Qi Yongheng, the inheritor of the | of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

According to Tangshan Cultural Tourism:

Qi Yongheng, male, Han ethnicity, representative inheritor of the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects of Tangshan shadow puppetry, national first-class actor, shadow puppet artist, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the China Puppet Shadow Art Society, and enjoys the special allowance of the State Council.

Qi Yongheng was born in a shadow puppet family, his father and uncle are well-known shadow puppet artists, and began to perform on stage at the age of 13, and later inherited Zhao Shanyuan, Tian Qingguang and other shadow puppet masters. The disciples are Zhang Xiangdong, Zhang Guoying, Zhao Guangsheng, Zhao Weidong, etc., the disciples taught at the Tangshan Art School include Ren Guohui, Niu Hongzhi, Li Hui, etc., and more than ten disciples from other provinces and cities and abroad, who have now retired from the Tangshan Shadow Puppet Troupe. He is now employed as the honorary director of the Jidong Folk Art Museum in Tangshan City.

Qi Yongheng has cultivated a profound foundation in shadow puppetry since childhood, exquisite performance skills, solid inheritance of traditional Tangshan shadow puppetry art, and constantly seeking new ideas, so that Tangshan shadow puppetry has gained new development. His manipulation skills are skilled, he can write and fight, and he shows the character image in a delicate and delicate way, and the martial arts are immediately under the horse, long guns and short fights are performed cleanly and neatly. His performance technique is flexible and corresponding, acting like a decent, whether it is a character play or an animal play, it is vivid.

In 1981, when performing "Sun Wukong Three Dozen White Bone Essences", Qi Yongheng boldly innovated, and when performing the white horse in the appearance of Tang Monk's apprentice, the white horse stepped on the music of late, urgent, fast and slow, the horse's head trembled, the horse's hooves stepped forward, the ground smoked, three cutscenes, vivid and realistic performances, won thunderous applause. He has directed and starred in more than 100 plays such as "The Legend of the White Snake", "Three Dozen White Bone Essences", "Crane Boy", "Crane and Turtle", and has published many works such as "100 Excellent Plays of Traditional Shadow Puppet Plays in Tangshan, China" and many other works.

In 1982, Qi Yongheng was invited by UNESCO to go to the International Puppet Academy in France to teach and teach film and opera experts from nine countries, which made China's ancient shadow puppet art appear on the world stage, and he has visited the United States, France, the Netherlands, Monaco, Japan, Austria, Taiwan and other countries and regions.

Qi Yongheng is known as the "Flying Line King", "Living Shadow Man Qi", "Arrow Rod King", is a very influential Chinese shadow puppet master in the world, and his performance is known as "magic lightning art". He now focuses his main energy on the research and promotion of shadow puppetry, and often travels to all parts of the country to give lectures and teachings

Source: Bu Yan Tang