Zhou Benxiang

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Zhou Benxiang, Male, Han, from Lingbi, Anhui, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Suona Art (Ⅱ-37). The tradition is documented in Lingbi, Anhui. Within the regional tradition and school record of Suona Art in Lingbi, Anhui: The Lingbi Bolin suona centres on the Zhou family troupe: among the Zhou surname's direct line there are more than one hundred male and female players of all ages, and over a thousand disciples and followers with other surnames, forming a vast folk music community, with representative figures including the "Eight Tigers of the Zhou Family" and the "Four Flowers of Drum Music". The band societies are divided into "family troupes" and "combined troupes", farming in the busy season and performing in the slack season, generally six to ten people. Older-generation artists made their own instruments, melting tin into molten tin and pouring it into a double-layer sleeve, then drilling eight holes according to the size ratios after casting and correcting the pitch by test-blowing, forming a distinctive manufacturing craft. This tradition was transmitted from Persia and reached the central plains in the Jin and Yuan dynasties. The Zhou family troupe has developed from its founding in the late Qing dynasty to the present, having passed through more than a century of vicissitudes. Since it took shape in the late Qing dynasty, the Lingbi Bolin suona has always been celebrated for the richness of its tune patterns, its display of ritual propriety and its enduring popularity.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Zhou Benxiang is anchored in the documented technical standards of Suona Art in Lingbi, Anhui. Within the documented technical tradition of Suona Art in Lingbi, Anhui: The Lingbi Bolin suona circulates in Bolin Village, Yinji Town, Lingbi County, Suzhou City, Anhui Province. It is a suona performance art created by a folk music troupe made up chiefly of members of the Zhou clan, such as Zhou Zhengyu, the late master of Chinese wind instruments. The suona, popularly called "laba", has a bright, bold and expansive tone, high and resonant, firm yet gentle and gentle yet firm, and is good at expressing hot and unrestrained scenes and emotions of great joy and great sorrow. Among the Zhou surname's direct line there are more than one hundred male and female players of all ages, and over a thousand disciples and followers with other surnames, forming a vast folk music community. Representative figures include the "Eight Tigers of the Zhou Family" and the "Four Flowers of Drum Music". The Lingbi Bolin suona belongs to band-society activity and most often accompanies folk rituals such as weddings, birthday celebrations and funerals. It is generally performed by eight people, but six or ten people are also possible. There are "family troupes" and "combined troupes": they farm in the busy season and perform in the slack season. The repertoire is divided into wedding and birthday pieces of joyous blessing, temple-fair pieces of production and daily life, official and funeral pieces of great ceremony, and impromptu pieces suited to the occasion for folk performance. Forms of performance are divided into the static "seated canopy performance", the dynamic "processional performance", and interactive performance playing created on the spot as the occasion requires. Older-generation artists generally made their own instruments. They melt tin into molten tin, pour it into a homemade double-layer sleeve, and after casting, according to differing size ratios, drill eight sound holes by a special craft, correcting the pitch by test-blowing. The Lingbi Bolin suona can produce almost every wind-instrument technique and sound effect, such as ka-xi, muted pipe, double pipe and bazhuanzi, and can also imitate theatre voices, the human voice and birdsong. By taking several parts of the suona apart and playing them separately, it can imitate different character roles, such as the aged and deep voice of the old male role, the sprightly vivacity of the young female role and the rough bluntness of the martial role. The suona can also play classical pieces, popular songs and foreign music. It is common in the folk that "without the Zhou family troupe a man will not marry and a woman will not wed". The Zhou family troupe also carries out transmission and dissemination in many ways, such as recording suona albums and spontaneously organising performance activities. This heritage item has a broad and deep popular base and carries important social and cultural significance such as binding the community together and promoting harmony among groups. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Seated canopy performance": A static performance form in which the band sets up a canopy and plays seated; it is used mainly at ritual occasions such as weddings and birthday celebrations, and its repertoire belongs to the joyous-blessing category. "Processional performance": A dynamic performance form in which the band plays while marching with the wedding or funeral procession, with long trumpets and percussion setting the pace. "Ka-xi imitative playing": The suona is taken apart and its sections played separately, or a muted pipe, double pipe or bazhuanzi added, to imitate theatre character types such as the aged old male role, the sprightly young female role and the rough martial role, as well as the calls of birds.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Zhou Benxiang was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Suona Art, with Lingbi, Anhui as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Suona Art in Lingbi, Anhui: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2014 (batch 4), with Lingbi, Anhui as its declared area, and Lingbi 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

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. Zhoubenxiang (Lingbi, Anhui) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Zhoubenxiang · China ICH Official Archive