Sun Lailai

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Sun Lailai, Male, Han, from Wenzhou, Zhejiang, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Ouju Opera (Ⅳ-106). The tradition is documented in Wenzhou, Zhejiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Ouju Opera in Wenzhou, Zhejiang: Ou opera centres on Wenzhou city, Zhejiang, and is popular in the counties of Wenzhou and parts of Lishui and Taizhou, its influence reaching northern Fujian and north-eastern Jiangxi; because it is mainly luantan and also sings Kun, high-pitched, Hui, tanhuang and shidiao it was formerly called “Wenzhou luantan”, the troupes and plays of the various vocal styles coexisting and cross-fertilising within one genre. Ou opera is the most influential operatic genre of the Wenzhou region, formerly called “Wenzhou luantan”; it formed about the early Qing and circulates mainly through the counties of Wenzhou and parts of Lishui and Taizhou in Zhejiang, its influence reaching northern Fujian and north-eastern Jiangxi. Its repertory numbers more than four hundred and fifty pieces, mostly from nanxi, Yuan-Ming zaju and Ming-Qing chuanqi.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

He is a man of Han ethnicity, born in January 1942 in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. He is an expert entitled to the special government allowance of the State Council. Born into a family of martial artists, he was admitted in 1953 to the Wenzhou Luantan Troupe, later renamed the Wenzhou Ouju Troupe, where he specialised in the wusheng (martial male) role type; in 1960 he became a disciple of Gai Jiaotian. He has solid fundamental skills and a comprehensive technical range. Beyond his principal wusheng repertoire he is also adept at the xiaosheng (young male), laosheng (older male) and xiaohualian (clown) role types, and later took up directing as well. His performance combines strength with suppleness and his martial sequences are crisp and clean, forming a distinctive style of outward vigour and inner tenderness; he is greatly loved by audiences and enjoys the reputation of the 'Living Wu Song of southern Zhejiang'. His representative works include the complete Wu Song, Jiulou Shachang (Slaying at the Tavern), Beihuzhou (Northern Huzhou), Sha Jin Mai Quan, Hudie Bei (The Butterfly Cup), Bizhu Jiaolong Shan (The Emerald Pearl and Dragon Fan), Diao Chan and San Da Tao Sanchun (Three Attacks on Tao Sanchun). Within the documented technical tradition of Ouju Opera in Wenzhou, Zhejiang: Ou opera is a multi-vocal genre, mainly luantan and also singing Kun, high-pitched, Hui, tanhuang and shidiao. Its genuine traditional grand plays number eighty-four, known as “three Kun, four high, four Hui, four cold, five old”: the three Kun plays Lianhuan Ji, The Fisherman's Joy and Leifeng Pagoda; the four high-pitched plays Leigong Bao, Xunhuan Bao, Baoen Ting and Ziyang Guan; the four Hui plays Huilong Ge, Longfeng Ge, Shuangqiulian and Tianyuan Pei; and four cold plays seldom performed and five old plays. Its stage art is distinctive, its roles capable in both civil and martial parts: civil plays are fine and restrained, with such techniques as the “rubbing step”, “sparrow step” and “triple-jump step”; martial plays fuse “small southern boxing” staff and fist into the combat, fiery and vigorous with strong local character. Its make-up and facial designs use bold linear blocks to highlight colour contrast, while text-faces and animal-faces form a style of their own. The various vocal styles are sung with distinctive charm: Kun singing flowing and distant, luantan brilliant and vehement, Hui singing plain and level, tanhuang gentle and moving, shidiao plain and fluent, and high-pitched singing dry with choral support and drum-and-gong marking the beat, the ringing great gong, rich drum patterns and the unique striking of the ancient foot-drum giving Ou opera's music still greater character and displaying moving charm. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Lianhuan Ji": One of the “three Kun” of Ou opera, a traditional grand Kun-vocal play. "The Fisherman's Joy": One of the “three Kun” of Ou opera, a traditional grand Kun-vocal play. "Leifeng Pagoda": One of the “three Kun” of Ou opera, a traditional grand Kun-vocal play. "Leigong Bao, Xunhuan Bao, Baoen Ting, Ziyang Guan": The “four high” plays of Ou opera, traditional grand high-pitched-vocal plays.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

He is a representative bearer of Ouju Opera, a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. In 1997 he received the Wenhua Performance Award from the Ministry of Culture. In recent years he has devoted himself to transmitting Ouju Opera and has trained a group of outstanding performers including Qian Wenyi.

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. Sun Lailai · National Representative Bearer Archive