Shenguitao
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Shenguitao, Female, Han, from Qijuyuan, Hunan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Qiju Opera (Ⅳ-128). The tradition is documented in Qijuyuan, Hunan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Qiju Opera in Qijuyuan, Hunan: Qi opera centres on Qiyang and Yongzhou in Hunan and is popular in southern Hunan and in northern Guangxi, northern Guangdong and southern Jiangxi; in its development it formed the two schools of Yonghe and Baohe, both performing in Qiyang mandarin, with the Hunan provincial Qi opera theatre as the provincial professional body bearing the tasks of its creation, performance and transmission. In the mid-Ming Yiyang qiang came to Qiyang and combined with local folk songs and ditties to form the embryo of Qi opera.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Shenguitao is anchored in the documented technical standards of Qiju Opera in Qijuyuan, Hunan. Within the documented technical tradition of Qiju Opera in Qijuyuan, Hunan: Qi opera, also called “Qiyang opera” and “Chunan opera”, is named for originating in Qiyang county, Hunan. In its development it formed the two schools of Yonghe and Baohe, both performing in Qiyang mandarin. Its singing embraces the high-pitched, Kun and tan vocal styles, its voice ringing and loud, accompanied by the high-pitched war drum, the cap-shaped dry drum and the hard-bow Qihu. Accordingly the xusheng uses a hoarse voice to show age, the xiaosheng a fine voice to show refinement, the dan a narrow voice to show charm, and the painted face a domineering or shouting voice to show roughness. Its facial designs usually take red, black and white as base colours, opening the face with mixed colour, expressing sharply characterised figures through bright tones, bold lines, delicate patterns and vivid suggestion. Its tan-vocal plays are rough and plain, broad in movement and stirring and deep in singing with a strong mountain flavour, while its high-pitched and Kun plays are fine, gentle and graceful with a cultured restraint. Its horse-riding dance convention, popularly called “ma lu”, is its most characteristic performing feature, each role changing the “ma lu” style according to character and plot so that it takes varied forms. Its repertory and qupai are rich, with more than nine hundred traditional plays and more than a thousand qupai now collated and printed. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Mulian Rescues His Mother": One of the representative plays of Qi opera, included in a National Arts Fund project in 2016 and toured nationwide. "Yellow Crane Tower": One of the traditional plays commonly staged by Qi opera, in which the inheritor played Zhou Yu. "Chasing the Fish": One of the traditional plays commonly staged by Qi opera, in which the inheritor played Zhang Zhen. "Ma Lu (The Horse-Riding Dance Convention)": Qi opera's horse-riding dance convention, its most characteristic feature, each role changing its style according to character and plot.
Mulian Rescues His Mother
One of the representative plays of Qi opera, included in a National Arts Fund project in 2016 and toured nationwide.
Yellow Crane Tower
One of the traditional plays commonly staged by Qi opera, in which the inheritor played Zhou Yu.
Chasing the Fish
One of the traditional plays commonly staged by Qi opera, in which the inheritor played Zhang Zhen.
Ma Lu (The Horse-Riding Dance Convention)
Qi opera's horse-riding dance convention, its most characteristic feature, each role changing its style according to character and plot.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Shenguitao was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Qiju Opera, with Qijuyuan, Hunan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Qiju Opera in Qijuyuan, Hunan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Qijuyuan, Hunan as its declared area, and Hunan Qi Ju 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
Historical origin
In the mid-Ming Yiyang qiang came to Qiyang and combined with local folk songs and ditties to form the embryo of Qi opera.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liu Dengxiong | Qijuyuan, Hunan | 03-1142 | Same declared area |
| Zhang Shaojun | Hengyang, Hunan | 04-1690 | Other regional school |
| Yuan Qili | Qiyang, Hunan | 05-2458 | Other regional school |
| Fei Jianchu | Hengyang, Hunan | — | Other regional school |
| Shenguitao | Qijuyuan, Hunan | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。