Liu Zongxun
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Liu Zongxun, Male, Han, from Quanzhou, Fujian, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Quanzhou Beiguan (Ⅱ-72). The tradition is documented in Quanzhou, Fujian. Within the regional tradition and school record of Quanzhou Beiguan in Quanzhou, Fujian: Beiguan falls into two large categories, qu and pu: qu are vocal pieces, pu are instrumental pieces. The musical style of Quanzhou Beiguan keeps both the clarity and elegance of Jianghuai folk songs and the soft beauty of Minnan and Puxian music; it is vigorous and plain in character and has long been known as “the messenger of the Son of Heaven”. In the early years of the Guangxu reign of the Qing, folk music from the Jianghuai region entered Quangang District of Quanzhou City aboard merchant ships, with salt convoys marching south and refugees from the Huai River, and Quanzhou Beiguan gradually took shape. It has passed through five stages: germination and growth (from the late 1870s to the 1920s), its prime (from the late 1920s to the early 1950s), a downturn (from the late 1950s to 1976), recovery (from 1977 to 1994) and renewing development (from 1995 to the present), and it has been handed down continuously to this day. Most qu pieces derive from Jianghuai ditties of the Ming and Qing periods onwards, while most pu pieces derive from Guangdong music, Jiangnan sizhu and Peking opera tune patterns.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Liu Zongxun is anchored in the documented technical standards of Quanzhou Beiguan in Quanzhou, Fujian. Within the documented technical tradition of Quanzhou Beiguan in Quanzhou, Fujian: Quangang District of Quanzhou City lies on the southern shore of the beautiful and fertile Meizhou Bay, close to Hong Kong and Macao and facing Taiwan; it is the meeting point of the two language groups Minnan and Puxian. Here southern music, Xiang opera, Gaojia opera and puppetry coexist with Puxian opera and other folk art forms. Quanzhou Beiguan is precisely an exotic flower of folk music growing in this special geographical setting and artistic atmosphere. “Beiguan” is also called “beiqu”, “xiaoqu”, “xiaodiao” or “quzai”; it is a kind of sizhu music widely circulated in Quangang District of Quanzhou City, and Beiguan associations also exist in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and elsewhere. The lyrics are mostly narrative or scenic in feeling, and the interjection “aiyo” is often used at the ends of musical phrases, periods and whole pieces. Singing is done in guanhua, that is Huguang speech, comparable to modern Mandarin. In the prelude and at the ends of phrases and periods the singer often sings while playing a percussion instrument, which adds a great deal of life to the piece. The singing frequently rises by an octave, and it also borrows some vocal techniques from Puxian music and Nanyin, making the voice powerful and resonant as well as extended and tender. Pu pieces are generally played without gongs and drums; only clappers or wooden fish drums are used to mark the strong beats. The common form is several tune patterns linked together, but there are also piece forms built up through metrical variation. The ensemble keeps the instruments of Jiangnan sizhu and borrows those of Minnan and Puxian music. The principal instruments are the jinghu and the flute, together with such characteristic instruments as the yueqin, the sanxian and the shuangqing. Representative qu tune patterns of Quanzhou Beiguan include Si Da Jing, Cai Lian, Cai Sang, Yu Mei Ren, Hong Xiu Xie, Chu Han Guan and Da Hua Gu, while the pu repertoire includes Liu Chuan, Cao Qin, Guangdong Chuan, Suzhou Chuan, Hua Liu Ban, San Ban, Jiang Jun Ling, Tai Ping Ge, Ping Ban, Xing Ban, Ba Ban Tou, Da Ba Ban and Jiangnan Da Ba Ban. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Si Da Jing": One of the representative vocal pieces (qu) of Quanzhou Beiguan. "Cai Lian": One of the representative vocal pieces (qu) of Quanzhou Beiguan, derived from Jianghuai ditties of the Ming and Qing periods. "Yu Mei Ren": One of the representative vocal pieces (qu) of Quanzhou Beiguan. "Hong Xiu Xie": One of the representative vocal pieces (qu) of Quanzhou Beiguan.
Si Da Jing
One of the representative vocal pieces (qu) of Quanzhou Beiguan.
Cai Lian
One of the representative vocal pieces (qu) of Quanzhou Beiguan, derived from Jianghuai ditties of the Ming and Qing periods.
Yu Mei Ren
One of the representative vocal pieces (qu) of Quanzhou Beiguan.
Hong Xiu Xie
One of the representative vocal pieces (qu) of Quanzhou Beiguan.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Liu Zongxun was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Quanzhou Beiguan, with Quanzhou, Fujian as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Quanzhou Beiguan in Quanzhou, Fujian: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Quanzhou, Fujian as its declared area, and Quangang Bei Guan Transmission Safeguarding 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
In the early years of the Guangxu reign of the Qing, folk music from the Jianghuai region entered Quangang District of Quanzhou City aboard merchant ships, with salt convoys marching south and refugees from the Huai River, and Quanzhou Beiguan gradually took shape. It has passed through five stages: germination and growth (from the late 1870s to the 1920s), its prime (from the late 1920s to the early 1950s), a downturn (from the late 1950s to 1976), recovery (from 1977 to 1994) and renewing development (from 1995 to the present), and it has been handed down continuously to this day. Most qu pieces derive from Jianghuai ditties of the Ming and Qing periods onwards, while most pu pieces derive from Guangdong music, Jiangnan sizhu and Peking opera tune patterns.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhuang Longzong | Quanzhou, Fujian | 04-1531 | Same declared area |
| Zhuang Mingjia | Quanzhou, Fujian | 05-2093 | Same declared area |
| Liu Zongxun | Quanzhou, Fujian | — | 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。