An Jingfang

01 · Lineage & Regional School

An Jingfang, Female, Korean, from Jilin, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Ji Opera (Ⅳ-164). The tradition is documented in Jilin. Within the regional tradition and school record of Ji Opera in Jilin: Jiju is distributed mainly in Jilin Province and the areas around it; it “does not leave its base, gathers the finest of many flowers, fuses and refines them, and forms a school of its own”. Jiju is based on the northeastern errenzhuan; on the foundation of broadly absorbing northeastern folk music and performance techniques such as Northeast dagu, shadow puppetry and laba xi, it gradually developed and evolved into an independent xiqu form with a complete musical composition system and a full set of role types. The embryo of Jiju appeared at the end of the Qing dynasty, it developed in the early years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and it entered a period of consolidation in the 1980s.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for An Jingfang is anchored in the documented technical standards of Ji Opera in Jilin. Within the documented technical tradition of Ji Opera in Jilin: Its vocal music falls into liuqiang, haidiao and its own characteristic qupai; it is a composite music based mainly on the banqiang system and also using the specific tunes of qupai. It has both a bold, high-spirited side and a gorgeous, restrained side, with marked rhythm, beautiful melody and friendly, approachable tunes, and it has a strong power of characterization. Its performance form absorbs the characteristics of errenzhuan and northeastern folk dance, and also incorporates the performance skills and strengths of other xiqu forms, creating specialty skills of its own; its handkerchief technique, water-sleeve technique, fan technique, long-silk technique and chair technique are renowned in the world of Chinese opera. Classic Jiju repertoire includes “Tao Li Mei”, “Bao Gong Peiqing”, “Yan Qing Mai Xian” and “Banyao”. At the height of its creative history, 16 performing troupes were engaged in creating and performing Jiju, producing more than 1,000 fine plays of various types. Jiju absorbs the black-soil culture; with an art form that is bold and unrestrained yet simple and humorous, it carries on the folk music, vocal styles and dance of the northeastern region, and it has a broad audience in Northeast China. Jiju artists, guided by the principle of “preserving the essentials and innovating”, are restoring the classic old plays through the teaching, assisting and leading (chuan, bang, dai) of the older generation of actors, and they keep creating and staging new plays that follow the pace of the times. Jiju gathers the essence of northeastern folk art and reflects the joys, sorrows, anger and grief of the people of the Jilin land in its various historical periods; it performs what the common people think about, sings what the common people long for, takes root among the people, draws wisdom from life, and spreads healthy and uplifting thoughts and feelings. It holds firm to the traditional performance form, conveys an optimistic and positive national spirit, and with its distinctive style of performance and vivid characterization has become an organic part of China's operatic art, with high historical, cultural and artistic value. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Peach, Plum and Plum Blossom": Classic Jiju repertoire includes “Tao Li Mei”, “Bao Gong Peiqing”, “Yan Qing Mai Xian” and “Banyao”. "Bao Zheng Repays Kindness": Classic Jiju repertoire includes “Tao Li Mei”, “Bao Gong Peiqing”, “Yan Qing Mai Xian” and “Banyao”. "Yan Qing Sells Thread": Classic Jiju repertoire includes “Tao Li Mei”, “Bao Gong Peiqing”, “Yan Qing Mai Xian” and “Banyao”. "Moving the Kiln": Classic Jiju repertoire includes “Tao Li Mei”, “Bao Gong Peiqing”, “Yan Qing Mai Xian” and “Banyao”.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, An Jingfang was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Ji Opera, with Jilin as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Ji Opera in Jilin: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Jilin as its declared area, and Jilin Xiqu Theatre (Jilin Minjian Art Troupe) 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. Anjingfang (Jilin) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Anjingfang · China ICH Official Archive