Li Shuqin

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Li Shuqin, Female, Han, from Foshan, Guangdong, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Yueju (Cantonese Opera) (Ⅳ-36). The tradition is documented in Foshan, Guangdong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Yueju (Cantonese Opera) in Foshan, Guangdong: Cantonese opera is mainly popular in Guangdong, southern Guangxi and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, in towns and countryside where the Yue dialect is used. During the Xianfeng and Daoguang reigns of the Qing the local Guangdong troupes took “banghuang” (xipi, erhuang) as their basic tunes, also absorbing gaoqiang, Kunqiang and Guangdong folk music and current tunes, using “stage-house Mandarin” as the basic language with Yue dialect interspersed, gradually forming Cantonese opera. Foshan is one of its important birthplaces; early Cantonese troupes travelled between town and countryside by the “red boat” waterways of the Pearl River Delta, and Foshan's Ancestral Temple and guild-hall stages were once important venues for local troupes. After the 1950s Foshan formed professional Cantonese opera troupes one after another, and in the 2010s founded the Foshan Cantonese Opera Training Institute (Foshan Cantonese Opera Theatre), working steadily on reviving traditional plays and training young actors. At the turn of the Ming and Qing, Yiyang qiang and Kunqiang entered Guangdong. Around 1912 Cantonese opera performance had basically switched to the Guangzhou dialect, its performing system growing ever more complete, and it began to intersperse folk songs and popular tunes among the banghuang and to replace falsetto with the “pinghou” natural voice.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Li Shuqin is anchored in the documented technical standards of Yueju (Cantonese Opera) in Foshan, Guangdong. Within the documented technical tradition of Yueju (Cantonese Opera) in Foshan, Guangdong: The early traditional repertory of Cantonese opera consisted mainly of the so-called “eighteen rivers-and-lakes plays”, such as Yipeng Xue, Er Du Mei, Sanguan Tang, Si Jinshi and Wu Deng Ke; later came the “new eighteen rivers-and-lakes plays” such as Huanghua Shan, Xihe Hui, Shuang Jie Yuan and Xue Zhong Yuan, and the “eighteen grand-spectacle plays” such as Su Wu Mu Yang and Daiyu Zang Hua. Other representative pieces include Bai Jinlong, Huoshao Epang Gong, Pinggui Bie Yao, Baolian Deng, Luo Cheng Xie Shu and Fengyi Ting. Cantonese opera's basic vocal styles are bangzi and erhuang, with gaoqiang, Kunqiang and Guangdong folk narrative-song and popular tunes as well. Its orchestra began with the “five-frame” combination of erxian, yueqin, sanxian, bamboo fiddle and xiao, and later absorbed other modern instruments. It originally had ten roles—mo, sheng, dan, jing, chou, wai, xiao, fu, tie and za—later simplified to six types: wenwusheng, xiaosheng, zhengyin huadan, erbang huadan, chousheng and wusheng. Its performance has a plain, robust character, with such feats as single-foot work, cable-sliding, eye-rolling, small jumps and waist-bending. Its martial arts are based on southern boxing, excelling in target work, hand-bridge, Shaolin boxing and the demanding chair and high-platform skills. Its make-up is simple but strongly coloured, and its costumes mostly use Guangzhou embroidery, exquisite and splendid with a rich local character. Cantonese opera widely absorbs such local art forms as Guangdong music, Guangzhou embroidery, ivory carving, ceramics and ash sculpture, fully expressing the regional cultural tradition of the Cantonese-speaking community, radiating worldwide and possessing a powerful cultural cohesion among Chinese communities around the world. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Yipeng Xue (A Handful of Snow)": One of the “eighteen rivers-and-lakes plays”, the early traditional repertory of Cantonese opera. "Er Du Mei (The Second Plum Blossom)": One of the “eighteen rivers-and-lakes plays” of Cantonese opera's early repertory. "Sanguan Tang (The Hall of the Three Officials)": One of the “eighteen rivers-and-lakes plays” of Cantonese opera's early repertory. "Si Jinshi (The Four Graduates)": One of the “eighteen rivers-and-lakes plays” of Cantonese opera's early repertory.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Li Shuqin was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Yueju (Cantonese Opera), with Foshan, Guangdong as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Yueju (Cantonese Opera) in Foshan, Guangdong: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Foshan, Guangdong as its declared area, and Foshan Yueju Transmission Workshop (Foshan Yue 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. Lishuqin (Foshan, Guangdong) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Lishuqin · China ICH Official Archive