Zan Fangcai  - Representative Inheritor of Huadeng Opera Project in Yao'an County, Chuxiong 

Zan Fangcai (1949 – ) is a national-level representative inheritor of Yao’an Flower Lantern Opera (姚安花灯), an intangible cultural heritage from Dongchuan Town (栋川镇), Yao’an County (姚安县), Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture (楚雄彝族自治州), Yunnan Province (云南省). His artistic career spans the crucial period when Yao’an Flower Lantern Opera transitioned from folk village entertainment to modern heritage performances. Known as a “peasant playwright”, he has elevated this Ming-dynasty-imported art from rural stages to national recognition, earning the title “Living Leader of Yao’an Flower Lantern Opera.”

I. Artistic Beginnings and Creative Achievements

Zan Fangcai was born in Qiming Village (启明村), Dongchuan Town (栋川镇), Yao’an County (姚安县), famously called a “Lantern Nest” for its rich Flower Lantern traditions.

• Early Training: At age 15, he became a disciple of the Yao’an master Tao Yecai (陶叶彩), learning core techniques such as Lahua (拉花), Niugo (牛歌), and Bazi Qiang (坝子腔).

• Unique Style: He integrates Bai (白族) and Yi (彝族) cultural elements into performances through Three-Seven-One-Five Mountain Flower-style lyrics (三七一五山花体唱词) and distinctive steps like waibu, dianbu, and tibu.

• Representative Works: Three Open Well Covers (《三开井盖》) centers on grassroots officials solving public issues, blending socialist core values with Flower Lantern Opera. It won the Silver Award at the 7th “Stars of the Masses” (群星奖) by China’s Ministry of Culture in 1997, setting a benchmark for rural performing arts.

As President of Yao’an Peasant Dramatists Association, he has:

• Adapted over 30 traditional plays such as County Magistrate Observes Lanterns (《县爷观灯》) and The Great Repair of the Vat (《大补缸》).

• Created modern plays like Prize Turmoil (《奖品风波》) and Sending Fish (《送鱼*), reflecting contemporary life, with 15 works winning provincial awards and 8 published in academic journals.

• Founded Yunnan’s first peasant drama magazine, Peasant Drama (later renamed Yao’an Flower Lantern (《姚安花灯》)), publishing 48 issues with over 200 scripts, providing a platform for rural creators.

II. Multi-Layered Transmission System

Zan Fangcai has built a three-tier inheritance network: family workshops, school classrooms, and community teaching.

• Family Transmission: His son, Zan Zhihua (昝志华), trained under him from childhood and now works at the Yao’an Intangible Heritage Protection Center, specializing in Flower Lantern music performance.

• School Programs: Since 2008, he has taught at Guanglu Primary School (光禄小学) and Siyuan Experimental School (思源实验学校), adapting traditional plays like Wa Mu La (《挖木拉》) into classroom exercises, and creating “Flower Lantern Lusheng Dance” promoted across the county, training over 300 young inheritors. His teaching model is recognized as an Excellent Case of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Yunnan Schools (云南省非遗进校园优秀案例).

• Community Training: Established the Zan Fangcai Flower Lantern Workshop (昝方才花灯传习所) in Dongchuan Town (栋川镇), teaching bamboo stick string techniques and drum rhythms, training over 20 apprentices, including 3 county-level inheritors.

III. Cultural Promotion and Modern Innovation

1. National and International Representation

• International Exchange: In 2019, led a team to the Malaysia International Folk Culture Festival, performing Silk Road Musical Charm (《丝路琴韵》), blending Southeast Asian music, and winning the Best Cultural Exchange Award.

• Media Coverage: Featured on CCTV’s Homeland (《乡土》) and Yunnan TV’s China Intangible Heritage Tour (《非遗中国行》), with teaching videos on TikTok (抖音) exceeding 1 million views.

2. Cultural Tourism Integration

• Immersive Experiences: Designed the Flower Lantern Immersive Experience Center at Guanglu Ancient Town (光禄古镇), allowing visitors to try costumes and perform simple scenes. Over 50,000 participants annually, increasing local income by 2,000 RMB per capita.

• Festival Performances: During the annual Longhua Festival (龙华会), organizes the Yao’an Flower Lantern Arts Festival, presenting cross-genre works like Yi-Han Harmony (《彝汉同辉》), reaching over 1 million online viewers through live streaming.

IV. Heritage Protection and Policy Practice

• Documentation: Collaborated with Yunnan Arts University (云南艺术学院) to compile Yao’an Flower Lantern Traditional Play Collection (《姚安花灯传统剧目汇编》), recording 120 classic scripts.

• Digital Archiving: Used 3D scanning to create high-precision digital archives of 50 representative works, including costumes and facial patterns.

• Policy Advocacy: As a Yao’an CPPCC member (政协委员), promoted the Yao’an Flower Lantern Protection Regulations (《姚安花灯保护条例》), securing 120,000 RMB in national heritage funds for equipment and workshops.

V. Challenges and Innovative Solutions

Zan faces two major challenges:

1. Talent Gap: Learning Flower Lantern Opera takes 8–10 years; current apprentices average 45 years old, with only 2 under 30.

2. Market Limitations: Traditional audiences are aging, limiting economic support for large-scale performances.

Innovative Responses:

• Digital Empowerment: Collaborated with Huawei’s “Digital Intangible Heritage” project to develop VR teaching systems, achieving 2 million views on the Study Xi Platform.

• Cross-Genre Fusion: Integrated Yao’an Flower Lantern Opera with Yi Meige Epic (梅葛史诗), creating Night Tales by the Hearth (《火塘夜话》), winning gold in Yunnan Ethnic Folk Art Exhibitions.

• Youth Engagement: Weekend workshops at Yao’an Youth Activity Center, combining interactive games and role-playing, training over 80 young students.

VI. Cultural Value and Legacy

Zan Fangcai’s work carries threefold significance:

• Historical Research: Preserved Nine Beats Thirteen Tunes (九板十三腔) and ritual procedures, crucial for studying Ming dynasty Yiyang Opera (弋阳腔) evolution in Southwest China.

• Cultural Cohesion: Flower Lantern Opera fosters unity among Han, Yi, and Bai (白族) communities in multi-ethnic Yao’an County (姚安县). His troupe promotes collaboration across cultures, earning the title Yunnan Model Team for Ethnic Unity and Progress (云南省民族团结进步示范团队).

• Educational Innovation: His traditional skills + modern education model is recognized by the Yunnan Department of Culture and Tourism and promoted across 16 prefectures.

As Zan Fangcai says:

“Flower Lantern Opera is not merely the sound of silk strings—it is the cultural DNA of Yao’an people, embedded in our very bones.”

Through half a century of dedication, he has elevated Yao’an Flower Lantern Opera from village hearths to international stages, exemplifying the rich, multi-ethnic heritage of Chinese civilization.