Liu Lingtong (Zhang Zongyi)

Biography

Zhang Zongyi, known by his stage name Liu Lingtong, was born in 1924 into a traditional theatrical family specializing in monkey play art, and was the third generation in his family to hold the title "Monkey King." He began his artistic training at age six and made his stage debut at age twelve, specializing in martial roles and comedic martial roles. He established the Zhang family's style of monkey play and earned the title "Southern Monkey King" for his contributions. His family members in this art included his brother Qi Lingtong, son Xiao Liu Lingtong, and son Liu Xiao Lingtong, as well as his disciple Liu Jianyang (Shiyi Lingtong). He presented notable theatrical and television works, most prominently "Sun Wukong Beats the White Bone Demon Three Times," which Mao Zedong watched and wrote a famous poem about. He held high leadership positions including membership in the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference across five consecutive sessions, presidency of the Zhejiang Shaoxing Opera Theatre, membership in the council of the Chinese Dramatists Association, and vice-chairmanship of the Zhejiang Dramatists Association. He died in his hometown of Shaoxing in January 2014 at the age of ninety.