Liu Fengling

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Liu Fengling, Male, Han, from Hebei, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Hebei Bangzi (Ⅳ-22). The tradition is documented in Hebei. Within the regional tradition and school record of Hebei Bangzi in Hebei: Hebei Bangzi circulates mainly in Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin and parts of Shandong and Northeast China. In its heyday it reached north to Ulaanbaatar in the present-day Mongolian People's Republic, south to Guangzhou, east to Vladivostok in what is now Russia and west to Xinjiang, covering a vast area. In the course of its spread it was known by different names such as Zhili Bangzi, Wei Bangzi and Jing Bangzi, and, centred on Hebei and Tianjin, it gave rise to a number of troupe communities with styles of their own; it exerted an influence on Peking opera, Pingju and other genres. In the middle of the Qing dynasty, Qinqiang and Shanxi bangzi that had flowed into Beijing combined with the dialects and folk music of the Hebei region, and Hebei Bangzi was formally formed during the Daoguang reign. After the 1930s Hebei Bangzi declined rapidly and came near to extinction, and only after the founding of the People's Republic of China did it begin to recover.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Liu Fengling is anchored in the documented technical standards of Hebei Bangzi in Hebei. Within the documented technical tradition of Hebei Bangzi in Hebei: Hebei Bangzi is the most representative local vocal operatic genre of Hebei Province. It is also known as Jing Bangzi, Zhili Bangzi, Wei Bangzi, Qinqiang and so on. Hebei Bangzi has more than five hundred traditional plays, of which The Lotus Lantern, Qin Xianglian, Jinshui Bridge, Du Shiniang, The Butterfly Cup, The Injustice to Dou E, Teaching the Son, The Broken Bridge, Three Boardings of the Sedan Chair, Joyful Return Home, Beating the Golden Branch, Xun Guanniang, The Northern and Southern Union and Su Wu Herding Sheep have the greatest influence. The vocal music of Hebei Bangzi belongs to the ban-style system, with ban patterns such as manban (slow beat), erliu, liushui, jianban and kuban, together with fandiao (reverse mode) and various introductory and closing phrases; its principal accompanying instruments are the banhu, flute, bangzi and sheng. In performance the bangzi clapper marks the beat, and the tone, even while high and impassioned, constantly gives way to a gentle and plaintive melody; the genre is adept at expressing lofty and tragic feeling. Its accompanying instruments are divided into a civil section and a martial section: the civil section includes the banhu, flute, sanxian, suona, haidi and the like, and the martial section includes drums, clappers and large and small gongs. The role types of Hebei Bangzi include xusheng (painted-beard male), xiaosheng (young male), wusheng (martial male), qingyi (young woman), huadan (flower-dan), laodan (old woman), dajing (painted face), erjing (secondary painted face), wenchou (comic male) and wuchou (martial comic); each role type has its own vocal style, the sheng roles rugged and tragic, the dan roles stirring and high, the jing roles bold and unrestrained, and the chou roles witty and lively. The performance style of Hebei Bangzi is bold and fiery, unrestrained and expansive; the actors use comparatively exaggerated stylized movements, and they often add feats of high technical difficulty. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The Lotus Lantern": Hebei Bangzi has more than five hundred traditional plays, of which The Lotus Lantern, Qin Xianglian, Jinshui Bridge, Du Shiniang, The Butterfly Cup, The Injustice to Dou E, Teaching the Son, The Broken Bridge, Three Boardings of the Sedan Chair, Joyful Return Home, Beating the Golden Branch, Xun Guanniang, The Northern and Southern Union and Su Wu Herding Sheep have the greatest influence. "Qin Xianglian": Hebei Bangzi has more than five hundred traditional plays, of which The Lotus Lantern, Qin Xianglian, Jinshui Bridge, Du Shiniang, The Butterfly Cup, The Injustice to Dou E, Teaching the Son, The Broken Bridge, Three Boardings of the Sedan Chair, Joyful Return Home, Beating the Golden Branch, Xun Guanniang, The Northern and Southern Union and Su Wu Herding Sheep have the greatest influence. "Jinshui Bridge": Hebei Bangzi has more than five hundred traditional plays, of which The Lotus Lantern, Qin Xianglian, Jinshui Bridge, Du Shiniang, The Butterfly Cup, The Injustice to Dou E, Teaching the Son, The Broken Bridge, Three Boardings of the Sedan Chair, Joyful Return Home, Beating the Golden Branch, Xun Guanniang, The Northern and Southern Union and Su Wu Herding Sheep have the greatest influence. "Du Shiniang": Hebei Bangzi has more than five hundred traditional plays, of which The Lotus Lantern, Qin Xianglian, Jinshui Bridge, Du Shiniang, The Butterfly Cup, The Injustice to Dou E, Teaching the Son, The Broken Bridge, Three Boardings of the Sedan Chair, Joyful Return Home, Beating the Golden Branch, Xun Guanniang, The Northern and Southern Union and Su Wu Herding Sheep have the greatest influence.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Liu Fengling was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Hebei Bangzi, with Hebei as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Hebei Bangzi in Hebei: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Hebei as its declared area, and Hebei Hebei Bangzi Theatre Yanyi Co., Ltd. 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. Liufengling (Hebei) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Liufengling · China ICH Official Archive