Zhang Lanqing

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Zhang Lanqing, Female, Han, from Guangrao, Shandong, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Drum Dance (Ⅲ-42). The tradition is documented in Guangrao, Shandong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Drum Dance in Guangrao, Shandong: Chinese drum dance takes many forms, is widely distributed, varies greatly in dance posture, and differs enormously in kind. Among the more typical forms are waist-drum dance, the crouching drum dance (biaogu), flower-drum (flower-lantern) dance, wooden-drum dance, long-drum dance, flat-drum dance, bronze-drum dance, dragon-drum dance, fan-drum dance, yellow-clay drum dance, elephant-foot drum dance, monkey drum dance, flower-whip drum dance, bamboo-drum dance, bell-drum dance, sheep-skin drum dance and many others. The Chenguan short-tassel flower drum is a unique folk dance transmitted in the area of Chenguan Township, Guangrao County, Dongying City, Shandong Province, and in places such as Shanghe County. The Chenguan short-tassel flower drum uses drumbeats and song to express the pursuit of a happy life; it has a distinctive local rustic character, represents the area's traditional culture, and has value for anthropological and folklore studies. It was originally the means by which itinerant performers made a living by begging. In the Qing dynasty, Zhang Hongxiang and Zhang Hongguo of Chenguan Village, Chenguan Township, Guangrao County followed their father Zhang Yanshui about as famine beggars, and in the process gradually learned to beat the flower drum. In 1956, the short-tassel flower drum danced by Li Hongyuan, a disciple of Zhang Yanshui of Guangrao, and by Zhang Fengyun and Li Xiping of Shanghe County won an award at the Shandong provincial folk art performance. The folk artist Zhang Yi made a special journey to Chenguan Township to learn the short-tassel flower drum; the 'Flower Drum Dance' she performed won the gold prize at the Sixth World Festival of Youth and Students in 1957.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Female, Han ethnic group, born in December 1971, a native of Guangrao County, Shandong Province. Born into a family long versed in the short-ear flower drum, she learned the technique from her father and uncle as a child and mastered the essence of the performance and its complete sequence of movements. In order to transmit and develop the Chen Guan short-ear flower drum more effectively, she reformed its performance format: the traditional arrangement, in which one person played the cymbals while singing and narrating and another beat the drum, gave way to solo singing or duet singing, with several people accompanying on cymbals, gongs, small cymbals, suona and drums, and with several or even dozens of performers dancing together. In 1986 the short-ear flower drum she performed was included in the Compendium of Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dances. To cultivate successors she actively organizes training and practice for members of the short-ear flower drum troupe, and has introduced the art into schools to spread and promote it among young people. Within the documented technical tradition of Drum Dance in Guangrao, Shandong: Chinese drum dance is distinguished by rich drum patterns, ardent emotion and deep cultural reserves; it spreads across the whole country and its influence reaches the entire world. The Book of Changes (Yijing), in its chapter 'Appended Statements', has the phrase 'the drums are danced to, so as to bring the spirits to their fullest' (gu zhi wu zhi yi jin shen); it vividly reflects the long history of Chinese drum dance while also summing up, in a nutshell, its principal function. From the primitive 'striking stones and clapping stones, the hundred beasts all dance' (ji shi fu shi, bai shou shui wu) to later times when its influence spread everywhere south and north of the Yangtze, Chinese drum dance has remained one continuous, unbroken tradition. According to the account of elderly artists such as Zhang Fengyun and Li Xiping of Shanghe County, in the twenty-ninth year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty (1903) the brothers Wang Lili and Wang Liyi, who made a living by singing, learnt and mastered the art of beating the flower drum while drifting to Beijing together with artists from Guangrao; they then carried this performance form back to the lower Yellow River region around Guangrao and Shanghe. The Chenguan short-tassel flower drum is performed by one person beating cymbals and singing in narrative style and one person beating the drum; the movements are expansive and uninhibited, following the maxim 'in the open field the feet tremble slightly, the legs form a figure-eight stance like a drawn bow. the striking head tilts slightly, and running to the drum is light as a celestial being'. There are thirty or forty set routines in the drumming, such as 'Zhang Fei Deceiving the Horse' and 'Su Qin Carrying the Sword'. It has now broken with this to allow one singer or a duet of two singers, with several people accompanying on gongs, cymbals and the like. Representative pieces include 'Traversing the Nine Provinces' and 'The Pillow Chronicle'. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Party and the government attached great importance to the Chenguan short-tassel flower drum; after refining and processing it they brought it onto the stage, turning this folk dance from a former means of begging for alms into art. The movements of the Chenguan short-tassel flower drum are technically demanding, so it has not been widely transmitted. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Traversing the Nine Provinces": Representative pieces include 'Traversing the Nine Provinces' and 'The Pillow Chronicle'. "The Pillow Chronicle": Representative pieces include 'Traversing the Nine Provinces' and 'The Pillow Chronicle'.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

A representative bearer of the Drum Dance (Chen Guan Short-Ear Flower Drum), 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. Zhang Lanqing · National Representative Bearer Archive