Yangxueming
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Yangxueming, Male, Tibetan, from Zhuoni, Gansu, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Balang Drum Dance (Ⅲ-91). The tradition is documented in Zhuoni, Gansu. Within the regional tradition and school record of Balang Drum Dance in Zhuoni, Gansu: According to the local custom of Zhuoni, the fifth day of the first lunar month of each year is the starting day of “Shamu”, when Balang drum dance begins; the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the closing day, ending the dance activities, and on the sixteenth day the balang drums are put up in storage. The origin of Balang drum dance is connected with the primitive sacrificial activities of the ancient Qiang people. The special prop it uses, the sheepskin drum, has distinctive ethnic and local characteristics, and Balang drum dance takes its name from the shape of the sheepskin drum and the way it is struck.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Yangxueming is anchored in the documented technical standards of Balang Drum Dance in Zhuoni, Gansu. Within the documented technical tradition of Balang Drum Dance in Zhuoni, Gansu: Balang drum dance is called “Shamu” in Tibetan. It is a folk song-and-dance popular among the Tibetan people of the three Tibetan townships Zangbawa, Taoyan and Bailin in eastern Zhuoni County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province. Balang drum dance is generally performed by ten to sixteen people, each holding a balang drum and turning the handle up and down to the rhythm of the dance steps as they perform. The dance integrates singing and dancing. The singing is deep and resonant, the drums boom, the dance steps are vigorous and the rhythm is strong. The melodies are steady and slow, massive and solemn, with a wide range of ups and downs. About ten-odd pieces have come down to us; each piece has its own tune name, a fixed set of performance formulae and corresponding dance movements. The balang drum is a small long-handled drum with a sheepskin head; when shaken, the beads or leather thongs hanging from it make their own sound, and the drumhead is struck with a beater or the fingers. The Tibetan people of the three townships Zangbawa, Taoyan and Bailin in eastern Zhuoni County call it “Shamu”; in the first lunar month drum teams enter courtyard after courtyard to dance, taking the sound of the drum as the beat, and it also carries the sense of driving away evil and inviting good fortune. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The goatskin drum and shamu": Known in Tibetan as shamu, it is danced by ten to sixteen people each holding a goatskin drum that is twirled with the steps. "The first-month cycle": The dance follows the lunar new year calendar: it opens on the fifth, closes on the fifteenth and the drum is enshrined on the sixteenth. "A dozen airs with fixed usage": Its dozen airs each have a name, a fixed use and matching movement, song, dance and drumstroke locking together. "Singing and dancing as one": Song and dance are one, voices full, drums thudding and steps vigorous, on slow and weighty melodies that rise and fall.
The goatskin drum and shamu
Known in Tibetan as shamu, it is danced by ten to sixteen people each holding a goatskin drum that is twirled with the steps.
The first-month cycle
The dance follows the lunar new year calendar: it opens on the fifth, closes on the fifteenth and the drum is enshrined on the sixteenth.
A dozen airs with fixed usage
Its dozen airs each have a name, a fixed use and matching movement, song, dance and drumstroke locking together.
Singing and dancing as one
Song and dance are one, voices full, drums thudding and steps vigorous, on slow and weighty melodies that rise and fall.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Yangxueming was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Balang Drum Dance, with Zhuoni, Gansu as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Balang Drum Dance in Zhuoni, Gansu: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Zhuoni, Gansu as its declared area, and Zhuoni County Cultural 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
Historical origin
The origin of Balang drum dance is connected with the primitive sacrificial activities of the ancient Qiang people. The special prop it uses, the sheepskin drum, has distinctive ethnic and local characteristics, and Balang drum dance takes its name from the shape of the sheepskin drum and the way it is struck.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lu Yongxiang | Zhuoni, Gansu | 03-0952 | Same declared area |
| Yangxueming | Zhuoni, Gansu | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。