Wan Huizhi
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Wan Huizhi, Female, Han, from Xingshan, Hubei, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Xingshan Folk Songs (Ⅱ-9). The tradition is documented in Xingshan, Hubei. Within the regional tradition and school record of Xingshan Folk Songs in Xingshan, Hubei: Xingshan folk songs are distributed in the various townships of Xingshan county and the surrounding areas to its east, south and north. This view may be corroborated by the chime bells of Marquis Yi of Zeng and especially by the pitch-row structure of the Shang and Zhou bronze bells and chimes unearthed in this region at Changyang county. Xingshan county belonged to Nan commandery in the Han; in the third year of the Yong'an reign of Emperor Jing of Wu of the Three Kingdoms, 260, Xingshan was set up out of the northern border of Zigui, and the county name is still in use today. Xingshan folk songs have a long history and a rich store, and some scholars in Chinese musicology identify them as a survival of the “ancient songs of Jing-Chu”; the corroboration of their distinctive scale structure may be found in the chime bells of Marquis Yi of Zeng and especially in the pitch-row structure of the Shang and Zhou bronze bells and chimes unearthed in this region.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Wan Huizhi is anchored in the documented technical standards of Xingshan Folk Songs in Xingshan, Hubei. Within the documented technical tradition of Xingshan Folk Songs in Xingshan, Hubei: Xingshan county belonged to Nan commandery in the Han; in the third year of the Yong'an reign of Emperor Jing of Wu of the Three Kingdoms, 260, Xingshan was set up out of the northern border of Zigui. Xingshan lies on the outlying range of the Daba mountains, on the northern side of the Xiling gorge of the Yangtze, bordering Yichang city and Baokang county to the east, Zigui county to the south, the Shennongjia forest region to the north and Badong county to the west. Xingshan folk songs have a long history and a rich store, and some scholars in Chinese musicology identify them as a survival of the “ancient songs of Jing-Chu”. Their pitch is peculiar and often leads people trained in modern music to suppose them “out of tune”. In fact their scale structure contains an interval between the major and minor third, named the “Xingshan third interval”. The structural relations of the only two three-note modes in Xingshan are as follows: rising do–mi–sol, descending la–do(flat)–re, at 350±15 and 300±15, and 350±15 and 180±15. Their pentatonic scale is built upon these and is also called the “Xingshan scale”: (rising fa) descending sol, (descending) la, do, (descending) re, mi, sol. This distinctive scale proves that in Jing-Chu musical culture there existed an oral tradition consonant with the temperament discovered in archaeological instruments. The common pieces of Xingshan folk songs include Conquering the East, Conquering the West, Xue Gang Rebels against the Tang, Ten Partings, Ten Longings and the Five Watches. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Conquering the East": One of the common pieces of Xingshan folk songs. "Conquering the West": One of the common pieces of Xingshan folk songs. "Xue Gang Rebels against the Tang": One of the common pieces of Xingshan folk songs. "Ten Partings": One of the common pieces of Xingshan folk songs.
Conquering the East
One of the common pieces of Xingshan folk songs.
Conquering the West
One of the common pieces of Xingshan folk songs.
Xue Gang Rebels against the Tang
One of the common pieces of Xingshan folk songs.
Ten Partings
One of the common pieces of Xingshan folk songs.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Wan Huizhi was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Xingshan Folk Songs, with Xingshan, Hubei as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Xingshan Folk Songs in Xingshan, Hubei: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Xingshan, Hubei as its declared area, and Xingshan County Cultural Center 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
Xingshan county belonged to Nan commandery in the Han; in the third year of the Yong'an reign of Emperor Jing of Wu of the Three Kingdoms, 260, Xingshan was set up out of the northern border of Zigui, and the county name is still in use today. Xingshan folk songs have a long history and a rich store, and some scholars in Chinese musicology identify them as a survival of the “ancient songs of Jing-Chu”; the corroboration of their distinctive scale structure may be found in the chime bells of Marquis Yi of Zeng and especially in the pitch-row structure of the Shang and Zhou bronze bells and chimes unearthed in this region.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chen Jiazhen | Xingshan, Hubei | 02-0234 | Same declared area |
| Peng Side | Xingshan, Hubei | 03-0813 | Same declared area |
| Wan Huizhi | Xingshan, Hubei | — | This page |
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。