Zhou Heping
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Zhou Heping, Male, Han, from Tongliang, Chongqing, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Paper Effigy Craftsmanship (Ⅶ-66). The tradition is documented in Tongliang, Chongqing. Within the regional tradition and school record of Paper Effigy Craftsmanship in Tongliang, Chongqing: After the founding of the People's Republic of China, three schools of dragon lantern paper framing were formed: the Zhou school, the Jiang school, and the Fu school. Tongliang dragon lantern paper framing is one of the outstanding representatives of China's traditional lantern craft, a crystallization of the diligence and wisdom of the local working people, embodying the aesthetic aspirations and ideas of craftsmanship of the local people. Tongliang dragon lantern paper framing roughly arose after the Song dynasty and reached its zenith in the Qing dynasty. The Customs chapter of the Guangxu-era Tongliang County Gazetteer of the Qing dynasty records the grandeur of the Tongliang dragon lanterns in detail: "At the Lantern Festival lanterns are displayed; from the eighth and ninth days through the fifteenth, they blaze until dawn, with dragon lanterns, lion lanterns, and other variety plays performed, filling the streets with clamor - a spectacle in which the moon seems to follow people and dust to follow horses." Among the people there is further the saying: "Dazu for Buddhist pilgrimage (stone carvings), Tongliang for lantern viewing (dragon lanterns)." After the 1980s, this project was revived and gradually reached new heights.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Zhou Heping is anchored in the documented technical standards of Paper Effigy Craftsmanship in Tongliang, Chongqing. Within the documented technical tradition of Paper Effigy Craftsmanship in Tongliang, Chongqing: Tongliang dragon lantern paper framing is a traditional fine-arts art form circulated among the villages, towns, and subdistricts of Tongliang District, Chongqing, with numerous participants. Because the performance props, landscape lanterns, and craftworks framed in the practice of this project all highlight the theme of dragon culture, with distinctive characteristics and broad influence, it is named "Tongliang Dragon Lantern Paper Framing." Tongliang is located in western Chongqing, with good natural conditions and thriving agriculture. The Wanli-era Chuandong Gazetteer of the Ming dynasty describes the people of Tongliang as "many being outstanding and remarkable, fond of reading poetry and books, with men plowing and women weaving, and especially skilled in the arts." The long-standing agrarian civilization provided fertile soil for the gestation and development of Tongliang dragon lantern paper framing. The products and works of Tongliang dragon lantern paper framing have a strong folk character and vivid folk aesthetic interest, and fall into three main series: performance dragon lanterns, landscape dragon lanterns, and craft dragon lanterns. Performance dragon lanterns chiefly include more than a hundred varieties such as the "Straw Dragon," "Bamboo Clapper Dragon," "Great Wriggling Dragon," "Fire Dragon," "True Dragon," "Carp Leaping over the Dragon Gate," and "Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious Union"; landscape dragon lanterns mainly include festive lantern pendants and small lantern pieces used to create a holiday atmosphere, as well as the various lantern groups of lantern-festival venues; craft dragon lanterns are refined dragon lanterns used indoors as display or decorative table ornaments and hanging pieces. Tongliang dragon lantern paper framing draws on the expressive forms and techniques of traditional caisson-ceiling painting, being gorgeous in form, pattern, motif, and color with abundant folk dynamism. Its main materials are bamboo, cloth, and pigments, together with auxiliary materials such as tissue paper, paste, and sequins used for binding, gluing, and decoration; its tools include the corresponding saws, wood knives, scissors, and color brushes. Its process flow comprises eight steps - composition, modeling, pasting, interior installation, testing, colored painting, final assembly, and inspection - with each step containing several to a dozen process steps, totaling more than a hundred process steps overall, and requiring craftsmen to possess good abilities in weaving, modeling, aesthetics, and painterly expression. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archival Record of Process Steps": Its process flow comprises eight steps - composition, modeling, pasting, interior installation, testing, colored painting, final assembly, and inspection - with each step containing several to a dozen process steps, totaling more than a hundred process steps overall, and requiring craftsmen to possess good abilities in weaving, modeling, aesthetics, and painterly expression.
Archival Record of Process Steps
Its process flow comprises eight steps - composition, modeling, pasting, interior installation, testing, colored painting, final assembly, and inspection - with each step containing several to a dozen process steps, totaling more than a hundred process steps overall, and requiring craftsmen to possess good abilities in weaving, modeling, aesthetics, and painterly expression.
Core Technique I
Tongliang dragon lantern paper framing is a traditional fine-arts art form circulated among the villages, towns, and subdistricts of Tongliang District, Chongqing, with numerous participants.
Core Technique II
Because the performance props, landscape lanterns, and craftworks framed in the practice of this project all highlight the theme of dragon culture, with distinctive characteristics and broad influence, it is named "Tongliang Dragon Lantern Paper Framing." Tongliang is located in western Chongqing, with good natural conditions and thriving agriculture.
Core Technique III
The Wanli-era Chuandong Gazetteer of the Ming dynasty describes the people of Tongliang as "many being outstanding and remarkable, fond of reading poetry and books, with men plowing and women weaving, and especially skilled in the arts." The long-standing agrarian civilization provided fertile soil for the gestation and development of Tongliang dragon lantern paper framing.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Zhou Heping was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Paper Effigy Craftsmanship, with Tongliang, Chongqing as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Paper Effigy Craftsmanship in Tongliang, Chongqing: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Tongliang, Chongqing as its declared area, and Chongqing Tongliang District Cultural Center (Chongqing Tongliang District Long Culture Development Research Center, Chongqing Tongliang 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
Historical origin
Tongliang dragon lantern paper framing roughly arose after the Song dynasty and reached its zenith in the Qing dynasty. The Customs chapter of the Guangxu-era Tongliang County Gazetteer of the Qing dynasty records the grandeur of the Tongliang dragon lanterns in detail: "At the Lantern Festival lanterns are displayed; from the eighth and ninth days through the fifteenth, they blaze until dawn, with dragon lanterns, lion lanterns, and other variety plays performed, filling the streets with clamor - a spectacle in which the moon seems to follow people and dust to follow horses."
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nie Fangjun | Fenghuang, Hunan | 03-1284 | Other regional school |
| Xu Yanfeng | Yongqing, Hebei | 03-1285 | Other regional school |
| Zhou Tingyi | Handan, Hebei | 03-1286 | Other regional school |
| Shi Rongsheng | Pizhou, Jiangsu | 03-1287 | Other regional school |
| Li Wei | Foshan, Guangdong | 03-1288 | Other regional school |
| Huang Suming | Dongguan, Guangdong | 05-2678 | Other regional school |
| Nie Dayong | Fenghuang, Hunan | — | Other regional school |
| Li Wanzhen | Foshan, Guangdong | — | Other regional school |
| Zhou Heping | Tongliang, Chongqing | — | This page |
| Liu Yinling | Pizhou, Jiangsu | — | Other regional school |
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。