Illusionism
01 · Historical Records
Baofeng magic refers to a traditional folk entertainment passed down from generation to generation by the people of Baofeng County. It originated in the triangular border area where Zhaozhuang Town, Shangjiuwu Town, and Xiaoqi Township meet. It developed during the Ming and Qing dynasties and has a history of several hundred years.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Through long development, Baofeng magic has formed a set of consummate performance skills and an exquisite craft of prop making. It uses extremely nimble, imperceptible sleight of hand and special devices to conceal how the changes are made, producing astonishing and ingenious performance effects. Its props are of many kinds, all everyday objects such as ropes, handkerchiefs, bowls, plates, cups, and small cups. Its main category is traditional sleight-of-hand magic; more than 10 categories and over 500 routines have been preserved to this day. Baofeng magic has created a concise professional argot known as "chundian" (also called "qiekou"), formed its own trade customs, and over its long history has passed down vivid proverbs, folk songs, popular tunes, and legends. Baofeng magic has a broad popular base and is the most down-to-earth form of close-up magic. Its techniques are demanding and the performance meticulous; the sleight of hand is practiced and the body language nimble. It emphasizes interaction and approachability, and is mostly performed face to face with the audience. Its props are simple and small, mostly everyday items of production and daily life, easy to obtain locally, and the performance makes no great demands on the venue.
Chundian, the trade jargon
The concise jargon the Baofeng magicians created, with its own trade customs, proverbs, ballads and tales.
Ten categories and five hundred routines
The surviving repertoire of Baofeng hand magic, over five hundred pieces in more than ten categories using everyday objects.
The Zhaozhuang, Shangjiuwu and Xiaoqi triangle
The three adjoining townships where the tradition arose and has been passed down for several centuries.
Rope, scarf, bowl, plate, cup and lamp
The props of Baofeng magic, everyday and easily improvised, which keep it a close-up art of the people.
Merged with puppet theatre and qigong
The way Baofeng magic blends with local puppet theatre and qigong, transmitted mainly among farming families and neighbours.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
It is combined and integrated with local sister arts such as marionette theater and qigong, forming its own distinctive character. It has distinct local characteristics and stands as vivid testimony to the wisdom and creativity of generations of inheritors. As a popular form of cultural entertainment it has entered people's lives, promoted local economic development, enriched popular life, and serves as an important bond of cultural exchange.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Illusionism · Illusionism.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Baofeng magic is characterized by a deep popular base and generational transmission. Its inheriting groups are mainly peasants, with several principal modes of transmission: family inheritance, neighbor-to-neighbor inheritance, and clan inheritance. In recent years it has also been transmitted through teaching-and-learning centers, training classes, and the taking on of apprentices. Today, Baofeng magic survives in good condition with a large body of practitioners, and it has spurred the development of related industries such as costume, sound equipment, and props. Born among the people, surviving in the marketplace, and active in the countryside, Baofeng magic has important historical value for the study of the development of Chinese magic and conjuring.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Fu Tenglong 05-2572
- Wang Xianpo
- Zhou Zhili
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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