Xiong Guoan

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Xiong Guoan, Male, Han, from Muoupiyingyishujuyuan, Hunan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Puppetry (Ⅳ-92). The tradition is documented in Muoupiyingyishujuyuan, Hunan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Puppetry in Muoupiyingyishujuyuan, Hunan: The distribution of Hunan rod puppetry accords with that of local opera: where there is a major local genre there is generally puppetry too. Drawing on materials on Hunan puppetry, Hunan rod puppetry is traditionally held to have arisen in the Ming, brought into central and northern Hunan with Central Plains rod puppets by migrants and combined with the vocal styles and repertory of such local grand operas as Xiang opera and Changde Han opera, gradually forming a pattern of “low-stage troupes” in every county of the province.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Xiong Guoan is anchored in the documented technical standards of Puppetry in Muoupiyingyishujuyuan, Hunan. Within the documented technical tradition of Puppetry in Muoupiyingyishujuyuan, Hunan: Hunan rod puppetry is in some areas also called “wooden-skull opera”, “stick opera”, “low stage opera” and “Guanyin opera”, and the troupes that perform it are called “low-stage troupes”. It divides into Hengshan rod puppetry, Changde rod puppetry and Changsha rod puppetry: Hengshan rod puppetry is popular in Hengshan and Hengyang, Xupu rod puppetry in Xupu and Chenxi, Changde rod puppetry in Changde, Taoyuan and Huarong, and Changsha rod puppetry in Changsha, Xiangtan and Xiangxiang. It is noted for its traditional repertory, the older artists excelling in short, taut zhezi excerpts, among which Lan Ma, Hongmen Yan, Luhua Dang and Dao Xiancao are highly distinctive. The inheritors of Hunan puppetry have carried on the tradition and drawn on and reformed other arts, further developing the genre; such newly created plays as Jinlin Ji, The White Snake, Eight Hundred Li of Dongting, Malan Flower, Fire Cloud Bird, Hunter Hailibu, The Frog Prince and Shi Sanyazi are much loved by audiences, some repeatedly winning awards at puppet festivals at home and abroad. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Lan Ma (Blocking the Horse)": A distinctive short zhezi excerpt of Hunan rod puppetry, of the kind the older artists excelled in. "The Banquet at Hongmen": A distinctive short zhezi excerpt of Hunan rod puppetry. "Luhua Dang (The Reed Marshes)": A distinctive short zhezi excerpt of Hunan rod puppetry. "Dao Xiancao (Stealing the Immortal Herb)": A distinctive short zhezi excerpt of Hunan rod puppetry.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Xiong Guoan was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Puppetry, with Muoupiyingyishujuyuan, Hunan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Puppetry in Muoupiyingyishujuyuan, Hunan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Muoupiyingyishujuyuan, Hunan as its declared area, and Hunan Muoupiying Art Safeguarding and Transmission 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. Xiongguoan (Muoupiyingyishujuyuan, Hunan) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Xiongguoan · China ICH Official Archive