Guxitai Building Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Since the Song dynasty, thanks to a prosperous and stable social environment, the theatrical culture of Leping flourished, and grand and exquisite stages came into being, each vying in luxury and splendour. Leping is the county-level city with the largest number of surviving ancient rural stages in China, with more than 400 traditional stages still extant, among them 2 Ming-dynasty stages and 77 Qing-dynasty stages, 59 stages from the period between 1912 and 1949, and 274 built after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The traditional stage-building craft originating in Leping City, Jiangxi Province, is distributed in the hinterland of northeastern Jiangxi — for example, the traditional stage-building craft of Tarui Village and Yuanjia Village in Legang Township, Henglu Village and Longzhu Village in Shuangtian Township, Yongshan Village and Chexi Village in Yongshan Township, Husong Village and Kengkou Village in Zhenqiao Township, and Jieshou Village and Zhangjia Village in Zhongbu Township — and mainly includes siting, drawing, selection of materials, construction and decoration. Traditional Leping stages adopt a mixed chuan-dou (through-jointed) and tai-liang (raised-beam) architectural structure, with a timber frame carrying the load and brick walls for enclosure. The columns are linked by several layers of through-tie beams, further assisted by such components as forked braces, slanting struts, corbels (niutui), sparrow braces (queti) and diagonal braces, forming a timber frame system with a rational distribution of forces and a stable structure. The form and style of a stage are jointly determined by the clan villagers and the presiding figure, while the master carpenter in charge of the ink line is responsible for the drawings. The stages are built of well-selected materials, with different tree species chosen for different timber components. The construction of a stage is organised in good order, with the major carpentry as the leading trade, while the trades of brick and stone work, carving, painting and polychrome decoration each attend to their own duties, working separately yet closely coordinating. The craftsmen also optimised and innovated the structure according to the stage's own characteristics. Traditional Leping stages have long been famed for 'marvellously ingenious and complex construction and luxurious and gorgeous decoration'. The gable-and-hip roofs with double eaves and upturned corners have a towering and imposing air. Wherever the timber components of the stage are exposed to view they are given fine carving, rich in content, absorbing the essence of southern Anhui wood carving and Jiangsu-Zhejiang wood carving, and are gilded and coloured. The murals, inscribed plaques and couplets inside the stages are all works of art worth savouring. These many magnificent stages are a portrayal of the flourishing of theatre and an embodiment of clan tradition; the ancestral hall and the stage are the symbols of a clan, and villagers of the same surname pooled funds to build stages, striving for splendour and magnificence to show the prosperity of the family. The ancient stage-building craft of Leping displays the blending of ancient architectural aesthetics with theatrical culture and has multiple social functions and cultural significance.
Choosing the site and drawing the plan
The site is chosen for height and orientation, the lineage and the host settle on the form, and the master carpenter draws the plan fixing the column grid, the stage mouth and the roof pitch before any line is set out.
Matching timber to each member
Timber is not chosen as one species but assigned by member: hard stock for the load-bearing frame, fine-grained wood for carving, with each suited to its place; once cut it is squared and the mortise-and-tenon dimensions fixed at the first measurement.
A hybrid frame of through-joists and tie-beams
The stage uses a hybrid frame of through-joisted and tie-beamed construction, linked by several tiers of purlins with braces, brackets and struts, timber carrying the load and brick enclosing it beneath a double-eaved hip roof.
Carving and gilding the exposed timber
Every exposed timber member is carved with operatic scenes and auspicious plants in a manner combining the weight of southern Anhui carving with the delicacy of Jiangnan work, then gilded and painted so that carving, lacquer and colour form one surface.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The traditional stage-building craft of Leping is distributed in contiguous patches within the county: the stages in Tarui Village and Yuanjia Village of Legang Township, Henglu Village and Longzhu Village of Shuangtian Township, Yongshan Village and Chexi Village of Yongshan Township, Husong Village and Kengkou Village of Zhenqiao Township, and Jieshou Village and Zhangjia Village of Zhongbu Township mostly came from the hands of the same group of craftsmen. The stage sites are all near the village entrance and the ancestral hall, with a drying yard in front and water behind, convenient both for watching performances and for drawing water against fire; one village has one stage or several villages share one, and the size of the stage body depends on the clan's financial means, so that although the forms are the same the dimensions vary.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present this craft is still transmitted by word of mouth and personal example between masters and apprentices.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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