Gong Yaozong

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Gong Yaozong, Male, Han, from Minxing, Shanghai, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Ethnic Instrument Making Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-124). The tradition is documented in Minxing, Shanghai. Within the regional tradition and school record of Ethnic Instrument Making Craftsmanship in Minxing, Shanghai: The making of Shanghai national instruments originally scattered among dozens of small workshops around the Old City God Temple Street, Fifth Horse Road, and Sixth Horse Road, with shops in front and workshops behind. On a single street, woodworking, lacquering, and carving each took charge of one stage—who made the body, who applied the lacquer, and who strung the instrument was clearly defined. By the early 20th century this area was already the center of Shanghai's instrument trade, and the craft can be traced back to the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns of the Qing dynasty. In 1956 the whole industry adopted cooperativization, and 86 national instrument workshops merged into the Shanghai National Instrument Cooperative; in July 1958 it was reorganized into the collectively owned Shanghai No. 1 National Instrument Factory, bringing the scattered artisans' skills together in one place. The factory then engaged renowned figures from the national music community as consultants to guide and appraise the craftsmanship and sound quality of each piece, thereby establishing the product grade. At the beginning of the 20th century, several dozen instrument workshops clustered around the Old City God Temple Street (today's Fangbang Middle Road), Fifth Horse Road (today's Guangdong Road), and Sixth Horse Road (now Beihai Road). In July 1958, the cooperative was reorganized into the collectively owned Shanghai No. 1 National Instrument Factory.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Gong Yaozong is anchored in the documented technical standards of Ethnic Instrument Making Craftsmanship in Minxing, Shanghai. Within the documented technical tradition of Ethnic Instrument Making Craftsmanship in Minxing, Shanghai: Shanghai's national instrument-making craft can be traced back to the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns of the Qing dynasty. In 1956, Shanghai's entire national instrument industry adopted cooperativization; 86 instrument-making workshops merged to form the Shanghai National Instrument Cooperative. The national instrument-making craft incorporates elements of history, color, and aesthetics, and combines multiple techniques such as shaping, carving, painted decoration, and inlay, giving it outstanding cultural and artistic value. The No. 1 Factory engaged renowned figures in the national music community as consultants to provide guidance and appraisal on product craftsmanship and sound quality, substantially raising the product grade. The exquisite craftsmanship has also brought Shanghai's national instruments numerous honors, including multiple awards for high-quality products from the national light industry sector and the Shanghai Municipality. Because instrument-making is technically demanding, requires a long apprenticeship, and is fairly arduous work, it faces an aging workforce and a shortage of successors. Some protective measures have been taken, but further efforts are still needed. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Adjusting the zheng plate and bridge": Plate, bridge and string spacing are adjusted together, the basis of the modern guzheng form. "Improving the strings": String gauge, winding and tension decide the tone and touch of the zheng. "Inverted-V sound bars": A pair of inverted-V tone bars set inside the pipa panel raised its acoustic quality. "Cutting the pipa face": The face is cut from straight-grained stock, its thickness planned around the later tone bars.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Gong Yaozong was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Ethnic Instrument Making Craftsmanship, with Minxing, Shanghai as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Ethnic Instrument Making Craftsmanship in Minxing, Shanghai: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2011 (batch 3), with Minxing, Shanghai as its declared area, and Shanghai Ethnic Yue QiYi Factory 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

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. Gongyaozong (Minxing, Shanghai) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Gongyaozong · China ICH Official Archive