Zhao Zhongyi

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Zhao Zhongyi, Male, Han, from Jinzhou, Liaoning, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Shadow Puppetry (Ⅳ-91). The tradition is documented in Jinzhou, Liaoning. Within the regional tradition and school record of Shadow Puppetry in Jinzhou, Liaoning: Jinzhou shadow puppetry is a branch of Chinese shadow puppetry, distributed mainly across Jinzhou city and its subordinate two cities, two counties and five districts, reaching western and southern Liaoning and Hebei and Inner Mongolia. Jinzhou lies in south-western Liaoning, backed by the Songling mountains to the north and facing the Liaodong bay of the Bohai to the south, commanding the eastern end of the “western Liaoning corridor” and adjoining Huludao, Panjin, Chaoyang and Fuxin. In the third year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing, the Jinzhou shadow craftsman Shen Yongxiang and the Tangshan craftsman Li Xiu already formed a troupe, operating shadow puppets in the northern part of Jinzhou city. From the late Qing to the Republican period Jinzhou shadow opera flourished and the artists joining troupes increased. Around 1949 Jinzhou had more than ten shadow troupes and more than a hundred artists.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Zhao Zhongyi is anchored in the documented technical standards of Shadow Puppetry in Jinzhou, Liaoning. Within the documented technical tradition of Shadow Puppetry in Jinzhou, Liaoning: Jinzhou has beautiful scenery and has always been a throat town inside and outside the passes with merchants gathered, migrants coming and going and culture concentrated; it is now the economic and cultural centre of western Liaoning. Jinzhou shadow puppetry is famous throughout the north-east and reaches Inner Mongolia. Its representative scripts include more than a hundred, such as Wu Feng Hui, The Yang Family Generals, Grand Sui-Tang, Yue Fei Zhuan, Qingyun Jian and The Cao Family Generals. Its main features are four. First, the “three bigs”: a big screen, four feet high and twelve feet long; big figures, one foot eight inches tall; and a big voice, in natural chest tone. Second, the “three manys”: many multiskilled men, the shadow craftsman handling figures, singing and drumming at once without losing the beat, his singing plaintive and clear; many mechanisms, the figures having several heads and being fitted with devices to change sex or draw sword; and many materials, donkey hide, steel paper, photographic plates and cat and dog hair all being usable. Third, the “three livelies”: with rod work the “yellow ox weeps” and the ox comes alive; the “cock fight” brings the cock alive; and the “crane and tortoise sport” is so realistic as to seem real. Fourth, the “three superlatives”: superlative martial combat, such as “looking back at the moon” and “flying swords and dancing spears”; superlative scenery, such as “lotuses blooming” and “water flowing with fish swimming”; and superlative carving, such as “carved flower pom-poms”. Jinzhou shadow puppetry can be traced to the early Guangxu reign of the Qing, with five generations of transmitters and more than a hundred and forty years of history. Village artists came to the city one after another to form troupes. At present the Jinzhou Shadow Art Troupe performs more than a hundred times a year to audiences of a hundred or more each, and runs year-round carving and performance classes to advance the project's transmission. Its content covers historical story, myth and legend and the life of the common people, telling of the past and singing of the present, its recitation vivid and literary and easy to remember and pass on; its figures are beautiful in modelling with well-chosen materials and lively but elegant colours, the facial designs of the various roles clearly distinguished; positive and edifying through entertainment, it has relatively high historical, cultural and social value and plays a positive role in enriching popular cultural life and promoting social harmony. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "More Than One Hundred Representative Scripts (Wu Feng Hui, The Yang Family Generals, Grand Sui-Tang, Yue Fei Zhuan, Qingyun Jian, The Cao Family Generals and others)": Jinzhou shadow puppetry is famous throughout the north-east and reaches Inner Mongolia; its representative scripts include more than a hundred such works as Wu Feng Hui, The Yang Family Generals, Grand Sui-Tang, Yue Fei Zhuan, Qingyun Jian and The Cao Family Generals. "Three Bigs, Three Manys, Three Livelies and Three Superlatives (Performing Feats)": Jinzhou shadow puppetry is noted for the “three bigs” (big screen, big figures, big voice), the “three manys” (many multiskilled men, many mechanisms, many materials), the “three livelies” (weeping yellow ox, cock fight, crane and tortoise sport) and the “three superlatives” (martial combat, scenery and carving). "Screen, Mechanical Figures and Carved Props (Equipment)": The screen is four feet high and twelve feet long, the figures one foot eight inches tall with several heads and fitted mechanisms, and they may be made from donkey hide, steel paper, photographic plates, cat and dog hair and other materials.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Zhao Zhongyi was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Shadow Puppetry, with Jinzhou, Liaoning as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Shadow Puppetry in Jinzhou, Liaoning: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Jinzhou, Liaoning as its declared area, and Jinzhou Guta District Sports Tourism Service 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. Zhaozhongyi (Jinzhou, Liaoning) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Zhaozhongyi · China ICH Official Archive