Huang Jinghui

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Huang Jinghui, Female, Han, from Wuxi, Jiangsu, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Xiju Opera (Ⅳ-103). The tradition is documented in Wuxi, Jiangsu. Within the regional tradition and school record of Xiju Opera in Wuxi, Jiangsu: Since the Qianjia reign of the Qing dynasty, tanhuang in the Wu language has flourished, and by the Daoguang reign professional or semi-professional tanhuang performers had appeared. On the basis of long practice this folk art of singing and narration gradually developed and transformed into an independent operatic genre with its own vocal system.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Huang Jinghui is anchored in the documented technical standards of Xiju Opera in Wuxi, Jiangsu. Within the documented technical tradition of Xiju Opera in Wuxi, Jiangsu: Xiju, formerly called “tanhuang”, is one of the principal operatic genres of Jiangsu province. Its place of origin is said by one account to be in the northeastern countryside of Wuxi city and by another to be the De'anqiao area of Changzhou city, hence the names “xi tan” and “chang tan”. The vocal music of xiju takes “huangdiao” as its basic tune, while also incorporating dozens of tunes such as “dalu ban” and “linglingdiao”. Over years of performance xiju has formed a number of vocal schools with strong artistic individuality — the Yao (Cheng) school, the Wang (Lanying) school, the Shen (Peihua) school, the Wang (Binbin) school, the Mei (Lanzhen) school, the Wang (Hanqing) school and the Wu (Yatong) school — which have actively driven the development of the genre. The role types of xiju centre on huadan and xiaosheng; such representative plays as Double Mill Push, Meeting in the Nunnery Hall, Recognising the Mother in the Nunnery Hall and Twin Pearl Phoenix have all been filmed as xiqu cinema feature films. Besides its traditional repertory, xiju also has a body of fine modern plays, among which The Red Seed is the most highly praised. In recent years the traditional play The Pearl Tower, re-created by a new generation of xiju performing artists, won the Ministry of Culture award for new repertoire, marking a further stage in the development of xiju in the new period. The tunes of xiju are elegant and lyrical, rich in the flavour of everyday life and distinctive of the Jiangnan water-town style, a precious treasure in the storehouse of Wu culture. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Double Mill Push": The role types of xiju centre on huadan and xiaosheng; such representative plays as Double Mill Push, Meeting in the Nunnery Hall, Recognising the Mother in the Nunnery Hall and Twin Pearl Phoenix have all been filmed as xiqu cinema feature films. "Meeting in the Nunnery Hall": The role types of xiju centre on huadan and xiaosheng; such representative plays as Double Mill Push, Meeting in the Nunnery Hall, Recognising the Mother in the Nunnery Hall and Twin Pearl Phoenix have all been filmed as xiqu cinema feature films. "Recognising the Mother in the Nunnery Hall": The role types of xiju centre on huadan and xiaosheng; such representative plays as Double Mill Push, Meeting in the Nunnery Hall, Recognising the Mother in the Nunnery Hall and Twin Pearl Phoenix have all been filmed as xiqu cinema feature films. "Twin Pearl Phoenix": The role types of xiju centre on huadan and xiaosheng; such representative plays as Double Mill Push, Meeting in the Nunnery Hall, Recognising the Mother in the Nunnery Hall and Twin Pearl Phoenix have all been filmed as xiqu cinema feature films.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Huang Jinghui was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Xiju Opera, with Wuxi, Jiangsu as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Xiju Opera in Wuxi, Jiangsu: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Wuxi, Jiangsu as its declared area, and Wuxi Xi Theatre Co., Ltd. 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. Huangjinghui (Wuxi, Jiangsu) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Huangjinghui · China ICH Official Archive