Liu Baoping

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Liu Baoping, Male, Han, from Quwo, Shanxi, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Wanwanqiang (Ⅳ-49). The tradition is documented in Quwo, Shanxi. Within the regional tradition and school record of Wanwanqiang in Quwo, Shanxi: Today Quwo wanwan qiang has become an art form much loved by local people. Wanwan qiang is found in southern Shanxi and Shaanxi, divided, according to region and genre affiliation, into the Quwo, Xiaoyi and other branches; the Quwo line grew from a shadow-puppet mode into a human-play mode, keeping the plaintive tunes and fine rhythm of the shadow-puppet mode and becoming an art form much loved locally. Qüwo wanwan qiang was introduced by Shaanxi shadow-puppet artists in the Qianlong reign of the Qing; performed at first in shadow-puppet form, it gradually changed from “shadow play” to “human play” between the late Qing and early Republic and reached its heyday, and in 1960 the Quwo county wanwan qiang troupe was founded, giving the genre a professional transmission body and subsequently staging thirty-eight pieces such as Zhaojun Chusai and Liu Yue Xue.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Liu Baoping is anchored in the documented technical standards of Wanwanqiang in Quwo, Shanxi. Within the documented technical tradition of Wanwanqiang in Quwo, Shanxi: Wanwan qiang takes its name from the small bronze bowl that marks the beat, and is also called “Ruan'er qiang” because the yueqin lead instrument was formerly known as “ruanxian”. Its features are: the yueqin accompanies the singing, the bronze bowl interleaves notes and the hall drum lifts the spirit; the performance conveys feeling through voice and spirit through music, with recitation and singing both strong and singing carrying the day. Its representative plays include Zhaojun Chusai, Liu Yue Xue, Kun Tong Tai and Shuang Bao En. For half a century the successive transmitters of Quwo county wanwan qiang have inherited and developed it, staging thirty-eight pieces. Drawing on the Shanxi volume of the Annals of Chinese Xiqu, the Quwo wanwan qiang troupe was founded in 1960. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Zhaojun Chusai (Zhaojun Goes Beyond the Frontier)": A representative play of Quwo wanwan qiang. "Liu Yue Xue (Snow in the Sixth Month)": A representative play of Quwo wanwan qiang, derived from the story of Dou E. "Kun Tong Tai (Besieged at the Bronze Terrace)": A representative play of Quwo wanwan qiang. "Shuang Bao En (Repaying Two Debts of Gratitude)": A representative play of Quwo wanwan qiang.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Liu Baoping was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Wanwanqiang, with Quwo, Shanxi as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Wanwanqiang in Quwo, Shanxi: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2011 (batch 3), with Quwo, Shanxi as its declared area, and Quwo County Jinyunwanwanqiangyanyi 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. Liubaoping (Quwo, Shanxi) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Liubaoping · China ICH Official Archive