Yao Liling
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Yao Liling, Female, Han, from Wuhan, Hubei, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Hubei Xiaoqu (Ⅴ-70). The tradition is documented in Wuhan, Hubei. Within the regional tradition and school record of Hubei Xiaoqu in Wuhan, Hubei: Hubei xiaoqu displays a strong local Hubei character and has a certain research value in such fields as social history, regional culture and folk art. It originated in Ming-Qing popular tunes and was formed by the fusion of Hantan xiaoqu and Tianmian xiaoqu; to this day it has a history of more than three hundred years.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Yao Liling is anchored in the documented technical standards of Hubei Xiaoqu in Wuhan, Hubei. Within the documented technical tradition of Hubei Xiaoqu in Wuhan, Hubei: Hubei xiaoqu was formerly called "Hantan xiaoqu", "Hantan silk strings" or "outer-stream xiaoqu", and is mainly popular in riverine areas along the Yangtze such as Hankou, Shashi and Yichang in Hubei Province. In Hubei xiaoqu performance, singing alternates with narration and the form is free and flexible: one person may sing while accompanying himself, or two or more may perform seated, standing or walking, and the most common form is that of two people seated. The performers are divided into the sheng and dan role types, singing while accompanying themselves — the sheng plays the erhu, and the dan strikes the beat with sandalwood clappers. Its vocal forms are generally multi-tune, though there are also single-tune ones. The lyrics are mostly in paired upper-and-lower line structures of seven, four or ten characters, and there are also five-character lines, lines of unequal length and stacked (duo) lines. Hubei xiaoqu originally had more than three hundred vocal tune patterns, of which more than one hundred and twenty survive to the present day. Those in common use include [Nan Qu Tou], [Nan Qu Zheng Ban], [Nan Qu Wei], [Wen Ci Diao], [Tan Huang Diao], [Xi Qiang], [Si Ping] and [Tan Wu Geng], and they can be used to perform single-act zaju plays with comparatively complicated storylines. These tune patterns can be roughly divided into five categories: first, the Nanqu class, which is the main vocal style of Hubei xiaoqu; second, the Wenci class, evolved from the wenci music popular in eastern Hubei; third, the Tanhuang class, evolved from Wu-Yue melodies that flowed into the region; fourth, the Xiqiang class, evolved from the "Xiqiang" of Jingzhou; and fifth, miscellaneous minor tunes, gathered from Hubei folk tunes. The traditional performing repertoire of Hubei xiaoqu is quite rich: of the original repertoire of more than three hundred large and small titles, more than one hundred and eighty have come down to us, and "Qiang San" (Snatching the Umbrella), "Xi Jing Ci" and "Su Wen Biao Jie Yi" (Su Wenbiao Borrows a Coat) are representative works among them. The content of these titles comes mostly from chuanqi tales, zaju plays and folk stories, with love themes predominating; some works take as their themes the portrayal of the people's suffering, opposition to national oppression, the reflection of women's unhappy fate, the pursuit of freedom and happiness, and resistance to the old feudal code of ethics. Besides these there are also short anecdotal pieces full of knowledge and amusement. Among these traditional titles, long "dabentou" works such as "Dong Zheng" (The Eastern Campaign) and "Xi Zheng" (The Western Campaign) can be sung continuously for months on end, while the shorter pieces resemble the "sectioned songs" (fenjiege) found in folk songs. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Qiang San (Snatching the Umbrella)": The traditional performing repertoire of Hubei xiaoqu is quite rich: of the original repertoire of more than three hundred large and small titles, more than one hundred and eighty have come down to us, and "Qiang San" (Snatching the Umbrella), "Xi Jing Ci" and "Su Wen Biao Jie Yi" (Su Wenbiao Borrows a Coat) are representative works among them. "Xi Jing Ci (Western Capital Lyrics)": The traditional performing repertoire of Hubei xiaoqu is quite rich: of the original repertoire of more than three hundred large and small titles, more than one hundred and eighty have come down to us, and "Qiang San" (Snatching the Umbrella), "Xi Jing Ci" and "Su Wen Biao Jie Yi" (Su Wenbiao Borrows a Coat) are representative works among them. "Su Wen Biao Jie Yi (Su Wenbiao Borrows a Coat)": The traditional performing repertoire of Hubei xiaoqu is quite rich: of the original repertoire of more than three hundred large and small titles, more than one hundred and eighty have come down to us, and "Qiang San" (Snatching the Umbrella), "Xi Jing Ci" and "Su Wen Biao Jie Yi" (Su Wenbiao Borrows a Coat) are representative works among them. "Dong Zheng (The Eastern Campaign)": Among these traditional titles, long "dabentou" works such as "Dong Zheng" (The Eastern Campaign) and "Xi Zheng" (The Western Campaign) can be sung continuously for months on end, while the shorter pieces resemble the "sectioned songs" (fenjiege) found in folk songs.
Qiang San (Snatching the Umbrella)
The traditional performing repertoire of Hubei xiaoqu is quite rich: of the original repertoire of more than three hundred large and small titles, more than one hundred and eighty have come down to us, and "Qiang San" (Snatching the Umbrella), "Xi Jing Ci" and "Su Wen Biao Jie Yi" (Su Wenbiao Borrows a Coat) are representative works among them.
Xi Jing Ci (Western Capital Lyrics)
The traditional performing repertoire of Hubei xiaoqu is quite rich: of the original repertoire of more than three hundred large and small titles, more than one hundred and eighty have come down to us, and "Qiang San" (Snatching the Umbrella), "Xi Jing Ci" and "Su Wen Biao Jie Yi" (Su Wenbiao Borrows a Coat) are representative works among them.
Su Wen Biao Jie Yi (Su Wenbiao Borrows a Coat)
The traditional performing repertoire of Hubei xiaoqu is quite rich: of the original repertoire of more than three hundred large and small titles, more than one hundred and eighty have come down to us, and "Qiang San" (Snatching the Umbrella), "Xi Jing Ci" and "Su Wen Biao Jie Yi" (Su Wenbiao Borrows a Coat) are representative works among them.
Dong Zheng (The Eastern Campaign)
Among these traditional titles, long "dabentou" works such as "Dong Zheng" (The Eastern Campaign) and "Xi Zheng" (The Western Campaign) can be sung continuously for months on end, while the shorter pieces resemble the "sectioned songs" (fenjiege) found in folk songs.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Yao Liling was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Hubei Xiaoqu, with Wuhan, Hubei as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Hubei Xiaoqu in Wuhan, Hubei: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Wuhan, Hubei as its declared area, and Wuhan Shuochang Troupe 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
Historical origin
It originated in Ming-Qing popular tunes and was formed by the fusion of Hantan xiaoqu and Tianmian xiaoqu; to this day it has a history of more than three hundred years.
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 Zhonghua | Wuhan, Hubei | 04-1720 | Same declared area |
| Yao Liling | Wuhan, Hubei | — | 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。