Li Mingzhen

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Li Mingzhen, Female, Han, from Zuoquan, Shanxi, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Zuoquanxiaohua Opera (Ⅲ-113). The tradition is documented in Zuoquan, Shanxi. Within the regional tradition and school record of Zuoquanxiaohua Opera in Zuoquan, Shanxi: At the end of the Ming dynasty and the beginning of the Qing dynasty, the "shehuo" of some villages and hamlets already had more than twenty traditional programmes, the roles being divided into sheng, dan and chou, dressed in stage costume, with coloured fans and coloured silks as the main props. Its process of development and change reflects the historical trajectory of regional folk culture, and it is a window through which to understand and study the folk customs of Shanxi Province and Chinese folk dance.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Li Mingzhen is anchored in the documented technical standards of Zuoquanxiaohua Opera in Zuoquan, Shanxi. Within the documented technical tradition of Zuoquanxiaohua Opera in Zuoquan, Shanxi: Zuoquan small flower play is a local folk traditional dance that covers the whole of Zuoquan County, Shanxi Province and radiates to the neighbouring Heshun County, Yushe County, Wuxiang County, Licheng County and other places. In former times it was called "shehuo", and it integrates folk songs, dance and drama into one, expressing feeling through song, conveying the spirit through dance and conveying meaning through play. Zuoquan County in Shanxi Province was anciently called "Yangyi", "Liaohe", "Liaozhou", "Liaoshan" and "Liaoxian". According to the "Liaozhou Zhi" (Gazetteer of Liaozhou), at every Lantern Festival lanterns were hung and fires were piled at the entrances of the streets and lanes, and the men and women of the village marched out in procession led by the "shehuo" in a practice called "walking the hundred ailments", which was meant to ward off disaster and pray for blessing. At the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the "civil shehuo" within the "shehuo" had already come to be called "small flower play". The main characteristics of Zuoquan small flower play are as follows. First, there are many fan techniques, more than fifty kinds, including "butterfly fan", "rolled-back fan", "scattered fan", "turned-over fan" and "large and small spinning fans". Second, the dance postures are beautiful: the women mainly use "lying carp", "mandarin ducks playing in the water", "little swallow spreading its wings" and "golden rooster standing on one leg", while the men use "riding a horse in a squat", "phoenix spreading its wings", "pulling out of the sea", "bow and arrow" and so on. Third, the melodies are pleasing: most of them use folk song tunes and the linked-tune form, in which instrumental interludes and transitional passages join one vocal line to the next. The tunes are broad and stirring, full of the flavour of mountain country. Fourth, the dancing is refined, its principal steps being "three-tremble step", "husuo step", "cross step", "four-six-eight step", "trembling leap step" and "large and small arrow step". Fifth, there are humorous and witty dramatic plots that convey feeling. Zuoquan small flower play arose from the life and daily production labour of the people and went hand in hand with folk customs and sacrificial rites. It draws both on the internal inheritance of music, dance and drama in this region and on neighbouring art forms such as song-and-dance, drama, music, mountain songs and little tunes, and religious music (for example the tune patterns of the Shangdang Eight Sounds Association). Zuoquan small flower play combines the characteristics of drama and of song-and-dance play. It has the three role types of sheng, dan and chou, and can perform short story plots; the scale of performance can be large or small, from four or six people up to dozens or even hundreds of people on a stage or in a large public square. In performances on every kind of occasion, folk instrumental music, folk songs and small flower play are inseparable from one another and form a comprehensive art. Representative works include Kaihua Diao, Zhulu Gege, Xiyi Shang, Lao Jing Ren, Da Ying Tao, Song Xiaoyi, Fang Fengzheng, Mai Bianshi and Da Qiu Xian. Zuoquan small flower play has played an important role in enriching and invigorating the spiritual and cultural life of the people, in promoting spiritual civilisation and cultural identity, and in building a harmonious society. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Blooming Flower Tune": Representative works include Kaihua Diao, Zhulu Gege, Xiyi Shang, Lao Jing Ren, Da Ying Tao, Song Xiaoyi, Fang Fengzheng, Mai Bianshi and Da Qiu Xian. "Road-Building Brother": Representative works include Kaihua Diao, Zhulu Gege, Xiyi Shang, Lao Jing Ren, Da Ying Tao, Song Xiaoyi, Fang Fengzheng, Mai Bianshi and Da Qiu Xian. "Washing Clothes": Representative works include Kaihua Diao, Zhulu Gege, Xiyi Shang, Lao Jing Ren, Da Ying Tao, Song Xiaoyi, Fang Fengzheng, Mai Bianshi and Da Qiu Xian. "Old Well Man": Representative works include Kaihua Diao, Zhulu Gege, Xiyi Shang, Lao Jing Ren, Da Ying Tao, Song Xiaoyi, Fang Fengzheng, Mai Bianshi and Da Qiu Xian.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Li Mingzhen was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Zuoquanxiaohua Opera, with Zuoquan, Shanxi as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Zuoquanxiaohua Opera in Zuoquan, Shanxi: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2014 (batch 4), with Zuoquan, Shanxi as its declared area, and Zuoquan County People's 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. Limingzhen (Zuoquan, Shanxi) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Limingzhen · China ICH Official Archive