Yao Baiqing

01 · Lineage & Regional School

In 1982 he entered the actor training class of the Shaoxing Municipal Shaoju Troupe and subsequently joined the Zhejiang Shaoju Troupe, where he studied under the renowned Shaoju master Feng Zutao and specialised in the ermian (secondary painted-face) role type. Within the regional tradition and school record of Shaoju Opera in Shaoxing, Zhejiang: Shao opera is popular in northern Shaoxing in Zhejiang and in Xiaoshan, Zhuji and Shangyu and the adjoining provinces; because its troupe scale is larger than the “parrot troupes” that staged “dramatic fooling” pieces with one dan and one chou in the Daoguang and Xianfeng reigns it is called the “Shaoxing grand troupe”, and it has always been the chief content of local village-sacrifice and temple-stage performance. In the 1960s Three Battles with the White Bone Demon toured the whole country and went abroad in Chinese-foreign cultural exchange.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

He is a man of Han ethnicity, born in October 1965 in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. His singing is pure and resonant, and his acting unites refinement with robustness and gravity with humour; while inheriting the art of the Wang (Xiaokui) school he has continued to enrich its expressive content, earning the admiration of audiences and fellow artists alike. His representative works include Sun Wukong San Da Baigujing (The Monkey King Thrice Defeats the White Bone Demon), Zhen Jia Wukong (The True and False Monkey King), Da Banshan, Da Taimiao, Huang Feihu Fan Wu Guan (Huang Feihu Rebels at the Five Passes), Longfeng Suo (The Dragon and Phoenix Lock) and Lianglang Shan, and he enjoys the reputation of the 'Living Zhu Bajie of Jiangnan'. Within the documented technical tradition of Shaoju Opera in Shaoxing, Zhejiang: Shao opera, also called “Shaoxing luantan”, is popular in northern Shaoxing in Zhejiang and the adjoining provinces. Its sheng, dan, jing and chou roles are complete, mostly robed and tablet-holding performances of emperors, generals, ministers and battles; its troupe organisation and performance scale being larger than those of the “parrot troupes” that staged “dramatic fooling” pieces with one dan and one chou in Shaoxing in the Daoguang and Xianfeng reigns, it is called the “Shaoxing grand troupe”. Actors of every role are highly masterly, gathering in the troupe like a heap of jade, so that the Shaoxing grand troupe is often called “Yucheng”. Shao opera has always been the chief performance at Shaoxing village sacrifices, the luantan troupes singing loudly on temple grass stages and in village squares amid clanging drums and gongs before thousands of spectators, expressing such themes as punishing the wicked and wiping out shame in ringing, vehement singing and acting, their dense and stirring notes shaking the four quarters and rousing the crowd against greed and cruelty. Its music is plain and rough-hewn, its singing noted for being ringing and vehement with many soul-stirring long lyrical arias; its performance is bold and free, capable in both civil and martial parts, especially excelling in martial plays with steady posturing, masterly combat technique and fierce, spectacular fighting. Among these, Three Battles with the White Bone Demon, drawn from Journey to the West, perfectly shapes a Sun Wukong combining “man, god and monkey” and attains a very high artistic level, making Shao opera famous throughout the world and much favoured by audiences; the colour opera film made from the stage play has been shown in seventy-two countries and regions with unanimous praise. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Three Battles with the White Bone Demon": One of the representative plays of Shao opera, shaping a Sun Wukong combining “man, god and monkey”; the colour opera film made from the stage play was shown in seventy-two countries and regions. "Journey to the West (Thirty-Six Serial Volumes)": The serial plays performed in succession by Shao opera in the 1940s, in which the role of Sun Wukong created the southern school's “living and nimble” style of monkey play. "The Flaming Mountains": One of the representative works of Shao opera monkey play. "Sun Wukong Storms Heaven and Earth": One of the representative works of Shao opera monkey play.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

He is a representative bearer of Shaoju Opera, a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. In 2013 he received the 26th China Drama Plum Blossom Award. In recent years he has trained a group of young Shaoju performers, including Zhu Danxian, Zheng Chao, Zhu Lifeng and Tang Congcong.

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. Yao Baiqing · National Representative Bearer Archive