He Huaping

01 · Lineage & Regional School

He Huaping, Male, Han, from Nanbu, Sichuan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Shadow Puppetry (Ⅳ-91). The tradition is documented in Nanbu, Sichuan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Shadow Puppetry in Nanbu, Sichuan: Nanbu county shadow puppetry is popular in Nanbu county and the northern Sichuan area around Nanchong and is an important distribution point of Sichuan shadow puppetry in northern Sichuan, with the Nanbu county cultural centre responsible for the project's protection and transmission. Drawing on Sichuan shadow-puppetry research, the shadow puppetry around Nanbu county is based on the fusion of native and Guang shadow puppetry and has long circulated among the people of northern Sichuan, its making close to that of Langzhong yet with its own local features. By the late Qing and early Republic several shadow troupes were already performing at urban and rural temple fairs there.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for He Huaping is anchored in the documented technical standards of Shadow Puppetry in Nanbu, Sichuan. Within the documented technical tradition of Shadow Puppetry in Nanbu, Sichuan: Sichuan shadow puppetry consists mainly of native shadow puppetry, Guang shadow puppetry (also called “Weinan shadow puppetry”) and Langzhong shadow puppetry, of which Langzhong shadow puppetry is the most distinctive. Langzhong shadow puppetry is popular in the thirty-six counties and cities of Nanchong, Guang'an and elsewhere centred on Langzhong city, covering 530,000 square kilometres. It was created by the family of the Langzhong folk shadow master Wang Wenkun, whose forebear combined the strengths of native and Guang shadow puppetry to create a new-style Langzhong shadow puppetry. Langzhong shadow making shows great skill: the carving technique is accomplished, the lines fluent and fine, the hollowing and leaving of solid well judged, the figure structure balanced and the modelling handsome, the face oval, the headdress and beard not fixed, and the costume mostly decorated with traditional patterns popular in northern Sichuan, exquisite and beautiful in appearance with a strong local character. Its singing borrows mainly the five great vocal styles of Chuanju and also draws widely on popular folk mountain songs and ditties and on Buddhist and Daoist music, embracing all and forming a system of its own. Nanbu shadow figures are carved from oxhide, stressing carving technique and balanced figure structure with well-judged hollowing; in performance one man at the front operates and sings while several behind divide the civil and martial accompaniment, the singing using the five great Chuanju vocal styles together with folk mountain songs and ditties. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The Three Kinds of Sichuan Shadow Puppetry (Native, Guang and Langzhong)": Sichuan shadow puppetry consists mainly of native shadow puppetry, Guang shadow puppetry (also called “Weinan shadow puppetry”) and Langzhong shadow puppetry; the Nanbu line is based on the fusion of native and Guang shadow puppetry. "The Five Great Chuanju Vocal Styles (Borrowed Singing)": Sichuan shadow puppetry's singing borrows mainly the five great Chuanju vocal styles and also draws widely on folk mountain songs and ditties and on Buddhist and Daoist music, embracing all and forming a system of its own.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, He Huaping was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Shadow Puppetry, with Nanbu, Sichuan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Shadow Puppetry in Nanbu, Sichuan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Nanbu, Sichuan as its declared area, and Nanbu County Cultural 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. Hehuaping (Nanbu, Sichuan) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Hehuaping · China ICH Official Archive