Qian Cheng

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Qian Cheng, Male, Han, from Shanghaihuajijutuan, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Huaji Opera (Ⅳ-156). The tradition is documented in Shanghaihuajijutuan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Huaji Opera in Shanghaihuajijutuan: Shanghai huaji opera is current in many parts of Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It developed gradually from the Shanghai narrative art of "dujiao xi" (monologue drama) as it absorbed influences from Chinese and foreign comedy and farce and from the local operas of the Jiangnan region; by the 1940s there were already more than a dozen well-known huaji companies, including the Xiaoxiao Theatre Company and the Tianbao Theatre Company; after the founding of the People's Republic of China it became one of the principal genres of Shanghai, centred on the Shanghai Huaji Theatre, and its history produced such famous actors as Xu Zhuodai, Wang Wuneng, Liu Chunshan, Jiang Xiaoxiao, Yao Mushuang, Zhou Baichun, Yang Huasheng and Wen Binbin.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han ethnicity, born in March 1962 in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province. A national first-class actor. In 1981 he entered the training school of the Shanghai Huaji Opera Troupe, and in 1983 he joined the troupe as an actor. His performance inherited the bookish refinement and dashing elegance of Yao Mushuang and Zhou Bochun together with the exaggerated transformations of Yuan Yiling; his comic timing was steady, accurate and forceful, and his singing was especially fine. His representative works include the huaji plays Three Pacts at the Peony Pavilion (San Yue Mudan Ting) and The Causes of Laughter and Tears (Ti Xiao Yin Yuan), the film The Amorous Young Monk (Duoqing de Xiao Heshang), the television series A Comic History (Huaji Chunqiu), the radio drama Comic Wang Xiaomao (Huaji Wang Xiaomao) and the sitcoms My Uncle (Lao Niangjiu) and Under the New Shanghai Eaves (Xin Shanghai Wuyan Xia). Besides directing teaching work at the opera school, he has led his team in volunteering for many years to promote the teaching of the Shanghainese dialect in schools. Within the documented technical tradition of Huaji Opera in Shanghaihuajijutuan: It is current in many parts of Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and is welcomed by audiences far and wide. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, huaji opera became one of the principal genres of Shanghai. Famous actors of its history include Xu Zhuodai (Xu Banmei), Wang Wuneng, Liu Chunshan, Jiang Xiaoxiao, Zhu Xiangfei, Yao Mushuang, Zhou Baichun, Yang Huasheng and Wen Binbin; a large body of fine plays with nationwide influence was accumulated, such as Sanmao Shengyi (San Mao Goes into Business), Qishier Jia Fangke (Seventy-Two Households), Xiao Shandong dao Shanghai (Little Shandong Comes to Shanghai), Manyuan Chunse (Spring Colour in a Full Garden), Nv Lirenshi (The Woman Hairdresser) and Hudu Yeniang (The Foolish Father and Mother). A good many of these plays were also adapted into films and shown throughout the country. Several dozen fine plays have been preserved, among them Danao Minglun Tang (Making a Ruckus in Minglun Hall), Huoshao Doufudian (Burning the Beancurd Shop) and Xazi Jie Yusan (The Blind Man Borrows an Umbrella). The repertoire of huaji opera has always centred on modern subject matter, and it is good at reflecting the life of city dwellers. It makes the creation of comic material its mission, revealing through merriment, scolding and indignation the sweetness, sourness, bitterness and pungency of life, and pouring a rich variety of thought-provoking social experience into the audience's laughter. Audiences regard Shanghai huaji opera as "the art that makes people happy". Huaji opera is the only genre in China that specialises in comedy and farce. It is one representation of Shanghai culture and also a typical form of Shanghai-style (haipai) culture. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Sanmao Shengyi (San Mao Goes into Business)": Famous actors of its history include Xu Zhuodai (Xu Banmei), Wang Wuneng, Liu Chunshan, Jiang Xiaoxiao, Zhu Xiangfei, Yao Mushuang, Zhou Baichun, Yang Huasheng and Wen Binbin; a large body of fine plays with nationwide influence was accumulated, such as Sanmao Shengyi (San Mao Goes into Business), Qishier Jia Fangke (Seventy-Two Households), Xiao Shandong dao Shanghai (Little Shandong Comes to Shanghai), Manyuan Chunse (Spring Colour in a Full Garden), Nv Lirenshi (The Woman Hairdresser) and Hudu Yeniang (The Foolish Father and Mother). "Qishier Jia Fangke (Seventy-Two Households)": Famous actors of its history include Xu Zhuodai (Xu Banmei), Wang Wuneng, Liu Chunshan, Jiang Xiaoxiao, Zhu Xiangfei, Yao Mushuang, Zhou Baichun, Yang Huasheng and Wen Binbin; a large body of fine plays with nationwide influence was accumulated, such as Sanmao Shengyi (San Mao Goes into Business), Qishier Jia Fangke (Seventy-Two Households), Xiao Shandong dao Shanghai (Little Shandong Comes to Shanghai), Manyuan Chunse (Spring Colour in a Full Garden), Nv Lirenshi (The Woman Hairdresser) and Hudu Yeniang (The Foolish Father and Mother). "Xiao Shandong dao Shanghai (Little Shandong Comes to Shanghai)": Famous actors of its history include Xu Zhuodai (Xu Banmei), Wang Wuneng, Liu Chunshan, Jiang Xiaoxiao, Zhu Xiangfei, Yao Mushuang, Zhou Baichun, Yang Huasheng and Wen Binbin; a large body of fine plays with nationwide influence was accumulated, such as Sanmao Shengyi (San Mao Goes into Business), Qishier Jia Fangke (Seventy-Two Households), Xiao Shandong dao Shanghai (Little Shandong Comes to Shanghai), Manyuan Chunse (Spring Colour in a Full Garden), Nv Lirenshi (The Woman Hairdresser) and Hudu Yeniang (The Foolish Father and Mother). "Manyuan Chunse (Spring Colour in a Full Garden)": Famous actors of its history include Xu Zhuodai (Xu Banmei), Wang Wuneng, Liu Chunshan, Jiang Xiaoxiao, Zhu Xiangfei, Yao Mushuang, Zhou Baichun, Yang Huasheng and Wen Binbin; a large body of fine plays with nationwide influence was accumulated, such as Sanmao Shengyi (San Mao Goes into Business), Qishier Jia Fangke (Seventy-Two Households), Xiao Shandong dao Shanghai (Little Shandong Comes to Shanghai), Manyuan Chunse (Spring Colour in a Full Garden), Nv Lirenshi (The Woman Hairdresser) and Hudu Yeniang (The Foolish Father and Mother).

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Huaji Opera, a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He has won the Shanghai Magnolia Award for Theatrical Performance, a second prize at the China Comic Star Television Competition and other honours.

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. Qian Cheng · National Representative Bearer Archive