Chen Huachun

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Chen Huachun, Male, Han, from Shaoxing, Zhejiang, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Shaoxing Xuanjuan (Ⅴ-83). The tradition is documented in Shaoxing, Zhejiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Shaoxing Xuanjuan in Shaoxing, Zhejiang: Shaoxing xuanjuan is centred on Shaoxing County (today Keqiao District of Shaoxing City); in the late Qing and early Republican period it spread with the rites of offering to gods and praying for blessings to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Ningbo and other places, and it is one of the "five great genres" of the Shaoxing region. Xuanjuan performers have no strict master-and-disciple transmission and mostly form their troupes voluntarily, headed by the "yu position", and are engaged to sing at ceremonies such as a god's birthday, a birthday celebration and memorial rites; the area in which they operate broadly coincides with the areas in which Shaoxing diao qiang, Shaoxing opera and Yue opera are current, and for this reason baojuan song-books also borrow a great many works from neighbouring genres. Shaoxing xuanjuan is one of the "five great genres" of the Shaoxing region of Zhejiang Province. It took shape in the late Qing dynasty and, in the late Qing and early Republican period, spread to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo and other places; to this day it has a history of more than one hundred and fifty years. From 1950 onward, under the influence of the political situation, Shaoxing xuanjuan gradually ceased to be performed.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Chen Huachun is anchored in the documented technical standards of Shaoxing Xuanjuan in Shaoxing, Zhejiang. Within the documented technical tradition of Shaoxing Xuanjuan in Shaoxing, Zhejiang: Shaoxing xuanjuan is a form of storytelling-and-singing with a religious colouring, used chiefly for rites of offering to gods and praying for blessings. Its song-books are generally called "baojuan"; performers lay them on a table and sing them straight from the book, hence the name "xuanjuan". Ordinary xuanjuan, sung unaccompanied, is called "pingjuan"; when erhu, sanxian, yueqin and other instruments are added as accompaniment, it is called "huajuan". A "pingjuan" needs at least three people, who divide among themselves the role types of sheng, dan, jing, chou and the rest; one person may double several different roles. In performance the singers sit around the table. Those facing south are called the "lu position" or the "shu position"; they are responsible for turning the pages of the book and are usually taken by dan performers. Those facing east are called the "fu position" or the "yu position"; they keep time with a high-pitched wooden fish and are usually taken by zase (miscellaneous) performers. Those facing west are called the "shou position" or the "jing position"; they strike the xingmu (striking block) in support of the singing and are usually taken by sheng performers. If four people take part, there is in addition a "cha position" seated beside the "shu position", responsible for pouring tea in support of the singing. The vocal music of Shaoxing xuanjuan is called "xuanjuan diao". It includes the "wugong diao" and "shuahai'er" of Shaoxing opera, the "yinsiping", "folihua" and "qizou diao" of diao qiang, and the "danshuang" and "yinshi diao" of folk small tunes, and so on. The lyrics consist mainly of paired seven-character or ten-character lines of even length, and the vocal music likewise takes its opening from the final three characters of the upper and lower lines; the chorus part must always be joined with the liturgical refrain of "Namo Amitabha". The total number of xuanjuan song-books in Shaoxing is around one hundred. Their contents either relate to Buddhist scriptures, such as Mulian Baojuan and Liuxiangnü Baojuan, or share their titles with operatic works and other genres: with Shaoxing diao qiang, Pipa Ji, Xi Xiang Ji, Xunhuan Bao and Fenyu Jing; with Shaoxing opera or Yue opera, Sanguantang, Fenghuang Tu, Biyu Zan, Longfeng Suo, Shuang Jinhua, Mai Hua Long Tu, Mai Shui Long Tu and Ge Mai Long Tu; with Suzhou tantci and Shaoxing citiao, Yu Qingting, Zhen Zhu Ta, Yu Yuan Yang and Bi Yu Chai. Xuanjuan performers have no strict line of master-and-disciple transmission; they mostly form xuanjuan troupes voluntarily, headed by the "yu position", and sing at ceremonies such as a god's birthday, a birthday celebration and memorial rites. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Plain scroll and flowered scroll": The two modes of Shaoxing scroll singing: the unaccompanied "plain scroll" and the "flowered scroll" with erhu, sanxian and yueqin. "The four seats around the table": The seating protocol of xuanjuan singers: the south-facing "book seat" turns the scroll, the east "fish seat" beats the wooden fish, the west "longevity seat" strikes the gavel, and a fourth "tea seat" pours tea. "The xuanjuan tune and its closing invocation": The xuanjuan tune borrows from Shao opera and diaoqiang as well as folk ditties, and every helped refrain ends on the invocation "Namo Amitabha". "The hundred-volume scroll repertoire": About a hundred scroll texts survive, ranging from Buddhist titles such as the Mulian scroll to pieces shared with Shao opera, Yue opera, Suzhou tanci and Shaoxing cidiao.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Chen Huachun was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Shaoxing Xuanjuan, with Shaoxing, Zhejiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Shaoxing Xuanjuan in Shaoxing, Zhejiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Shaoxing, Zhejiang as its declared area, and Shaoxing Keqiao District Cultural Center (Shaoxing Keqiao District 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

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. Chenhuachun (Shaoxing, Zhejiang) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Chenhuachun · China ICH Official Archive