (Shaoxing Opera) in Fanghuayuejutuan, Fujian: It powerfully advanced the reform of Yue opera, laying a solid foundation for its change from a genre led by the huadan role to one led by the xiaosheng. The Yin-school Yue opera performance is plain and elegant, lifelike and expressive, its singing free and fluent, mellow and enduring, and once it appeared it became fashionable at once and long flourished. In the 1950s and 1960s Yin-school Yue opera entered its second peak, its performance, singing and other stage arts all growing more mature and perfect, marking the school's establishment as a system. With its unique style and enduring charm it won over countless Fujian audiences while exerting a positive influence on the development and innovation of Fujian local opera. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Pan Qi Suo Qi (Questioning and Seeking the Wife)": A representative Yin-school Yue opera play and one of the representative works of the inheritor Wang Jun'an. "He Wenxiu": A celebrated traditional Yin-school Yue opera play and one of Wang Jun'an's representative works. "Yu Qingting (The Jade Dragonfly)": A traditional Yin-school Yue opera play and one of Wang Jun'an's representative works. "Shamo Wangzi (The Desert Prince)": A celebrated Yin-school Yue opera play, fully expressing the dashing and enduring singing style of the Yin-school xiaosheng.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

She is a representative bearer of Yueju (Shaoxing Opera), specifically the Yin school, a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. She has received the 27th China Drama Plum Blossom Award, the Outstanding Actor Award at the 3rd China Drama Festival, the Wenhua Performance Award of the Ministry of Culture, the Gold Award at the China Xiaobaihua Yueju Festival, and the Leading Role Award at the Shanghai Magnolia Drama Performing Arts Awards.

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. Wang Junan · National Representative Bearer Archive