Xifa
01 · Historical Records
Its distinguishing feature lies in its large number of practitioners and the concentration of famous masters: xifa grandmasters such as Zhang Baoqing, Han Bingqian, and Zhu Liankui all began their careers in Tianjin. In the late Qing and early Republican period, they performed for pay and took on disciples in popular entertainment venues where the masses gathered, such as the "Buguan" (the "Three-Ignored" quarter), and over the course of years this fostered the continuous development of Tianjin folk xifa. The genealogies of transmission of the various schools are rigorously kept; counting from the first generation of performers in the mid-Qing dynasty, every line has five or six generations of inheritors down to the present, and every generation has produced xifa artists renowned both in China and abroad.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Classical xifa is a general term for traditional Chinese illusionism. Its performance style emphasizes an air of classical antiquity, hence the names "classical xifa" or "ancient-colored xifa" (gucai xifa). Luo Wentao, Mu Wenqing, Yang Xiaoting, Chen Ya'nan, and Wang Dianying had a major influence on the refinement of Chinese xifa techniques and the improvement of performance forms. Tianjin xifa programs are rich and varied, carrying on the three great systems of sleight of hand (shoucai), object manipulation (cuonong), and concealment (cangyan); large, medium, and small-scale xifa alike have masterworks handed down, among them "Four Displays" (Siliang), "Lifting the Cup from Level Ground" (Pingdi Ba Bei), "Scooping Sand from the Sea" (Haidi Lao Sha), "Water Linking Paper" (Shui Jie Zhi Lian), "Pulling the Stringed Club" (Laxian Bangzi), and "The Immortal Picks Beans" (Xianren Zhai Dou). Because performers long worked surrounded by audiences on all four sides, Tianjin xifa developed its distinctive style of "patter linked to trick" (kou cai xiang lian). "Cai" (the trick) means performing magic; "kou" (patter) is short for "shi kou", that is, speaking while performing the change. The performer talks as if about everyday household matters, unfolding his act unhurriedly with humor and wit; through dialogue with the audience he draws the audience into the performance, masking the trick's transitions within a warm, natural exchange. This performance form, which blends xifa technique with folk oral literature and blends local accent and local feeling with the audience, leaves viewers never tiring of the sight.
The three systems of classical conjuring
Tianjin's classical conjuring rests on three systems, sleight of hand, manipulation and concealment, each with surviving masterpieces large and small.
Words and tricks interwoven
Tianjin's signature style in which the conjurer talks while he conjures, drawing the audience into easy conversation that masks the pass.
Four Brights and Raising the Cup
Representative Tianjin pieces, the Four Brights a medium-scale trick and Raising the Cup showing changes within a cup.
Dredging Sand and the Stringed Stick
Traditional Tianjin pieces relying on hand-eye coordination and concealed mechanisms, among the Chinese tricks celebrated abroad.
The founding masters
Late-Qing conjuring masters who all began in Tianjin, performing and taking pupils in the popular amusement grounds until the city's folk magic flourished.
Xiao Guisen and the teaching studios
Xiao Guisen excels in small sleight-of-hand with ready patter, and has set up teaching studios in schools to bring young people into the tradition.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The teaching and practice of Tianjin xifa are concentrated in the old urban districts of Heping, Nanshi (South City), and Hedong. Since the mid-Qing dynasty the schools and their genealogies have been clearly distinguished; counting from the first generation of performers, every line has five or six generations of inheritors down to the present. Famous masters such as Zhang Baoqing, Han Bingqian, and Zhu Liankui all began their careers in Tianjin, while Luo Wentao, Mu Wenqing, Yang Xiaoting, Chen Ya'nan, and Wang Dianying had a profound influence on the refinement of technique and the improvement of performance forms. The Tianjin Acrobatic Troupe is the protecting unit; inheritors such as Xiao Guisen have set up training studios in schools, teaching and guiding young people to participate in transmission practice.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Xifa.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Tianjin has long been known as a "nest of xifa" and is one of the strongholds of classical xifa transmission. From ancient times to the present, xifa has not only enriched the people's recreational life but also shone brilliantly in foreign cultural exchange; Chinese xifa pieces such as "The Immortal Picks Beans" and "Scooping Sand from the Sea" are regarded as classics. Yet today few young people in Tianjin study classical xifa professionally, the traditional techniques of the various kinds of xifa are being lost on a large scale, and stronger protection is urgently needed. Xiao Guisen (from the official archive record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in February 1956, from Tianjin. A performer of Chinese classical xifa. He has always devoted himself wholeheartedly to the practice and study of xifa performance, excelling in shoucai'r (small-scale magic), with nimble technique and patter linked to trick. He has deep stage performance experience, is witty and humorous, and is deeply loved by audiences. His representative works include "Mandarin Duck Bars" (Yuanyang Bang), "Six Linked Rings" (Liulianhuan), and "Paper Strips Turn into Fish" (Zhitiào Bian Yu). He actively takes part in exhibition and performance activities for intangible cultural heritage projects, dedicating himself to the transmission and dissemination of the techniques. In recent years he has established training studios of various forms in a number of schools, teaching and guiding young people to participate in transmission practice. Representative inheritor of xifa, a national-level intangible cultural heritage item from the fourth national-level batch.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Xiao Guisen 04-1740
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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