Pan Rouda

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Pan Rouda, Male, Miao, from Kaili, Guizhou, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Ethnic Instrument Making Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-124). The tradition is documented in Kaili, Guizhou. Within the regional tradition and school record of Ethnic Instrument Making Craftsmanship in Kaili, Guizhou: Xinguang is a widely known lusheng village, home to 128 Miao households surnamed Pan, with 38 households still working as lusheng craftsmen to this day; according to the extant family genealogy in Xinguang, this branch of the clan has settled there for nineteen generations, about five hundred years. Most families making lusheng in the village also grow bamboo and raise cattle, and besides selling lusheng they sell sheng tubes and sheng reeds. Ordinary households play small six-pipe sheng, while the extra-large hand-playable lusheng are brought out only for village sacrifices and welcoming ceremonies; the tall-ranked sheng and mangtong are made by separate specialists and are extraordinary. Pan Rouda began learning at age 17, excels at the traditional six-pipe lusheng, and can also make the mangtong and tall-ranked lusheng. Records of the lusheng can be traced back to ancient texts such as "Chu Ci" (Songs of Chu), "Xin Tang Shu" (New Book of Tang), and "Qianshu" (Book of Guizhou). The prevalence of sheng music in the Qian region has been renowned since antiquity. The Miao people regard the lusheng as a sacred instrument, indispensable to annual festivals, sacrificial rites, and ceremonies to welcome the gods; thus the lusheng pipes are at once an instrument and the sound within a whole set of rituals. Folklore holds that the lusheng brings favorable weather and bountiful harvests, and can also communicate with deities and converse with ancestors—once the lusheng sounds, the channel between the living and the ancestral spirits is opened.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Miao ethnicity, born in September 1948, a native of Kaili, Guizhou Province. He is a national representative bearer of National Musical Instrument Making Techniques (Miao Lusheng Making Techniques), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is a technician in the making of Miao lusheng. From childhood he loved to play the lusheng and was outstanding at it. At 17 he began to learn to make Miao lusheng, and he excels in making the traditional six-pipe lusheng. The traditional Miao lusheng he makes is exquisitely crafted and handsome, pure in timbre and tonal quality, powerful in sound and durable, earning unanimous praise from his teachers and elders and from the local people; he can also make the mangtong (bass pipe) and the high-pitched lusheng. Besides meeting local demand, his lusheng are sold to Guangxi, Yunnan, Shenzhen and other places and to Germany, the United States, Japan, France, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and other countries. To protect and transmit Miao lusheng making he has taught more than ten disciples, helping villagers toward prosperity. Within the documented technical tradition of Ethnic Instrument Making Craftsmanship in Kaili, Guizhou: The lusheng is a multi-reed aerophone beloved by the Miao people. It is used not only for folk entertainment but is also a renowned sacred instrument on par with wooden and bronze drums. Folklore holds that the lusheng brings favorable weather and bountiful harvests, and can also communicate with deities and converse with ancestors. The lusheng has a long history, recorded in classics such as "Chu Ci," "Xin Tang Shu," and "Qianshu." In Xinguang Village, Zhouxi Town, Kaili City, Guizhou Province, live 128 Miao households surnamed Pan, among whom 38 households still work as lusheng craftsmen today. According to the extant family genealogy in Xinguang, this branch of the clan has settled there for nineteen generations, about five hundred years. Generation after generation, the craftsmen have made lusheng using simple tools, locally produced bamboo and wood, and purchased sounding copper, producing instruments of graceful form and fine tone. Xinguang is a widely known "Lusheng Village" and the only place in the country that makes extra-large lusheng that can be played by hand; it was named "Home of Lusheng-Making Art" by the Guizhou Provincial Department of Culture. The traditional Miao lusheng made in Xinguang, Kaili, is a six-pipe lusheng that follows the traditional Chinese pentatonic scale. The reeds of sounding copper produce sound by air vibration, and their pitch is determined entirely by the craftsmen's unique ability to discern tones. The reeds they make by hand enable all the leading lusheng to have absolutely identical pitch; each ensemble of 5–7 lusheng also conforms to the principles of harmony. The secrets and special techniques of Xinguang Miao lusheng-making are passed from father to son and son to grandson, transmitted through the generations; learners can only accumulate experience and gradually comprehend them through practice, relying on their own insight and feel. With clever minds and deft hands, the lusheng they make are not only instruments but also exquisite handicrafts. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Selecting local bamboo and wood": Only local bamboo is used, and which culm is cut decides half the instrument's character. "Boring pipes and fitting reeds": Pipes are bored and fitted with purchased bronze reeds whose length sets each pitch. "Making the bronze reeds": Each reed is thinned until it vibrates without breaking and adjusted by ear alone. "Tuning the six-pipe scale": The traditional six-pipe instrument follows the pentatonic scale of Chinese music.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2018, Pan Rouda was announced in the fifth batch of national representative bearers for Ethnic Instrument Making Craftsmanship, with Kaili, Guizhou as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Ethnic Instrument Making Craftsmanship in Kaili, Guizhou: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2011 (batch 3), with Kaili, Guizhou as its declared area, and Kaili Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

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. Pan Rouda · National Representative Bearer Archive