Li Zhengcheng

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Li Zhengcheng, Male, Han, from Yangzhou, Jiangsu, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Yangju Opera (Ⅳ-56). The tradition is documented in Yangzhou, Jiangsu. Within the regional tradition and school record of Yangju Opera in Yangzhou, Jiangsu: Yang opera was originally called Weiyang opera and is popularly known as Yangzhou opera. It circulates in the Yangzhou and Zhenjiang areas of Jiangsu Province, in parts of Anhui Province, and around Nanjing and Shanghai. In 1911 xianghuo opera (the incense-and-fire opera) of northern Jiangsu entered Shanghai from Yangzhou and was renamed 'Weiyang Daban'. In 1920 Yangzhou huagu opera entered Shanghai and was renamed 'Weiyang Wenxi'. In the early 1930s the two forms merged into Weiyang opera, later abbreviated to Yang opera.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Li Zhengcheng is anchored in the documented technical standards of Yangju Opera in Yangzhou, Jiangsu. Within the documented technical tradition of Yangju Opera in Yangzhou, Jiangsu: It took as its foundation huagu opera, the folk song-and-dance play of Yangzhou, and xianghuo opera, performed by male shamans at popular ritual gatherings in northern Jiangsu held to give thanks to the gods; absorbing Yangzhou qingqu and local folk tunes and small ditties, it took its final form. The music of Yang opera belongs to the tune-pattern system and consists mainly of three parts: huagu opera music, xianghuo opera music, and Yangzhou qingqu with xiao chang. Huagu opera music includes such tunes as the sowing-barley tune, the grinding-tofu tune, the shenqin tune and the diehuai tune, and its style is wholesome and simple, vivid and lively. Xianghuo opera music includes the shangziju line-tune, the shiziju line-tune, kuaiban rhythmic prose, the boat tune and the fishing tune; it is high-pitched and rugged, saturated with local colour. Yangzhou qingqu and Yangzhou xiao chang include Man Jiang Hong (Full River Red), Dieluo (the Stacked Fall), the Kuakua tune, Shuzhuang Tai (the Dressing Table) and Jian Jian Hua (Trimming the Flowers); their melodic lines are beautiful, refined and delicate, and pleasing to the ear. The accompaniment of Yang opera is divided into civil and military ensembles. The civil ensemble has the lead huqin, the zhenggong fiddle, the pipa, the sanxian, the yangqin, the flute and the suona; the military ensemble has percussion instruments such as the ban drum, large gong, small gong, nao cymbals and tang drum. The accompaniment of Yang opera is light, nimble and flowing, at once disciplined and flexible, with vivid colouring and a personality of its own — something rather uncommon among general opera genres. Although the role types of Yang opera are divided into sheng, dan, jing and chou, the division is not strict; performers have a broad range of roles, and in its vocal styles too it distinguishes only between the male voice and the female voice. The performance of each role type has largely been borrowed and absorbed from kunqu and Peking opera, but it always keeps the simple and lively character of huagu opera and is strongly imbued with the flavour of everyday life. Yang opera has always placed importance on the performance of the chou and dan role types; there are many traditional plays of one chou and one dan, and from these has grown the distinctive comic style of the genre. Yang opera has more than four hundred traditional plays, of which the more influential include Yu Qingting (The Jade Dragonfly), Zhenzhu Ta (The Pearl Pagoda), Shen Tudì (The Trial of the Land God), Xiu Fu Yuan (The Embroidered Tally), Wang Zhaojun (Lady Zhaojun of the Han), Nao Deng Ji (The Trouble with the Lanterns), Sanxi Baimudan (Three Romances with the White Peony), Ming Fu Yan (The Noble Lady's Feast), Qiaofu yu Hua Nü (The Woodcutter and the Painted Maiden), Hongyan Chuanshu (Wild Geese Carrying a Letter) and Bai Sui Guashuai (The Hundred-Year-Old Takes Command). Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Yu Qingting (The Jade Dragonfly)": Yang opera has more than four hundred traditional plays, of which the more influential include Yu Qingting (The Jade Dragonfly), Zhenzhu Ta (The Pearl Pagoda), Shen Tudì (The Trial of the Land God), Xiu Fu Yuan (The Embroidered Tally), Wang Zhaojun (Lady Zhaojun of the Han), Nao Deng Ji (The Trouble with the Lanterns), Sanxi Baimudan (Three Romances with the White Peony), Ming Fu Yan (The Noble Lady's Feast), Qiaofu yu Hua Nü (The Woodcutter and the Painted Maiden), Hongyan Chuanshu (Wild Geese Carrying a Letter) and Bai Sui Guashuai (The Hundred-Year-Old Takes Command). "Zhenzhu Ta (The Pearl Pagoda)": Yang opera has more than four hundred traditional plays, of which the more influential include Yu Qingting (The Jade Dragonfly), Zhenzhu Ta (The Pearl Pagoda), Shen Tudì (The Trial of the Land God), Xiu Fu Yuan (The Embroidered Tally), Wang Zhaojun (Lady Zhaojun of the Han), Nao Deng Ji (The Trouble with the Lanterns), Sanxi Baimudan (Three Romances with the White Peony), Ming Fu Yan (The Noble Lady's Feast), Qiaofu yu Hua Nü (The Woodcutter and the Painted Maiden), Hongyan Chuanshu (Wild Geese Carrying a Letter) and Bai Sui Guashuai (The Hundred-Year-Old Takes Command). "Shen Tudì (The Trial of the Land God)": Yang opera has more than four hundred traditional plays, of which the more influential include Yu Qingting (The Jade Dragonfly), Zhenzhu Ta (The Pearl Pagoda), Shen Tudì (The Trial of the Land God), Xiu Fu Yuan (The Embroidered Tally), Wang Zhaojun (Lady Zhaojun of the Han), Nao Deng Ji (The Trouble with the Lanterns), Sanxi Baimudan (Three Romances with the White Peony), Ming Fu Yan (The Noble Lady's Feast), Qiaofu yu Hua Nü (The Woodcutter and the Painted Maiden), Hongyan Chuanshu (Wild Geese Carrying a Letter) and Bai Sui Guashuai (The Hundred-Year-Old Takes Command). "Xiu Fu Yuan (The Embroidered Tally)": Yang opera has more than four hundred traditional plays, of which the more influential include Yu Qingting (The Jade Dragonfly), Zhenzhu Ta (The Pearl Pagoda), Shen Tudì (The Trial of the Land God), Xiu Fu Yuan (The Embroidered Tally), Wang Zhaojun (Lady Zhaojun of the Han), Nao Deng Ji (The Trouble with the Lanterns), Sanxi Baimudan (Three Romances with the White Peony), Ming Fu Yan (The Noble Lady's Feast), Qiaofu yu Hua Nü (The Woodcutter and the Painted Maiden), Hongyan Chuanshu (Wild Geese Carrying a Letter) and Bai Sui Guashuai (The Hundred-Year-Old Takes Command).

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Li Zhengcheng was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Yangju Opera, with Yangzhou, Jiangsu as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Yangju Opera in Yangzhou, Jiangsu: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Yangzhou, Jiangsu as its declared area, and Yangzhou Yangju Research Institute 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. Lizhengcheng (Yangzhou, Jiangsu) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Lizhengcheng · China ICH Official Archive