Zhang Jiexing
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Zhang Jiexing, Male, Bai, from Dalibaizuzizhizhouyunlong, Yunnan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Bai Chuichuiqiang (Ⅳ-169). The tradition is documented in Dalibaizuzizhizhouyunlong, Yunnan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Bai Chuichuiqiang in Dalibaizuzizhizhouyunlong, Yunnan: It is distributed mainly in the Tangdeng, Xiawu, Tangjian, Dada, Qingganping, Sanyang, Danga and Shangdianwei areas of Yunlong county, Dali Bai autonomous prefecture, Yunnan. The chuichuiqiang genre formed in the Ming and Qing; the earliest surviving Sanyang chuichuiqiang old stage was first built in the first year of Tianqi in the Ming, nearly four hundred years ago.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Zhang Jiexing is anchored in the documented technical standards of Bai Chuichuiqiang in Dalibaizuzizhizhouyunlong, Yunnan. Within the documented technical tradition of Bai Chuichuiqiang in Dalibaizuzizhizhouyunlong, Yunnan: Bai chuichuiqiang, also called “chui qiang”, “suona opera” and “bench opera”, is an ancient genre using the suona as its chief accompanying instrument together with gong, cymbal, luo, cha and bangzi percussion. Yunlong county lies in western Yunnan in the Lancang river valley of western Yunnan and has a history of more than two thousand years, being a famous well-salt producing area of the ancient south-west, with several salt-horse roads connecting in different directions with the famous “Shu-Shendu road” and “tea-horse road”. The Bai worship the ben-zhu gods and lodge their wishes for favourable weather, peace and thriving livestock in the deities, hence the saying “three fasts are worth no more than one tune, one play exempts three fasts”, embodying a folk culture of entertaining both people and gods. By artistic form Bai chuichuiqiang divides into robe-and-belt plays, martial plays, sheng-and-dan plays, clown plays, life plays and modern short plays, its roles sheng, dan, jing and chou, stressing hand, eye, body, method and step, with complete performing conventions, poses and fixed stage arrangement. Its stepwork accords with the suona melody and is strongly dance-like, every gesture following hand and foot. It mainly sings and blows, the suona being its characteristic instrument. Its arias have nine boards and thirteen tunes, its lyrics in the Bai's peculiar “mountain-flower form” and “three-seven-one-five” line pattern, both lyrics and dialogue using the Bai mother tongue and Chinese. Based on the opening quote, poem-chanting, couplet-making, self-introduction and doing, it has the saying “one blow, two sing, three strike”. Its singing is “dry singing” (unaccompanied), one singing and the many responding, joined by suona, gong and drum interludes, with the features “no blowing while singing, no singing while blowing, no dancing while singing”. The actors paint their facial designs themselves or for each other, the pigments taken locally. Among these, the Tangdeng chuichuiqiang troupe of Yunlong county was organised by the artist Li Shengxiang in the early Guangxu reign of the Qing. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Nine Boards and Thirteen Tunes": Bai chuichuiqiang's arias have nine boards and thirteen tunes, its lyrics in the Bai's peculiar “mountain-flower form” and “three-seven-one-five” line pattern, using both the Bai mother tongue and Chinese. "Robe-and-Belt Plays, Martial Plays, Sheng-and-Dan Plays, Clown Plays, Life Plays": By artistic form Bai chuichuiqiang divides into robe-and-belt plays, martial plays, sheng-and-dan plays, clown plays, life plays and modern short plays, with complete performing conventions, poses and fixed stage arrangement. "One Blow, Two Sing, Three Strike": Bai chuichuiqiang mainly sings and blows, the suona being its characteristic instrument, its singing being “dry singing” with one singing and the many responding, with the features “no blowing while singing, no singing while blowing, no dancing while singing”. "Old Stages and Repertory (More Than Three Hundred Plays)": Yunlong county has more than three hundred surviving plays, eleven old stages, eight rural amateur chuichuiqiang troupes and one professional chuichuiqiang art troupe.
Nine Boards and Thirteen Tunes
Bai chuichuiqiang's arias have nine boards and thirteen tunes, its lyrics in the Bai's peculiar “mountain-flower form” and “three-seven-one-five” line pattern, using both the Bai mother tongue and Chinese.
Robe-and-Belt Plays, Martial Plays, Sheng-and-Dan Plays, Clown Plays, Life Plays
By artistic form Bai chuichuiqiang divides into robe-and-belt plays, martial plays, sheng-and-dan plays, clown plays, life plays and modern short plays, with complete performing conventions, poses and fixed stage arrangement.
One Blow, Two Sing, Three Strike
Bai chuichuiqiang mainly sings and blows, the suona being its characteristic instrument, its singing being “dry singing” with one singing and the many responding, with the features “no blowing while singing, no singing while blowing, no dancing while singing”.
Old Stages and Repertory (More Than Three Hundred Plays)
Yunlong county has more than three hundred surviving plays, eleven old stages, eight rural amateur chuichuiqiang troupes and one professional chuichuiqiang art troupe.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Zhang Jiexing was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Bai Chuichuiqiang, with Dalibaizuzizhizhouyunlong, Yunnan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Bai Chuichuiqiang in Dalibaizuzizhizhouyunlong, Yunnan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Dalibaizuzizhizhouyunlong, Yunnan as its declared area, and Yunlong County Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding 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
The chuichuiqiang genre formed in the Ming and Qing; the earliest surviving Sanyang chuichuiqiang old stage was first built in the first year of Tianqi in the Ming, nearly four hundred years ago.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhang Jiexing | Dalibaizuzizhizhouyunlong, Yunnan | — | 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。