Zhang Zhanyuan

01 · Lineage & Regional School

In his early years Zhang Zhanyuan studied civil (wen) plays and percussion under Fu Shenfa, and later studied civil and martial (wu) plays under Jia Dengke and Zhang Xiaokai, becoming a fifth-generation transmitter of Dingzhou Yangge. Within the regional tradition and school record of Yangge Opera in Dingzhou, Hebei: Yangge opera is a form of folk theatre widely popular in northern China, distributed mainly in Shanxi, Hebei and Shaanxi, as well as Inner Mongolia, Shandong and other places. Yangge opera originated in the songs sung by peasants while they worked in the fields. It was later combined with folk dance, acrobatics, martial arts and other performance arts, and at the temple-fair (shehuo) celebrations of the first lunar month each year, programmes with story content were performed, so that a staged operatic form gradually took shape. After the bangzi-tune operatic genres flourished in the mid-Qing period, the Yangge operas of Shanxi, Hebei and Shaanxi borrowed and absorbed, to differing degrees, the repertoire, music and performance art of the local bangzi opera. They gradually developed into stage performance and evolved towards the large local operatic genres. According to tradition its source was a folk ditty, which was put into circulation after being organised by the Song-dynasty writer Su Shi.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, of Han ethnicity, born in 1941 in Dingzhou, Hebei. Zhang Zhanyuan has a thorough command of the music, metrical patterns, vocal styles and percussion accompaniment of Dingzhou Yangge Opera, understands the singing techniques of every role type, can write and adapt Dingzhou Yangge scripts, design music and vocal lines for them, and direct productions, and he has made important achievements in both theory and practice. His representative works include A Handful of Grass (Yi Ba Cao); among his representative vocal-design works are Buckwheat Cake Romance (Ba Gao Qing) and Striking the Scripture Hall (Da Jing Tang). Within the documented technical tradition of Yangge Opera in Dingzhou, Hebei: Yangge operas in different places are mostly named after the region where they arose or became popular, such as Qitai Yangge of Qixian and Taigu in Shanxi, Shuoxian Yangge, Fanzhi Yangge and Xiangwu Yangge of Xiangyuan and Wuxiang in Shanxi, Dingxian Yangge, Longyao Yangge and Yuxian Yangge in Hebei, and Hancheng Yangge and northern Shaanxi Yangge in Shaanxi. Some of these yangge forms consist mainly of folk ditties, such as Qitai Yangge, Hancheng Yangge and northern Shaanxi Yangge; others combine folk-song combinations with metrical variation, such as Shuoxian Yangge, Fanzhi Yangge and Yuxian Yangge, whose principal vocal styles and metrical patterns largely derive from the bangzi tunes. Their metrical patterns include head-type (slow metre), second-type, third-type, transitional metre, free metre and 'rolling speech'; the folk ditties among them are collectively called 'xundiao', including [Siping xun], [Kuxiangsi xun], [Gaozi xun], [Xiasan xun], [Dieluo Jinqian xun] and [Tuimen xun]. They are sung to the accompaniment of banhu, dizi and sanxian, popularly called 'bangniuzi'. Yet others belong to the metrical-variation type, such as Dingxian Yangge and Longyao Yangge: their vocal styles and metrical patterns are divided into slow metre, second-type (two-six), fast metre, free metre and introductory metre, and the beat is marked with a ban drum or clapper. They mostly make no use of orchestral accompaniment but are accompanied by gongs and drums alone, hence they are also called 'ganban Yangge' (dry-plank Yangge). The traditional repertoire of Yangge opera falls into two categories, small plays and large plays. The small plays, popularly called 'shuashua xi', include Wang Xiao Leads the Mule, Borrowing, Turning the Millstone, Embroidering the Flower Lantern, Making the Little Jacket, Tianqi Temple, The Virtuous Young Sister-in-Law, Meeting at the Blue Bridge and Lü Mengzheng Goes Begging for Alms, among others; the large plays include Meeting at the Flower Pavilion, The Nine Garments, Reed Flowers, Sun and Moon Picture, The Legend of the White Snake, Old and Young Exchange Wives, Liang Shanbo Descends the Mountain, Li Da Creates a Scene in the Inn, Balancing the Lamp on the Head, The Mud Kiln, Black Jade Belt, Jiang Lang Divorces His Wife, Meeting in the Reed Grove and An'an Brings Rice, among others. Yangge opera originally had only the 'three small schools' — xiaochou (little clown), xiaodan (little female) and xiaosheng (little male) — and on this basis later added the 'three great schools' of xusheng (bearded male), hualian (painted face) and qingyi (dignified female). Its music and vocal styles absorb the characteristics of the bangzi tunes, forming a system that accommodates both the tune-pattern form and the metrical form, and its performance too has been considerably enriched and improved. The form of Yangge opera is relatively flexible and free, and it is good at depicting real life. During the War of Resistance against Japan, Yan'an and the anti-Japanese base areas launched a new Yangge play movement that reformed the music, performance and costuming of Yangge opera and staged works such as Brother and Sister Reclaim Wasteland, Husband and Wife Learn to Read and Write and Niu Yonggui Is Wounded, whose subjects were the participation of the masses in production, study and struggle against the enemy. The development of the new Yangge play movement not only created a new theatrical form — the new operatic form (xin geju) — but also pushed forward the renewal and development of Yangge opera and other folk small plays. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, and with support from the Party and the government, Yangge in various places developed to differing degrees, and Shuoxian Yangge, Fanzhi Yangge, Dingxian Yangge and Longyao Yangge all established professional troupes. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, and with support from the Party and the government, Yangge in various places developed to differing degrees; professional Yangge troupes were set up in such places as Fanzhi and Xiangyuan in Shanxi and Yuxian in Hebei, and after regularised training the performing level rose further. Since entering the new period, however, as a folk small-play genre Yangge opera has faced not only fierce competition from the major operatic genres but also pressure from modern popular song and dance. Performance activities have grown fewer and fewer, many Yangge genres are on the verge of disappearing, and urgent attention and support from all sectors of society are needed. Dingzhou Yangge, also called Dingxian Dayangge, is an ancient operatic genre popular in the central and western part of the North China Plain; it takes its name from its place of origin, Dingzhou. Dingzhou Yangge has distinctive features of its own in language, vocal style, mode and repertoire. Its texts are plain and easy to understand, clear as ordinary speech, with a large amount of local dialect and colloquial idiom and a strong flavour of daily life; the vocal styles of both men and women are mainly in the gong mode, and the singing uses the natural voice in a full-throated shout. Traditional singing has no melodic-section accompaniment and no fixed key; singers start the pitch freely, and when orchestral accompaniment is added the key is D. The vocal styles make extensive use of syllabic padding words and auxiliary particles. Descending melodic movement is common, yet the singing is full of humour and playfulness; the rhythm is mainly one beat to one eye, and there are as many as 28 traditional metrical patterns, so that the form accompanied entirely by percussion, the so-called big-gong style, is still retained. The Dingzhou Yangge repertoire is rich and wide-ranging, covering love plays, chastity and filial-duty plays, legal-case plays and farces — a dazzling variety. The vocal styles of Dingzhou Yangge are distinctive, and its traditional repertoire preserves a great deal of folkloric and humanistic information, making it first-hand material for the study of Chinese folklore and traditional culture. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Wang Xiao Leads the Mule": The traditional repertoire of Yangge opera divides into small plays and large plays. The small plays, popularly called 'shuashua xi', include Wang Xiao Leads the Mule, Borrowing, Turning the Millstone, Embroidering the Flower Lantern, Making the Little Jacket, Tianqi Temple, The Virtuous Young Sister-in-Law, Meeting at the Blue Bridge and Lü Mengzheng Goes Begging for Alms, among others; the large plays include Meeting at the Flower Pavilion, The Nine Garments, Reed Flowers, Sun and Moon Picture, The Legend of the White Snake, Old and Young Exchange Wives, Liang Shanbo Descends the Mountain, Li Da Creates a Scene in the Inn, Balancing the Lamp on the Head, The Mud Kiln, Black Jade Belt, Jiang Lang Divorces His Wife, Meeting in the Reed Grove and An'an Brings Rice, among others. Wang Xiao Leads the Mule is one of the small plays, or shuashua xi, in the Dingzhou Yangge repertoire. "Borrowing": The traditional repertoire of Yangge opera divides into small plays and large plays. The small plays, popularly called 'shuashua xi', include Wang Xiao Leads the Mule, Borrowing, Turning the Millstone, Embroidering the Flower Lantern, Making the Little Jacket, Tianqi Temple, The Virtuous Young Sister-in-Law, Meeting at the Blue Bridge and Lü Mengzheng Goes Begging for Alms, among others; the large plays include Meeting at the Flower Pavilion, The Nine Garments, Reed Flowers, Sun and Moon Picture, The Legend of the White Snake, Old and Young Exchange Wives, Liang Shanbo Descends the Mountain, Li Da Creates a Scene in the Inn, Balancing the Lamp on the Head, The Mud Kiln, Black Jade Belt, Jiang Lang Divorces His Wife, Meeting in the Reed Grove and An'an Brings Rice, among others. Borrowing is one of the small plays, or shuashua xi, in the Dingzhou Yangge repertoire. "Turning the Millstone": The traditional repertoire of Yangge opera divides into small plays and large plays. The small plays, popularly called 'shuashua xi', include Wang Xiao Leads the Mule, Borrowing, Turning the Millstone, Embroidering the Flower Lantern, Making the Little Jacket, Tianqi Temple, The Virtuous Young Sister-in-Law, Meeting at the Blue Bridge and Lü Mengzheng Goes Begging for Alms, among others; the large plays include Meeting at the Flower Pavilion, The Nine Garments, Reed Flowers, Sun and Moon Picture, The Legend of the White Snake, Old and Young Exchange Wives, Liang Shanbo Descends the Mountain, Li Da Creates a Scene in the Inn, Balancing the Lamp on the Head, The Mud Kiln, Black Jade Belt, Jiang Lang Divorces His Wife, Meeting in the Reed Grove and An'an Brings Rice, among others. Turning the Millstone is one of the small plays, or shuashua xi, in the Dingzhou Yangge repertoire. "Embroidering the Flower Lantern": The traditional repertoire of Yangge opera divides into small plays and large plays. The small plays, popularly called 'shuashua xi', include Wang Xiao Leads the Mule, Borrowing, Turning the Millstone, Embroidering the Flower Lantern, Making the Little Jacket, Tianqi Temple, The Virtuous Young Sister-in-Law, Meeting at the Blue Bridge and Lü Mengzheng Goes Begging for Alms, among others; the large plays include Meeting at the Flower Pavilion, The Nine Garments, Reed Flowers, Sun and Moon Picture, The Legend of the White Snake, Old and Young Exchange Wives, Liang Shanbo Descends the Mountain, Li Da Creates a Scene in the Inn, Balancing the Lamp on the Head, The Mud Kiln, Black Jade Belt, Jiang Lang Divorces His Wife, Meeting in the Reed Grove and An'an Brings Rice, among others. Embroidering the Flower Lantern is one of the small plays, or shuashua xi, in the Dingzhou Yangge repertoire.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

A national representative bearer of Yangge Opera (Dingzhou Yangge Opera), a second-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.

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. Zhang Zhanyuan · National Representative Bearer Archive