Fu Baoan

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Fu Baoan, Male, Han, from Hexi, Tianjin, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Jinmenfagu (Ⅱ-122). The tradition is documented in Hexi, Tianjin. Within the regional tradition and school record of Jinmenfagu in Hexi, Tianjin: The Guajia Temple Qingyin fagu ceremonial association centres on Guajia Temple street in Hexi district, Tianjin; when it turns out it still uses the half set of ceremonial regalia bestowed by the consort of the Ming emperor Chongzhen, the regalia and its ceremonial retinue being followed in order by the fagu band, forming the fixed pattern of a civil ceremonial procession and a martial field of percussion; the most distinctive feature of the Qingyin fagu in its use of tune suites is the “five suites followed by one”, a suite of a different pattern being inserted after every five named-tune suites, giving great variety and great sweetness. In the Ming dynasty the consorts of the emperor Chongzhen bestowed on Guajia Temple half a set of imperial ceremonial regalia; in the ninth year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty (1731) the monks of Guajia Temple used that regalia to found the Guajia Temple Qingyin fagu ceremonial association, which has a history of more than three hundred years. The Guajia Temple Qingyin fagu ceremonial association began as a folk “civil” fagu; after martial fagu was introduced in the sixth year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty (1801), flying nao and flying cymbals were added.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Fu Baoan, male, Han, was born in August 1950 and is a native of Tianjin. Influenced by his family from childhood, he loved the Qingyin Fagu of Guajia Temple. At the age of four he began to learn the small cymbals, at ten he could perform the flying cymbals, and by sixteen he had mastered all five percussion instruments of fagu. In 1964, after taking the fagu master Sun Shangping as his teacher, he studied the ancient fagu scores and dance movements more systematically and came to understand them comprehensively. In study and practice he held himself to strict standards, observed the rules of the society, mastered fagu technique fully and precisely, and became familiar with the history of the luanjia ceremonial carriage regalia. He later took part in repairing fagu instruments and in the maintenance and management of the luanjia. At the same time he taught what he had learned without reservation, going into the community year after year to train disciples and transmit the art. Within the documented technical tradition of Jinmenfagu in Hexi, Tianjin: Fagu is an important item of the Tianjin folk flower gatherings; it derives from Buddhist music, and it is said that the earliest fagu troupe was the Dajue'an Jinyin fagu association. The instruments of a fagu association consist of drum, cymbals, nao, small cymbals (gezi) and small gongs (dangzi), the drum taking the lead and standing at the centre of the band; the cymbals stand left and right, seven or eight players to each, while the gezi and dangzi have two players each, all behind the drum. In performance all the hand-held instruments must be played in the showy manner called “shua”, and the players take turns performing. The beginning of a performance is called “kai”: the drum is struck several times first, then the head cymbals are struck four times in succession, after which all the instruments play together from their scores. In a procession, however, only the gezi and dangzi play the named tune Chang Yuan Dian in order to keep the steps in time. A fagu has about a dozen suites of named tunes, those in common use being Lao Xi He, Yao Tong Gu and others. There are many folk fagu associations, the better known including the Guajia Temple Qingyin fagu, the Yangjiazhuang Yongyin fagu, the Liuyuan Xiangyin fagu, the Longting Jingyin fagu, the Jiyuan Huayin fagu and the Houjiahou Yongyin fagu. The Guajia Temple Qingyin fagu circulates mainly in Guajia Temple street and its surroundings in Hexi district, Tianjin; it is a folk music form of great distinctiveness, in whose performance fine props, superb technique and graceful dance movements are combined. The Qingyin fagu has five percussion instruments — dangzi, gezi, cymbals, nao and drum — and several dozen sets of musical scores and tune suites; the scores now in common use include the score for assembling the members, the opening score and the revised score, while the many tune suites include such pieces as Dui Lian, Qiao Tou, Que Tui, Xiu Qiu, Lian Zhu Pao, Shuang Qiao and Lao He Xi. The most distinctive feature of the Qingyin fagu in the use of these tune suites is that five suites are alternated with one, giving great variety and great sweetness, so that its reputation has spread far and wide. The movements of the fagu performance combine hardness and softness and are unsurpassed in excellence; among them are hidden “thirteen supreme feats”, so that it is held to be the orthodox of folk art; in particular the flying cymbals mounted on the drum stage are famous throughout Tianjin, with extraordinary movements such as the tiger and dragon leaping, the swallow flying and the phoenix dancing, the flower tucked in to cover the head and the red whip in the shape of a cross, which fill the beholder with wonder. The techniques of the cymbals and the nao each have their own character, yet each produces something new and striking. The flower sticks of Guajia Temple are finely made, handsome and elegant; in performance, though there is no instrumental accompaniment, bronze bells are fixed to the sticks, one to a hand, which strike against each other and beat out various ornamental patterns as the players walk, while they sing folk ditties of their own composition. The Guajia Temple Qingyin fagu has a strong flavour of the local soil and is a traditional folk cultural form that fuses splendid props, superb performing technique and graceful dance movement into one. Most of the performers in the old fagu associations take part from childhood. The Qingyin fagu often turns out for performance at New Year festivals and large folk events, and is celebrated throughout Tianjin for the distinctive character of its props and playing. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Dui Lian": One of the tune suites in common use in the Qingyin fagu. "Qiao Tou": One of the tune suites in common use in the Qingyin fagu. "Que Tui": One of the tune suites in common use in the Qingyin fagu. "Xiu Qiu": One of the tune suites in common use in the Qingyin fagu.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Jinmen Fagu (Guajia Temple Qingyin Fagu), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.

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. Fu Baoan · National Representative Bearer Archive