Lvchongde

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Lvchongde, Male, Han, from Weinan, Shaanxi, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Shadow Puppetry (Ⅳ-91). The tradition is documented in Weinan, Shaanxi. Within the regional tradition and school record of Shadow Puppetry in Weinan, Shaanxi: Because it circulates mainly in the Weinan area of the eastern Guanzhong prefectures, in the two Hua counties and Dali, it is also called the eastern-route wanwan qiang. The time of shadow puppetry's formation is not yet determined, but according to Meng Yuanlao's Dongjing Menghua Lu of the Southern Song it had matured and flourished by the Song at the latest, and among the shadow artists of the Bianliang pleasure quarters there were already nine men such as Dong Shiwu, Zhao Qi and Cao Baoyi. Through the Song, Jin, Yuan and Ming dynasties shadow puppetry, spread across the whole country, presented a flourishing scene in the Qing. Huaxian wanwan qiang shadow puppetry (formerly called shiqiang) was formed in the early Qing.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Lvchongde is anchored in the documented technical standards of Shadow Puppetry in Weinan, Shaanxi. Within the documented technical tradition of Shadow Puppetry in Weinan, Shaanxi: Shadow puppetry is an operatic form that cuts figures from hide or cardboard and tells stories by projecting the cut figures in lamplight. Its distribution is extremely wide, covering almost every province and region, and different local vocal styles have produced a great variety of shadow puppetry—Huaxian, Huayin laoqiang, Agong qiang and Xianban qiang shadow puppetry in Shaanxi; Huanxian daoqing shadow puppetry in Gansu; Xiaoyi wanwan qiang shadow puppetry in Shanxi; Tangshan and Jinan shadow puppetry in Hebei; Haining shadow puppetry in Zhejiang; Jianghan plain shadow puppetry in Hubei; Lufeng shadow puppetry in Guangdong; and Fuzhou and Lingyuan shadow puppetry in Liaoning. In the Wenshu hall of Yanshan temple, Fanshi, Shanxi, a Jin-dynasty mural “Picture of Shadow Play” vividly shows shadow performance in Shanxi at the time. Though there are many kinds, they differ mainly in vocal style and repertory, while figure-making and performance technique are broadly similar. Figures are generally made by scraping the hair and blood from oxhide, donkey hide or sheepskin, processing it to semi-transparency and then carving and colouring it, stressing fine knife-work and lifelike modelling. A figure is divided into head, body and four limbs, all in profile, the head with helmet or cap, the body and limbs dressed, baked and pressed flat over a firebrick after oil colouring. In performance the head is inserted into the body, the body joined to the limbs, and three bamboo rods fixed to the body and two hands for operation. Besides the characters, stage props, tables and chairs and scenery must be carved. The main prop is the screen, popularly “liangzi”, generally three feet high and five wide, at most four by six, with white paper as the backdrop for single-person operation, and next an oil lamp to project the figures and their movements. This genre has a complete set of vocal styles and metrical patterns, and its accompanying instruments are highly characteristic, the music delicate and elegant, supple and lingering, with richly varied forms of expression. The shadow figures are gracefully modelled, the characters show distinct individual traits, the materials are carefully chosen and the workmanship fine. In the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns of the Qing, the dramatist Li Fanggui and other literati and examination candidates wrote for wanwan qiang shadow puppetry many traditional repertory works such as The Ten Great Plays, which still circulate today, have been taken over, adapted and staged by other genres, remain in unbroken performance, and have made an enormous contribution to the operatic art of Shaanxi. Shadow puppet troupes and societies consist mostly of five or six people, are easy to move about, need no particular venue, and can work year round in the villages and courtyards of the countryside, taking firm root in the vast rural areas. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The Ten Great Plays": In the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns of the Qing, the dramatist Li Fanggui and other literati and examination candidates wrote for wanwan qiang shadow puppetry many traditional repertory works such as The Ten Great Plays, which still circulate today, have been taken over, adapted and staged by other genres, remain in unbroken performance, and have made an enormous contribution to the operatic art of Shaanxi.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Lvchongde was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Shadow Puppetry, with Weinan, Shaanxi as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Shadow Puppetry in Weinan, Shaanxi: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Weinan, Shaanxi as its declared area, and Weinan Culture Art Center (Weinan Mass Art Center, Weinan Feiyi Safeguarding Center, Weinan Qunzhong Culture Art Peixunxuexiao) 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. Lvchongde (Weinan, Shaanxi) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Lvchongde · China ICH Official Archive