Xiujianguo

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Xiujianguo, Male, Han, from Haiyang, Shandong, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Yangge Dance (Ⅲ-2). The tradition is documented in Haiyang, Shandong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Yangge Dance in Haiyang, Shandong: Haiyang dayangge is one of the three great yangge of Shandong. It is the dance section of the folk shehuo and is popular in the area around Haiyang City on the southern side of the Shandong peninsula, on the shore of the Yellow Sea. Yangge has a long history. Among the folk dance troupes described by Zhou Mi of the Southern Song in his Wulin Jiushi (Old Events of the Wulin) there is already a record of cuntian le ("village field music"); the Xinnian Zayong Chao (Selected New Year Verses) by Wu Xilin of the Qing dynasty states explicitly the lineage between the yangge that survives today and the Song-dynasty cuntian le. From this one can see that Haiyang yangge in fact originated in the Ming dynasty. In 1996, Haiyang City was named a "Hometown of Chinese Folk Art" by the Ministry of Culture.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Xiujianguo is anchored in the documented technical standards of Yangge Dance in Haiyang, Shandong. Within the documented technical tradition of Yangge Dance in Haiyang, Shandong: Yangge is a collective term for a highly popular and representative genre of Chinese folk dance (chiefly in the north); different regions have their own names, styles and forms. In folk usage the term divides into two: the version performed on stilts is called "gaqiao yangge" (stilt yangge), and the version performed on the ground is called "di yangge" (ground yangge). The term "yangge" as used in modern times usually refers to "di yangge". In most places today yangge takes the form of a yangge troupe; a troupe numbers at least a dozen or so people and at times as many as a hundred. There are group dances as well as two-person and three-person dances and many other performance formats; according to the needs of the role the performers hold the appropriate props — handkerchief, umbrella, sticks, drum, coin-whip and the like — and dance freely to the accompaniment of gongs, drums, suona and other wind and percussion instruments. The dancing methods, movements and styles of yangge differ from place to place: some are imposing and heroic, others gentle and charming — a dazzling variety that never fails to delight. Yangge is one of the most representative folk dance genres in northern China. It is at once performative and self-amusing, entertaining the performers as much as the audience, and is deeply loved by ordinary people. Every region has produced some representative folk yangge artists, and many folk artists have played an important part in building the dance undertaking of the People's Republic of China. Haiyang dayangge is a form of folk art combining song, dance and play. It is found throughout the more than ten townships of Haiyang and radiates to the surrounding areas. According to the "Zhao Family Genealogy" of Zhaojiazhuang in Haiyang: "Zhao Tong, the second-generation ancestor, hereditary commander and garrison commander (of the Dashong Guard), was honourarily appointed General of Martial Valour. In the first year of Hongxi, on the joyful occasion of five generations living under one roof, the throne bestowed a sum of money for "Seven Leaves of Propagating Auspiciousness", a plaque was hung on an auspicious morning, and all the commanders, together with the local gentry, came in person to offer congratulations. The musicians, hearing the music of Shao, led the yangge they had created and trained, dancing and singing it in the courtyard, and the joy was complete. The performance content of Haiyang dayangge is rich and the organization of the troupe is strict; it consists mainly of three parts. When setting out, those carrying out the duties of ceremony come first in the column, then the band, and after that the dance troupe. The dance troupe has several dozen characters of every kind, including the leader, the "yao daifu"; the ensemble performers, the flower drum, the "xiao" and the "bawang bian" (overlord's whip); the two-person performers, the peddler with Cuihua, "gulou" with Granny Wang, the ugly woman with the silly boy, the old man with the old woman, the young master with his wife, and so on; and at the rear come the characters of yangge plays or performers in miscellaneous operatic roles. The formations commonly used by the yangge troupe include "Two Dragons Spitting Whiskers", "Bagua Battle", "Dragon Swishing Its Tail", "Coiled Dragon", "Two Twined Dragons", "Three Fish Contending for the Head" and "A Myriad Stars Surrounding the Moon". The outstanding feature of Haiyang yangge dance movements is the combination of running and twisting: the dancers twist as they run, the women twisting the waist and flourishing the fan, advancing with shaking shoulders, lively and natural; the men with quivering steps and shaking heads, swinging the arms and shifting the shoulders, frank and humorous. Haiyang dayangge has now been compiled and listed as one of the teaching materials for Han nationality dance. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The three-part procession": In procession the ceremonial section leads, followed by the band and then the dance troupe of several dozen role players, ending with Yangge opera characters and theatrical extras. "Yao Daifu (the Medicine Doctor)": The conductor role at the head of the Haiyang troupe; the inheritor Ju Hongjun absorbed stances from Mantis boxing, giving it a forceful, steady and commanding style. "Twin Dragons and other formations": The customary formations of Haiyang Yangge, including Twin Dragons Spitting Whiskers, Eight-Trigram Bucket, Dragon Sweeping Tail and Stars Around the Moon. "Paired role combinations": The paired acts of Haiyang Yangge, alongside the pedlar and Cuihua and the tinker and Widow Wang, including the comic old woman and fool, and the collective flower-drum and whip dancers.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Xiujianguo was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Yangge Dance, with Haiyang, Shandong as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Yangge Dance in Haiyang, Shandong: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Haiyang, Shandong as its declared area, and Haiyang 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. Xiujianguo (Haiyang, Shandong) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Xiujianguo · China ICH Official Archive