Liu Wenlong
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Liu Wenlong, Male, Han, from Shaanxi, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Shaanxi Kuaiban (Ⅴ-144). The tradition is documented in Shaanxi. Within the regional tradition and school record of Shaanxi Kuaiban in Shaanxi: Shaanxi kuaiban takes the Guanzhong dialect as its standard language and the seven-character line as its basic sentence pattern; lines may be long or short and the forms are varied, and the main types are solo kuaiban, two-person kuaiban, group kuaiban, kuaiban with gong and drum, and kuaiban play. It evolved from the rhymed jingle, originated in the Guanzhong area of Shaanxi, and has had a certain influence in the northwest region. It was already circulating among the folk of Guanzhong during the Daoguang and Guangxu reigns of the Qing dynasty, and was also distributed in northern Shaanxi, southern Shaanxi and the northwest region. Shaanxi kuaiban evolved from the folk rhymed jingle and originated in the Guanzhong area of Shaanxi; by the Daoguang and Guangxu reigns of the Qing dynasty it was already circulating among the folk of Guanzhong, and was also distributed in northern Shaanxi, southern Shaanxi and the northwest region. Early performers commonly gave impromptu performances on the spot at temple fairs, markets, mule and horse markets and the doorways of teahouses, and were noted for improvising verses about people and events; after the founding of the People's Republic of China, kuaiban entered the stage and the radio with the art propaganda teams, and many new pieces appeared that publicized policy and commended model workers.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Liu Wenlong is anchored in the documented technical standards of Shaanxi Kuaiban in Shaanxi. Within the documented technical tradition of Shaanxi Kuaiban in Shaanxi: Shaanxi kuaiban is a form of narrative singing (quyi) performed to the accompaniment of clappers. Its language is mellow and full-bodied, its rhythm brisk and lively, it is highly musical, plain and easy to understand, and it carries a certain comic colouring and expressive power. Performance stresses the coordination of hand, eye, body, technique and step, moving on and off the stage and imitating a wide range of character images. It uses the siye wa, a four-piece clapper that marks the beat, as its accompanying instrument; combined with striking methods such as trembling, knocking, striking, scraping and smashing, it fuses narration and singing, accompaniment and acting into a single whole, and it is a perfect form of narrative singing. Its content displays the typical character of keeping pace with the times. Shaanxi kuaiban is an important genre of Shaanxi Province, with a long history and a deep popular foundation, and it is an important component of Shaanxi narrative singing. It records the historical events, local customs and social phenomena of each period, and is a mirror of social history; it is humorous and amusing, vivid in performance and rich in local colour, and it is a typical representative of folk narrative and singing art; it is simple and easy to perform, welcome to hear and to see, a good form of cultural entertainment, and an important channel for publicity and education, for promoting core socialist values and for building a harmonious society. Shaanxi kuaiban takes the Guanzhong dialect as its standard language and the seven-character line as its basic sentence pattern; lines may be long or short and the forms are varied, and the main types are solo kuaiban, two-person kuaiban, group kuaiban, kuaiban with gong and drum, and kuaiban play. Performance stresses the coordination of hand, eye, body, technique and step, moving on and off the stage and imitating a wide range of character images; the siye wa, a four-piece clapper that marks the beat, serves as the principal accompaniment and is combined with striking methods such as trembling, knocking, striking, scraping and smashing, fusing narration and singing, accompaniment and acting into one. Its language is mellow and full-bodied, its rhythm brisk and lively, it is highly musical, plain and easy to understand, and it carries a certain comic colouring and expressive power. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Four tiles and five strokes": Its four roof-tiles are shaken, knocked, tapped, scraped and struck, fusing speech, accompaniment and acting. "Performance formats": Forms range from solo, duet and group clapper work to drum-and-clapper and full clapper drama, in Guanzhong speech and seven-character lines. "Hand, eye, body, method, step": Performers observe the five stage requisites and jump in and out of characters, in a vigorous, musical and comic delivery. "Open-ground and market performance": Spreading through Shaanxi from the Daoguang and Guangxu reigns, it was first busked at temple fairs, markets and teahouse doors on improvised texts.
Four tiles and five strokes
Its four roof-tiles are shaken, knocked, tapped, scraped and struck, fusing speech, accompaniment and acting.
Performance formats
Forms range from solo, duet and group clapper work to drum-and-clapper and full clapper drama, in Guanzhong speech and seven-character lines.
Hand, eye, body, method, step
Performers observe the five stage requisites and jump in and out of characters, in a vigorous, musical and comic delivery.
Open-ground and market performance
Spreading through Shaanxi from the Daoguang and Guangxu reigns, it was first busked at temple fairs, markets and teahouse doors on improvised texts.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Liu Wenlong was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Shaanxi Kuaiban, with Shaanxi as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Shaanxi Kuaiban in Shaanxi: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Shaanxi as its declared area, and Shaanxi Qu YiJia Association 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 evolved from the rhymed jingle, originated in the Guanzhong area of Shaanxi, and has had a certain influence in the northwest region. It was already circulating among the folk of Guanzhong during the Daoguang and Guangxu reigns of the Qing dynasty, and was also distributed in northern Shaanxi, southern Shaanxi and the northwest region.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liu Wenlong | Shaanxi | — | 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。