Zhao Xingshou
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Zhao Xingshou, Male, Han, from Yidou, Hubei, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Qinglinsimiyu (Ⅰ-31). The tradition is documented in Yidou, Hubei. Within the regional tradition and school record of Qinglinsimiyu in Yidou, Hubei: Qinglinsi riddles circulate in the Gaobazhou area of Yidu, Hubei, taking the dialect and rural life of the Qing river basin as their material; the riddle faces are mostly drawn from the local hills and waters, products, farming seasons and household utensils, men and women, old and young can all make and guess riddles, and riddles and riddle songs are two sides of one thing, forming a distinctive cultural space of riddles. In July 2002 the Hubei Federation of Literary and Art Circles, after repeated demonstration by experts and scholars, named Qinglinsi village the Hubei Qinglinsi Riddle Village; in 2002 the village was named a home of folk art of Hubei by the Hubei cultural department; and in 2003 Qinglinsi village was named a Chinese riddle village by the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association. At the end of the twentieth century, with the development and construction of the Gaobazhou hydroelectric project on the Qing river, this area became the main submerged zone, the relocated population reaching forty per cent of the total, and only nine hundred and twenty-five people now remain.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Zhao Xingshou is anchored in the documented technical standards of Qinglinsimiyu in Yidou, Hubei. Within the documented technical tradition of Qinglinsimiyu in Yidou, Hubei: Qinglinsi village lies in Gaobazhou of Yidu, Yichang, Hubei, an area of long history and distinctive geographical environment. The villagers are good at making and guessing riddles and are crazy about them. In Qinglinsi almost everyone can tell riddles, and men and women, old and young alike test their own pet compositions against one another anywhere and at any time. According to surveys, those who command thirty to a hundred riddles make up fifteen per cent of the village population and those who command more than a hundred make up five per cent. Besides this, the Qinglinsi riddles and riddle songs have been included by the primary and middle schools of Yichang in their local teaching materials. As the cascade development of the Qing river water project goes further, the submerged zone and the range of relocation will certainly expand further, and together with the impact of new forms of cultural consumption the folk-cultural phenomenon of Qinglinsi riddles faces a serious crisis. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Selected Qinglinsi Riddles": One of the Qinglinsi riddle collections. "Selected Qinglinsi Riddle Songs": The riddle-song collection that forms two sides of one thing with the riddles. "Qinglinsi Riddle Village of Hubei, China": One of the collections introducing the Qinglinsi riddle village.
Selected Qinglinsi Riddles
One of the Qinglinsi riddle collections.
Selected Qinglinsi Riddle Songs
The riddle-song collection that forms two sides of one thing with the riddles.
Qinglinsi Riddle Village of Hubei, China
One of the collections introducing the Qinglinsi riddle village.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Zhao Xingshou was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Qinglinsimiyu, with Yidou, Hubei as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Qinglinsimiyu in Yidou, Hubei: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Yidou, Hubei as its declared area, and Yidou Cultural Center (Yidou Wen YiChuangZuoShi) as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
In July 2002 the Hubei Federation of Literary and Art Circles, after repeated demonstration by experts and scholars, named Qinglinsi village the Hubei Qinglinsi Riddle Village; in 2002 the village was named a home of folk art of Hubei by the Hubei cultural department; and in 2003 Qinglinsi village was named a Chinese riddle village by the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association. At the end of the twentieth century, with the development and construction of the Gaobazhou hydroelectric project on the Qing river, this area became the main submerged zone, the relocated population reaching forty per cent of the total, and only nine hundred and twenty-five people now remain.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhao Xingshou | Yidou, Hubei | — | This page |
| Zhang Zheyuan | Shantoushichenghai, Guangdong | — | Other regional school |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。