He Meixu
01 · Lineage & Regional School
He Meixu, Male, Han, from Guangyuan, Sichuan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Duangong Opera (Ⅳ-168). The tradition is documented in Guangyuan, Sichuan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Duangong Opera in Guangyuan, Sichuan: For nearly two hundred years Wangcang duangong opera has been a fairly important spiritual mainstay and popular entertainment for the local people and still plays such roles as blessing and entertainment at weddings and funerals, house-building, births, school admissions and business openings; it preserves the locality's distinctive cultural elements and performs social functions of enriching life, reposing feeling and moral education, with some social and cultural value. It adjoins Nanjiang county of Bazhong to the east, Chaotian district and Zhaohua district of Guangyuan to the west, Cangxi county to the south and Nan Zheng and Ningqiang counties of Shaanxi to the north. Wangcang duangong opera comes from court sacrificial song and dance and, after spreading among the people, evolved into a local nuo opera, flourishing in the middle and late Qing in Wangcang and the adjoining Qinba mountains. According to the Guangyuan County Gazette and surviving Qing manuscripts, it can be traced to the Kangxi reign of the Qing; at present Wangcang has twelve duangong opera altars, among which the lineage of the Sanjiang He family troupe can be traced to the seventh year of Kangxi (1668).
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for He Meixu is anchored in the documented technical standards of Duangong Opera in Guangyuan, Sichuan. Within the documented technical tradition of Duangong Opera in Guangyuan, Sichuan: Wangcang duangong opera is a traditional sacrificial drama presided over by the duangong, circulating in Wangcang county, Guangyuan city, Sichuan, and its surroundings, popularly called “nuo opera” or “qingtan”. Wangcang county lies on the southern slope of the western Micang mountains at the junction of Sichuan and Shaanxi and now belongs to Guangyuan city, Sichuan. Usually the host invites the altar and one or several men can set up the altar to perform, with no special requirement for the site; the viewers are mostly the host, neighbours and invited guests. Wangcang duangong opera has forty surviving masked main-altar plays and sixty playful-altar plays, mainly exhorting filial piety and goodness, teaching through entertainment. Its performance has many hand-drawn talismans and splendid feats, mainly using local mountain songs and ditties with drum, gong and cymbal accompaniment. It is good at entertaining the public in a witty and humorous performance that blends solemnity with jest, fusing blessing rite, feat performance and dramatic performance to bring about blessing and disaster-averting and vow-redemption and god-thanking, being both sacred and entertaining with a strong ritual sense and satisfying the people's spiritual needs. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The Main-Altar Plays (Forty)": Wangcang duangong opera has forty surviving masked main-altar plays, mainly exhorting filial piety and goodness and teaching through entertainment. "The Playful-Altar Plays (Sixty)": Wangcang duangong opera has sixty surviving playful-altar plays, its performance having many hand-drawn talismans and splendid feats. "Qingtan (Celebrating the Altar)": Wangcang duangong opera is popularly called “nuo opera” or “qingtan” locally, fusing blessing rite, feat performance and dramatic performance.
The Main-Altar Plays (Forty)
Wangcang duangong opera has forty surviving masked main-altar plays, mainly exhorting filial piety and goodness and teaching through entertainment.
The Playful-Altar Plays (Sixty)
Wangcang duangong opera has sixty surviving playful-altar plays, its performance having many hand-drawn talismans and splendid feats.
Qingtan (Celebrating the Altar)
Wangcang duangong opera is popularly called “nuo opera” or “qingtan” locally, fusing blessing rite, feat performance and dramatic performance.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, He Meixu was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Duangong Opera, with Guangyuan, Sichuan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Duangong Opera in Guangyuan, Sichuan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Guangyuan, Sichuan as its declared area, and Wangcang 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
Historical origin
It adjoins Nanjiang county of Bazhong to the east, Chaotian district and Zhaohua district of Guangyuan to the west, Cangxi county to the south and Nan Zheng and Ningqiang counties of Shaanxi to the north. Wangcang duangong opera comes from court sacrificial song and dance and, after spreading among the people, evolved into a local nuo opera, flourishing in the middle and late Qing in Wangcang and the adjoining Qinba mountains. According to the Guangyuan County Gazette and surviving Qing manuscripts, it can be traced to the Kangxi reign of the Qing; at present Wangcang has twelve duangong opera altars, among which the lineage of the Sanjiang He family troupe can be traced to the seventh year of Kangxi (1668).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| He Meixu | Guangyuan, Sichuan | — | 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。