Li Yangbo

01 · Lineage & Regional School

He is the eighteenth-generation transmitter of the Xiashi Street story fair (gushi hui) of Changle Town. At the age of six he appeared as a child performer in stories created by his father Li Duanzhi; at ten he began learning stilt-walking under his uncle Li Duanxin, and later studied under the veteran folk artists Li Yaonan, Li Changgen and Zhou Jin'an. Within the regional tradition and school record of Taige in Miluo, Hunan: The Changle Raised-Platform Story Gathering arose in the Sui and Tang dynasties and flourished in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han ethnicity, born in June 1954, a native of Miluo City, Hunan Province. His highest record on stilts reaches 4.2 metres, and he can perform a variety of difficult movements such as twisting, jumping, bending and leaning backwards. He has also mastered five percussion suites, namely Desheng Ling (Song of Victory), Changgu Liuzi, Shizi Gunqiu (Lion Rolling a Ball), Jinshe Kuangwu (Wild Dance of the Golden Snake) and Xique Zaomei (Magpies Chattering on the Plum), together with the make-up techniques for more than 140 dramatic characters and the methods of presenting stories drawn from more than 400 historical allusions. Within the documented technical tradition of Taige in Miluo, Hunan: The Raised-Platform Story Gathering is a form of taige performance preserved within the traditional festive folk activities of Changle Town, Miluo City, Hunan Province. From the first day of the first lunar month to the Lantern Festival, the people of Changle divide themselves into two bodies, the Upper Market Street and the Lower Market Street, and hold competitive story-gathering performances. The content of the raised-platform stories is mostly tales of loyalty, filial piety, integrity and righteousness from past ages, together with folk legends; it falls into four main categories — ground stories, ground-platform stories, high-colour stories and stilt stories. It is also divided into the Upper Market Street and Lower Market Street story gatherings. When the story gatherings parade and perform, they are accompanied by gathering banners, coloured flags, plaques, coloured lanterns, gongs and drums and bands, and are further matched with folk entertainment troupes such as coloured-dragon play, fire-dragon dance, lion dance, lotus boats and waist drums, with the upper street and the lower street competing to see which is superior and spectators massed like a wall. The members of each story-gathering organization come together voluntarily, without pay, with expenses raised by themselves. The project is of great significance for carrying on the fine traditions of the Chinese nation, enriching the cultural life of the masses and building a harmonious society. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Rivalry between the upper and lower streets": From New Year to the Lantern Festival the town divides into two rival street teams. "Four kinds of story platform": Stories fall into four types: ground, platform, high colour and stilt. "Flags, lanterns and gongs in procession": Banners, lanterns, gongs and bands lead a parade of dragons, lions and drums that draws packed crowds. "Self-funded and unpaid": Members form themselves, take no pay and raise their own funds.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Taige (Changle Taige Story Fair), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. In 2009 he took part in the First North-South Styles Kyushu Temple Fair of Hunan Province, where he received the Best Performance Award.

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. Li Yangbo · National Representative Bearer Archive