Zhang Qingmin

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Zhang Qingmin, Male, Han, from Jinxiang, Shandong, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Shandong Laozi (Ⅴ-85). The tradition is documented in Jinxiang, Shandong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Shandong Laozi in Jinxiang, Shandong: By the middle of the Qing dynasty "lianhualuo" was current throughout southwestern Shandong; by the end of the Jiaqing reign the singers of Shandong luozi in southwestern Shandong had gathered together in a host of noted masters. Shandong luozi is commonly called "lianhualuo" or "guangguang shu". It is a form of quyi that originated within the borders of Shandong Province and takes its name from the refrain words "luo lianhua" and "lianhualuo" of its early tunes. Shandong luozi is spread across the border areas of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui; around the 1950s it was concentrated chiefly in Heze City of Shandong Province, in Jinxiang, Jiaxiang, Yutai and other counties of Jining City, and in the area around Shangqiu City of Henan Province. From the 1960s onward this performance form gradually extended to Zaozhuang City and Liaocheng City of Shandong Province, to Xuzhou City of Jiangsu Province, and to Dangshan County, Xiaoxian County and other places in Anhui Province. Shandong luozi derives from the "Luohua" tune sung by monks soliciting alms at the end of the Sui and the beginning of the Tang; it was called "sanhua luo" in the Tang, "lianhualuo" in the Song, and in the Ming the narrative form "xushi lianhualuo" came into being.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Born in December 1961 in Jinxiang County, Shandong Province, he is of Han ethnicity. At the age of sixteen he took Dai Yongqing as his master; he was naturally gifted and worked with diligence and perseverance. After the age of eighteen he sang on the move through southwestern Shandong, northern Anhui and northern Jiangsu for many years, steadily improving his skills in practice. His performing style is rough and forceful, with a strong local flavour of southwestern Shandong. His speciality is that at the height of a lively passage he often tosses the large bronze cymbals in his hands two or three zhang into the air, spins sharply, performs a flying kick and catches them before singing on, without breaking the rhythm. His representative works include In Praise of Garlic (Kua Dasuan) and Three Times Eight Makes Twenty-Three (San Ba Ershi San). Within the documented technical tradition of Shandong Laozi in Jinxiang, Shandong: Shandong luozi uses large cymbals and bamboo clappers as accompanying instruments; it has no orchestral accompaniment, and its singing style is rugged and forceful. Its traditional repertoire is comparatively rich: there are long works such as Shuangbian Ji, Shi Gong An and Yinglie Zhuan; medium-length works such as Yang Xiuying Ban Bing, Baishe Zhuan and Xu Mu Ma Cao; and short works such as Jiang Ziya Mai Mian, Wu Hu Nao Guan, Hei Song Lin and Ku Chang Cheng. The performance form is narration spoken and sung in the Shandong regional pronunciation; the singing style belongs to the banqiang system and, according to expressive function, is divided into the linking style, the grinding style, the long style and the low style; the ban patterns include the fast ban and the slow ban; and the singing techniques include swallowing, breaking, delaying, hurrying, yin-yang articulation, and high and low registers. Its singing style is highly improvisatory, the language is plain and popular, the tunes are simple, singing is the principal element and speech the accessory. The structure of the lyrics divides an episode into a number of sections; these may run to a dozen lines or more, or as few as two lines drawn out into one long drawn-out phrase, after which a stroke on the cymbals serves as an interlude. The basic line pattern consists chiefly of seven characters and follows rhyming metre. The accompanying interlude has no fixed length; the performer may decide how long it runs according to the mood of the plot and the needs of emotional expression. Accordingly, its free and informal vocal styles, musical manner and performance — with no fixed vocal style, phrases that may be long or short, and a rhythm that may be hurried or unhurried — form the core characteristics of Shandong luozi. Shandong luozi belongs to the Qiuzu Longmen school; the earliest known noted performer is Liu Benchun of the "ben" generation, while the "he" and "jiao" generations have produced the most noted performers. Shandong luozi portrays folk legends and historical stories in vivid and lively language, giving them a distinctly literary quality. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Long items: Double Whip, Judge Shi and Heroes": Representative long pieces of Shandong laozi, built on historical romance and court-case matter and told over many days. "Middle-length items": Middle-length pieces that can be finished in one sitting, suited to temple fairs and wedding gatherings. "Short items": Concentrated short pieces, often performed before the main tale to draw a crowd. "The vocal techniques of Shandong laozi": The genre's vocal devices include abrupt stops, delays, swift runs, the yin-yang mouth and register shifts, deployed across four functional tunes.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

He is a national representative bearer of Shandong Laozi, a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He has trained a group of young Shandong laozi performers, including Li Mingjin.

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. Zhang Qingmin · National Representative Bearer Archive