Chen Yuan

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Chen Yuan, Female, Han, from Shandong, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Liuzi Opera (Ⅳ-43). The tradition is documented in Shandong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Liuzi Opera in Shandong: Liuzi opera is popular over a wide area covering Shandong, Henan, northern Jiangsu, southern Hebei and northern Anhui. At the height of its fashion in the mid-Qing, Liuzi was grouped with the kun, Yiyang and bangzi styles as “southern Kun, northern Yiyang, eastern Liuzi, western bangzi”, of which “eastern Liuzi” denotes Liuzi opera based in Shandong. Today only the Shandong Province Liuzi Opera Troupe, which styles itself “the number one troupe under heaven”, still upholds the banner of eastern Liuzi, and the lineage handed down by old artists around Heze and Yuncheng in Shandong is the root from which it draws its life. Liuzi was at the height of its fashion in the mid-Qing period, and was once grouped together with the kun, Yiyang and bangzi styles as “southern Kun, northern Yiyang, eastern Liuzi, western bangzi”. Liuzi opera absorbs a variety of ancient vocal styles that have flourished since the Ming and Qing dynasties and preserves more than six hundred tune patterns, which gives it an irreplaceable importance for the study of northern Chinese drama and of Yuan-dynasty sanqu.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Chen Yuan is anchored in the documented technical standards of Liuzi Opera in Shandong. Within the documented technical tradition of Liuzi Opera in Shandong: Liuzi opera is also called xianzi opera, and further known as beidiao zi and kangwozi; it is popular over a wide area covering Shandong, Henan, northern Jiangsu, southern Hebei and northern Anhui. It evolved out of the folk tunes and xiaoling popular in the Central Plains since the Yuan and Ming dynasties; because its principal narrative-singing melody, “Liuzi”, is plain and easily understood and widely influential, the genre came to be called Liuzi opera. Liuzi opera consists mainly of suqu and Liuzi, the suqu part carrying the greater weight; more than a hundred tune patterns survive, and its melodies are generally divided into yue diao, ping diao, xia diao, erba diao, kun diao and zhuan diao. The suqu is accompanied by the sanxian, transverse flute and sheng; in performance the “guaxu” device may be used, inserting long passages of seven-syllable or ten-syllable lines into the short and long verses to suit the needs of the action. Its musical style is mellow and pleasing, able to convey intricate and delicate states of mind. Liuzi belongs to the ban-form variable type, sung in plain seven-syllable lines and accompanied by the sanxian and sheng, which shows a strong local character. In the course of its development Liuzi opera also absorbed the vocal styles, performance and repertory of such genres as gaoqiang, Qingyang qiang, luantan, Kun opera, luoluo qiang and pihuang; the sanxian is the leading instrument, with the sheng and flute in support. It has aptly been likened to “nine vocal styles and eighteen melodies”, a phrase that conveys the richness and variety of its vocal colouring. More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others. Its role types are divided with considerable refinement: the sheng roles include the unpainted wen sheng, jiazisheng, xiusheng, wusheng and white-bearded laosheng; the dan roles include qingyi, hongyi, guimen dan and laodan; the jing roles include the red-faced jing and the black face; and the chou roles include wenchou and wuchou. Its performance is marked by a bold and uninhibited style and is warmly welcomed by local audiences. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Sun An Reveals His Origins": More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others. "Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate": More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others. "Chronicle of the White Rabbit": More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others. "Chronicle of the Golden Lock": More than two hundred traditional plays survive in Liuzi opera, and its representative repertory includes Sun An Reveals His Origins, Zhang Fei Charges the Command Gate, Chronicle of the White Rabbit, Chronicle of the Golden Lock, Playing Music and Boarding the Boat, Embracing the Dressing Box, Yan Qing Challenges at the Ring, The Attack on Dengzhou, Whipping the Reed Catkins, Sawing the Big Water Jar and others.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Chen Yuan was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Liuzi Opera, with Shandong as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Liuzi Opera in Shandong: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Shandong as its declared area, and Shandong Liu ZiXi Art Safeguarding and Transmission Center (Shandong Liu Zi Troupe) 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. Chenyuan (Shandong) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Chenyuan · China ICH Official Archive