Zhaxiciren

01 · Lineage & Regional School

From 1983 to 1998 he taught the Gar dance at the School of Art of Tibet University, and he published the music collection Mibu Xiaji (Collected Rare Treasures). Within the regional tradition and school record of Gaer in Tibet: Gar is transmitted mainly in Lhasa, Shigatse and Ngari, and the monasteries and folk performance troupes of each place keep their own transmission; in the Ngari area it is collectively called “gar xuan” together with xuan dance, and it is further divided into bogar and mogar, the former being men’s song and dance and the latter women’s song and dance, though in fact both are performed by men and only the names differ. Gar first emerged from the song-and-dance performances of folk artists at festivals; later it was taken up by the monasteries of various places and by professional music-and-dance troupes, becoming an indispensable ritual observance in the large-scale religious activities of monasteries, and it has been carried on at grand ceremonies and on occasions when senior lamas are welcomed and escorted.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Tibetan, born in January 1942 in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region. In 1951 he was selected for a professional arts ensemble, where he studied the Gar dance under renowned masters of traditional Tibetan music; at the same time he mastered the performance techniques, music theory, and notation of such instruments as the yangqin, zhanian, dizi, jinghu, erhu, biwang sanxian (ganjia), changdi, and suona. Before retirement he compiled and published the Gar dance score Quzhen Garui (Precious Melodies); after retirement he released the music album Tibetan Traditional Fine Music, and in 2000 he published Classical Music of Tibet. In 2014 he compiled the scores and lyrics of Gar dance music and recorded the music collection and video materials Galu Quzhen Gaduan. Within the documented technical tradition of Gaer in Tibet: “Gar” means song and dance, or music and dance, in Tibetan; it is a ceremonial song-and-dance of the Tibetan people. At first it was song and dance performed by folk artists at festivals; later it gradually entered the great monasteries of various places and became a programme that had to be performed at the large-scale religious activities of monasteries. Gar has beautiful dance movements and a distinctive musical style; it is now performed mainly at grand ceremonies and at important occasions such as welcoming and escorting the Panchen Lama. In the Ngari area, Gar dance and xuan dance are collectively called “gar xuan”. The dance music of Gar is free, broad and drawn out; the dance is strongly sculptural in its shaping, the movements of the dancers are highly standardised, intense and wide in range, and the formations change in many ways. All the performers are male, and are divided into gar zhuba, garba and garben. Gar zhuba are boy singers and dancers, garba are singers and dancers, and garben are the artistic director and administrative head. Gar dance is divided into two types, gar and garlu; garlu is an art form of unison singing in children’s voices, and in performance it is accompanied by instruments such as the six-string lute “zhai nian”, the bamboo flute “lingu”, the yangqin, the dulcimer, the genka and the aiga. Gar is further divided into bogar and mogar; bogar is men’s song and dance and mogar is women’s song and dance; in fact both song-and-dance forms are performed by men, and only the names differ. Gar performance is technically difficult and highly standardised; under the impact of modern economic and cultural life it faces an ageing talent base and a steadily shrinking scale of performance, and is in urgent need of rescue and protection. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The three ranks of performers": All performers are male and divided into the boy dancers, the dancers and the director, dancers moving between ranks with age and experience. "The male and female styles": Ghar divides into the male and female styles, though in practice both are performed by men, only the names differing. "Ghar-lu, sung by boys in unison": Alongside the dance there is ghar-lu, sung in unison by boys' voices and accompanied by zhanian, linggu flute, dulcimer, iron zither, genka and the ega. "The ghar orchestra": Its ensemble includes the zhanian, the linggu bamboo flute, dulcimer, iron zither, genka and ega; the music is free, broad and drawn out and the movement highly standardised.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Gar, a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. In 2013 he taught the Gar dance to colleagues at the Tibetan opera troupe. Since 2008 he has taught the Gar dance, Nangma, Toishe, and other traditions openly.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Zhaxiciren · National Representative Bearer Archive