Niuchongxiang
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Niuchongxiang, Male, Han, from Suqianshisucheng, Jiangsu, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Subei Dagu Drum Balladry (Ⅴ-131). The tradition is documented in Suqianshisucheng, Jiangsu. Within the regional tradition and school record of Subei Dagu Drum Balladry in Suqianshisucheng, Jiangsu: Northern Jiangsu great drum, colloquially called "chang dashu" (singing the great book), is a form of quyi based on the dialect of the Suqian area of Jiangsu Province. It circulates over a wide area, namely Suqian, Xuzhou, Huai'an and Lianyungang in northern Jiangsu, as well as northeastern Anhui, southern Shandong and eastern Henan. It evolved out of the yugu (fishing drum) tradition, and took shape around 1796, in the middle period of the Qing dynasty, in the area of Suqian and of Suiyang in Xuzhou. Northern Jiangsu great drum, also called chang dashu (singing the great book), evolved out of the yugu (fishing drum) tradition and took shape around the first year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty (1796) in the area of Suqian and of Suiyang in Xuzhou. It then spread rapidly to the adjoining areas of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui, and by the Tongzhi period it had become a genre widely popular in those regions. Suchucheng District of Suqian City is the main area of transmission at present, and the documented line of transmission has already run through nine generations; transmission proceeds by apprenticeship and by family inheritance in equal measure, family inheritance being colloquially called "father-and-son legs".
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Niuchongxiang is anchored in the documented technical standards of Subei Dagu Drum Balladry in Suqianshisucheng, Jiangsu. Within the documented technical tradition of Subei Dagu Drum Balladry in Suqianshisucheng, Jiangsu: After taking shape it spread rapidly to surrounding areas, and by the Tongzhi period it had become a genre deeply loved by the people of the areas where Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui meet; it has a history of more than 200 years. Its performance form is a single performer with one large drum and two crescent-shaped clappers (of copper or steel), using the Suqian dialect, alternating speech and song, with speech and song equally important. In singing, the left hand shakes the clappers to beat the time and the right hand strikes the drum; during the spoken passages the drum and clappers are put down, and sometimes an xingmu (awakening block) is used as an auxiliary prop. Its sung text is strictly composed, in ten-syllable, seven-syllable, five-syllable and three-syllable lines. Ten-syllable and seven-syllable lines are called "pai", five-syllable lines are called "jin", and three-syllable lines are called "zan". Spoken narration is strict about the four ways of delivering sound — hao (drawn-out cry), dun (sudden stop), huan (slow) and ji (urgent) — with upper and lower lines balanced against each other. The vocal style is rich and sonorous, and includes the huilong diao (returning-dragon tune), the manganniu (slow ox-driving tune) and the kuailluishui (fast flowing-water tune). Performance is strict about "catching the hook, seizing the clasp and snatching the cap", and commonly uses performing techniques such as the "empty spearhead", the "shadowless whip", the "tethered horse post" and the "flying hook"; in the story a large clasp holds a small one inside it and a small clasp is linked to a large one, so that the audience is kept in suspense throughout. In singing it is strict about mouth, hand and eye arriving together. Northern Jiangsu great drum has a rich repertoire, mainly of long works, most of them orally created by artists and honed through repeated performance. According to incomplete statistics, more than 200 works are performed and more than 60 newly composed works exist. Its representative works include "Gao Huaide's Troops East of the River" (Gao Huaide Bing Xia Hedong) and "The Chronicle of Five Plums and Seven Spears against the Tang" (Wu Mei Qi Qiang Fan Tang Zhuan). In performance there is one performer with one large drum and two crescent-shaped clappers (of copper or steel), using the Suqian dialect, alternating speech and song, with speech and song equally important; in singing, the left hand shakes the clappers to beat the time and the right hand strikes the drum, and in the spoken passages the drum and clappers are put down, sometimes with an xingmu (awakening block) as an aid. The sung text is divided into ten-syllable, seven-syllable, five-syllable and three-syllable lines; ten- and seven-syllable lines are called pai, five-syllable lines jin and three-syllable lines zan. Spoken narration is strict about hao, dun, huan and ji, with upper and lower lines balanced against each other. The vocal style is rich and sonorous, and includes the huilong diao, the manganniu and the kuailluishui. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Pai, jin and zan": Its strict texts use lines of ten, seven, five and three characters, respectively called pai, jin and zan. "Suspense techniques": Its suspense craft deploys named devices so that large and small hooks nest, keeping the audience guessing, with mouth, hand and eye all engaged. "Representative titles": Leading titles from over two hundred traditional and sixty newly composed works, mostly created orally by performers. "Family transmission": Passed on orally by masters and within families, the line has nine documented generations since the Qing.
Pai, jin and zan
Its strict texts use lines of ten, seven, five and three characters, respectively called pai, jin and zan.
Suspense techniques
Its suspense craft deploys named devices so that large and small hooks nest, keeping the audience guessing, with mouth, hand and eye all engaged.
Representative titles
Leading titles from over two hundred traditional and sixty newly composed works, mostly created orally by performers.
Family transmission
Passed on orally by masters and within families, the line has nine documented generations since the Qing.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Niuchongxiang was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Subei Dagu Drum Balladry, with Suqianshisucheng, Jiangsu as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Subei Dagu Drum Balladry in Suqianshisucheng, Jiangsu: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Suqianshisucheng, Jiangsu as its declared area, and Suqian Sucheng District 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
It evolved out of the yugu (fishing drum) tradition, and took shape around 1796, in the middle period of the Qing dynasty, in the area of Suqian and of Suiyang in Xuzhou. Northern Jiangsu great drum, also called chang dashu (singing the great book), evolved out of the yugu (fishing drum) tradition and took shape around the first year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty (1796) in the area of Suqian and of Suiyang in Xuzhou. It then spread rapidly to the adjoining areas of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui, and by the Tongzhi period it had become a genre widely popular in those regions. Suchucheng District of Suqian City is the main area of transmission at present, and the documented line of transmission has already run through nine generations; transmission proceeds by apprenticeship and by family inheritance in equal measure, family inheritance being colloquially called "father-and-son legs".
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niuchongxiang | Suqianshisucheng, Jiangsu | — | 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。