Lizhanglin

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Lizhanglin, Male, Han, from Xiong, Hebei, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble (Ⅱ-59). The tradition is documented in Xiong, Hebei. Within the regional tradition and school record of Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble in Xiong, Hebei: Jizhong sheng-and-guan music is current in nearly thirty counties and cities south of Beijing, west of Tianjin and north of Cangzhou and Dingzhou; it is a drum-and-wind music peculiar to the Jizhong Plain, popularly called a “music society” by the people, and, because it is led by the guan and accompanied by the sheng and other instruments, also called “sheng-and-guan music”. Jizhong sheng-and-guan music is found all over the Jizhong Plain; the farmers of this region form societies by village, borrowing instruments to meet, and play in local sacrificial rites, funerals and other folk activities, handing it on from generation to generation in their own distinctive way. The Kaikou music society has both civil and martial music and belongs to the Daoist northern music; one volume of gongche scores survives locally, containing five large suites including Ma Yu Lang, Hui Xue and Kong Zi Tan Yan Hui, more than eighty short pieces, one volume of hu lun and one part of Hexi cymbals. The ancient music of Xiongxian belongs to the northern branch of folk drum-and-wind music; it began in the Song and Yuan, flourished in the Ming and Qing, and has very deep connections with court music.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Lizhanglin is anchored in the documented technical standards of Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble in Xiong, Hebei. Within the documented technical tradition of Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble in Xiong, Hebei: Besides wind instruments such as the sheng, guan and flute, Jizhong sheng-and-guan music also uses such percussion instruments as cloud gongs, drums, nao, cymbals and clapper bells. The pieces of sheng-and-guan music fall into three kinds: suites, short pieces and independent sets of percussion music; of these the suites are of great length and complex structure, and form the main part of the whole performing repertory. The pieces of the Yagucheng music society are plain in wording and refined in sentiment, holding joy and sorrow together, and have a character of their own. Its civil-suite repertory includes pieces such as Kong Zi Tan Yan Hui and Pu Tan Zhou; the opening pieces include such reversed-mode tunes as Xiao Hua Yuan and Da Zou Ma, and the scattered pieces such as Tiao Pao, Tao Jun Ling and Si Ji; the martial section begins with the opening cymbals and has seven sections in all, closing with a cymbal head, high and stirring, refreshing to ear and eye. The Zhaogang music society belongs to the northern music and preserves more than twenty ancient pieces, two suites and five sets of percussion music, classified by kind into Buddhist tunes, Daoist tunes, folk tunes and the like. The Duzhuang music society is a typical folk drum-and-wind music of the northern school, and all the pieces it plays are ancient tunes; they may be played seated in the canopy or performed on the move. The ancient music of Xiongxian takes the folk music society as its vehicle, is organised spontaneously, and is handed down from generation to generation. The pieces of the music society are all notated in gongche; in the band the Chinese wind instruments take the guan (the large guan and the small guan) as the leading instrument, accompanied by sheng, flute and cloud gong, and the pieces played are solemn and dignified. The martial music is led by great cymbals, nao, cymbals and drums, among which the Hexi cymbals are magnificent and stirring. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Kong Zi Tan Yan Hui": Its civil-suite repertory includes pieces such as Kong Zi Tan Yan Hui and Pu Tan Zhou; the opening pieces include such reversed-mode tunes as Xiao Hua Yuan and Da Zou Ma, and the scattered pieces such as Tiao Pao, Tao Jun Ling and Si Ji; the martial section begins with the opening cymbals and has seven sections in all, closing with a cymbal head, high and stirring, refreshing to ear and eye. "Pu Tan Zhou": Its civil-suite repertory includes pieces such as Kong Zi Tan Yan Hui and Pu Tan Zhou; the opening pieces include such reversed-mode tunes as Xiao Hua Yuan and Da Zou Ma, and the scattered pieces such as Tiao Pao, Tao Jun Ling and Si Ji; the martial section begins with the opening cymbals and has seven sections in all, closing with a cymbal head, high and stirring, refreshing to ear and eye. "Xiao Hua Yuan": Its civil-suite repertory includes pieces such as Kong Zi Tan Yan Hui and Pu Tan Zhou; the opening pieces include such reversed-mode tunes as Xiao Hua Yuan and Da Zou Ma, and the scattered pieces such as Tiao Pao, Tao Jun Ling and Si Ji; the martial section begins with the opening cymbals and has seven sections in all, closing with a cymbal head, high and stirring, refreshing to ear and eye. "Da Zou Ma": Its civil-suite repertory includes pieces such as Kong Zi Tan Yan Hui and Pu Tan Zhou; the opening pieces include such reversed-mode tunes as Xiao Hua Yuan and Da Zou Ma, and the scattered pieces such as Tiao Pao, Tao Jun Ling and Si Ji; the martial section begins with the opening cymbals and has seven sections in all, closing with a cymbal head, high and stirring, refreshing to ear and eye.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Lizhanglin was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble, with Xiong, Hebei as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble in Xiong, Hebei: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Xiong, Hebei as its declared area, and Xiong 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. Lizhanglin (Xiong, Hebei) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Lizhanglin · China ICH Official Archive