Liu Lili

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Liu Lili, Female, Han, from Linyi, Shandong, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Liuqin Opera (Ⅳ-63). The tradition is documented in Linyi, Shandong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Liuqin Opera in Linyi, Shandong: There are two accounts of the origin of Liuqin opera: one holds that it grew out of the folk ditties of southern Shandong under the influence of the local Liuzi opera, the other that it was spread from Haizhou in Jiangsu. Liuqin opera is popularly known as “lahun qiang”, and also goes by the names “lahu qiang” and “lahou qiang”; in 1953 it was formally named “Liuqin opera”. It took shape after the mid-Qing period and is distributed mainly in the border area where the four provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong, Anhui and Henan meet.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Liu Lili is anchored in the documented technical standards of Liuqin Opera in Linyi, Shandong. Within the documented technical tradition of Liuqin Opera in Linyi, Shandong: The singing of Liuqin opera is centred on the zhi mode and the gong mode; the zhi mode is gentle and lingering, the gong mode bright and vigorous. Its melodies include “qiban”, “daoban”, “laqiang”, “sheqiang”, “ye li cang hua”, “huilong diao”, “sili changqiang”, men's and women's “lala qiang”, “die duanqiao”, “da yapai” and the tune “the young lady enters the garden”; its ban patterns divide roughly into manban, erhangban, shuban, jinban and wuzi jinban. In performance it is accompanied by such instruments as the liuyeqin, dizi, zhuiqin, erhu, banhu, suona and sheng, together with the ban drum and the large gong. The performance of Liuqin opera is rough and unadorned, its rhythm brisk and lively, its local flavour strong, and the actors' movements and step patterns clearly bear the marks of folk song-and-dance. The traditional repertoire of Liuqin opera is extraordinarily rich; close to two hundred plays have been transcribed by the opera research institute of Shandong Province alone, and Liuqin opera in Jiangsu has more than three hundred plays large and small, most of them adapted from folk stories and chapter-novels. Siping Mountain, Bapan Mountain, Chronicle of the Fresh Flowers, Chronicle of the Fish Basket, Breaking the Two Nails, Little Ao Mountain, Yanmen Pass, The White Silk Robe, Eating Mianye Noodles and The Small Study are among its representative plays. In the course of its long development Liuqin opera absorbed the strengths of various sister arts and kept close ties with the life of the people in the area where it circulates. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Siping Mountain": Siping Mountain, Bapan Mountain, Chronicle of the Fresh Flowers, Chronicle of the Fish Basket, Breaking the Two Nails, Little Ao Mountain, Yanmen Pass, The White Silk Robe, Eating Mianye Noodles, The Small Study and other plays are among the representative plays of Liuqin opera. "Bapan Mountain": Siping Mountain, Bapan Mountain, Chronicle of the Fresh Flowers, Chronicle of the Fish Basket, Breaking the Two Nails, Little Ao Mountain, Yanmen Pass, The White Silk Robe, Eating Mianye Noodles, The Small Study and other plays are among the representative plays of Liuqin opera. "Chronicle of the Fresh Flowers": Siping Mountain, Bapan Mountain, Chronicle of the Fresh Flowers, Chronicle of the Fish Basket, Breaking the Two Nails, Little Ao Mountain, Yanmen Pass, The White Silk Robe, Eating Mianye Noodles, The Small Study and other plays are among the representative plays of Liuqin opera. "Chronicle of the Fish Basket": Siping Mountain, Bapan Mountain, Chronicle of the Fresh Flowers, Chronicle of the Fish Basket, Breaking the Two Nails, Little Ao Mountain, Yanmen Pass, The White Silk Robe, Eating Mianye Noodles, The Small Study and other plays are among the representative plays of Liuqin opera.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Liu Lili was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Liuqin Opera, with Linyi, Shandong as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Liuqin Opera in Linyi, Shandong: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Linyi, Shandong as its declared area, and Linyi Liu QinXi Transmission Safeguarding Center 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. Liulili (Linyi, Shandong) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Liulili · China ICH Official Archive