Li Tingbo

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Li Tingbo, Male, Han, from Shantou, Guangdong, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Chaoju Opera (Ⅳ-4). The tradition is documented in Shantou, Guangdong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Chaoju Opera in Shantou, Guangdong: Chaozhou opera, also known as Chaozhou play (Chaozhou xi) and Chaoyin play, is an ancient local operatic genre sung in the Chaozhou dialect. The sheng-dan play Sweeping at the Window is acclaimed as a typical example of how Chinese opera tells its stories through song and dance; the chou roles of Chaozhou opera are divided into ten categories, of which the fan technique of the xiangshan chou is famed north and south and praised by all. It is a branch of the Southern Opera (nanxi) of the Song and Yuan dynasties, with a history of more than four hundred and thirty years, and is distributed mainly in eastern Guangdong, southern Fujian, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. The traditional repertory of Chaozhou opera falls into two broad categories: plays descended from Song-Yuan Southern Opera and Ming-Qing legends, and civilized drama (wenmingxi) and newly written historical plays. It comprises more than two thousand titles. After the mid-Qing period it further absorbed banshi (metrical-pattern) music, giving it greater flexibility and variety. After 1990, Chaozhou opera has suffered the constraints of the market economy and the impact of diverse modern forms of art and literature: investment has shrunk, talent has drained away, artistic standards have fallen, and the finest traditional performance techniques face extinction. The genre is in a difficult state of development and urgently needs protection and support.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Li Tingbo is anchored in the documented technical standards of Chaoju Opera in Shantou, Guangdong. Within the documented technical tradition of Chaoju Opera in Shantou, Guangdong: Traditional plays occupy an important place in Chaozhou opera, with such fine works as Lijing Ji (The Lychee Mirror), Su Liuniang and Liu Mingzhu; the traditional excerpt plays Sweeping at the Window, Yang Lingpo Pleads Ten Counts and The Hairpin Quarrel gather the essence of traditional Chaozhou opera and are acclaimed as the "three gems of the hundred-flowered Chaozhou stage". In performance, among the role types of Chaozhou opera it is the sheng (male), dan (female) and chou (clown) roles that carry the strongest local character. In the old-chou play Chai Fang Hui (The Meeting at the Firewood Shed), the clown's ladder-sliding technique is unique to Chaozhou opera and enjoys wide renown in the operatic world. The music of Chaozhou opera belongs to the qupai-linked-suite system and sings southern and northern tunes; its vocal melodies are graceful, light and winding, and well suited to lyric expression. Chaozhou opera preserves more than two hundred traditional qupai (tune patterns) and over a thousand pieces of music, which constitute important material for the study of Chinese operatic vocal music. Singing in Chaozhou opera uses the natural voice, and both song and recitation follow the ancient "two-four notation" (ersi pu), giving it a rich flavour. Its melodic modes include the gentle and soft qingsanliu mode, the even and dignified zhongsanliu mode, the mournful huosanwu mode, and the light and humorous fanxian mode. The percussion instruments of Chaozhou opera are all pitch-tuned, and the accompaniment has the beauty of polyphony and harmony; since 1950 it has been emulated by many sister genres. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Lijing Ji (The Lychee Mirror)": Traditional plays occupy an important place in Chaozhou opera, with such fine works as Lijing Ji (The Lychee Mirror), Su Liuniang and Liu Mingzhu; the traditional excerpt plays Sweeping at the Window, Yang Lingpo Pleads Ten Counts and The Hairpin Quarrel gather the essence of traditional Chaozhou opera and are acclaimed as the "three gems of the hundred-flowered Chaozhou stage". "Su Liuniang": Traditional plays occupy an important place in Chaozhou opera, with such fine works as Lijing Ji (The Lychee Mirror), Su Liuniang and Liu Mingzhu; the traditional excerpt plays Sweeping at the Window, Yang Lingpo Pleads Ten Counts and The Hairpin Quarrel gather the essence of traditional Chaozhou opera and are acclaimed as the "three gems of the hundred-flowered Chaozhou stage". "Liu Mingzhu": Traditional plays occupy an important place in Chaozhou opera, with such fine works as Lijing Ji (The Lychee Mirror), Su Liuniang and Liu Mingzhu; the traditional excerpt plays Sweeping at the Window, Yang Lingpo Pleads Ten Counts and The Hairpin Quarrel gather the essence of traditional Chaozhou opera and are acclaimed as the "three gems of the hundred-flowered Chaozhou stage". "Sweeping at the Window": Traditional plays occupy an important place in Chaozhou opera, with such fine works as Lijing Ji (The Lychee Mirror), Su Liuniang and Liu Mingzhu; the traditional excerpt plays Sweeping at the Window, Yang Lingpo Pleads Ten Counts and The Hairpin Quarrel gather the essence of traditional Chaozhou opera and are acclaimed as the "three gems of the hundred-flowered Chaozhou stage".

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Li Tingbo was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Chaoju Opera, with Shantou, Guangdong as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Chaoju Opera in Shantou, Guangdong: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Shantou, Guangdong as its declared area, and Shantou Chaojuchaole Transmission Center (Guangdong Chao Theatre) 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. Litingbo (Shantou, Guangdong) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Litingbo · China ICH Official Archive